Man accused of stealing portrait of Winston Churchill pleads guilty

Jeffrey Wood, centre, arrives at the Ottawa courthouse alongside Lawrence Greenspon, right, and Hannah Drennan for a hearing in Ottawa on Friday, March 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Tanouye

The Ontario man accused of stealing an iconic portrait of former British prime minister Winston Churchill from Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel has pleaded guilty.

Jeffrey Wood submitted his plea in an Ottawa courtroom this morning, more than three years after the photo disappeared from the hotel.

The theft occurred in late 2021 or early 2022 but was not discovered for months because the thief replaced the original print with a copy and put it back up on the wall.

The discovery launched a global investigation that tracked the portrait to a British auction house and ultimately to a buyer in Italy who did not know he had purchased stolen art.

Wood was arrested in April 2024.

He pleaded guilty to three counts: theft over $5,000, trafficking in stolen property and knowingly committing forgery by making a false document.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 14, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press