Detective Akiva Geller: the relentless pursuit to recover a national treasure

When the famous portrait The Roaring Lion — Yousuf Karsh’s iconic 1941 photograph of Winston Churchill — vanished from the walls of Ottawa’s historic Fairmont Château Laurier, few could have foreseen the extraordinary, multi-year odyssey that would follow. At the heart of this complex and international case stood Detective Akiva Geller, whose hard work, creativity, and determination helped bring the historic portrait back home nearly three years later.

The theft of the portrait, one of seven Karsh originals gifted to the Château Laurier by the photographer himself in 1998​, was discovered in August 2022. Bruno Lair, a hotel staff member, noticed discrepancies with the frame and the hanging mechanism: a wire where specialized locking bolts should have been​. A fake print, complete with a forged Karsh signature, sat where the original once hung — in the Reading Room of Château Laurier — for several months before being discovered and reported to the Ottawa Police Service.

For Detective Geller, assigned as the sole lead investigator, the task was monumental. "There’s so much to it," he remarked during an interview, referencing the vast scope of evidence, tips, and analysis he compiled over years​.

Despite limited resources, he dove into the investigation determined to solve it. “At the beginning, we had nothing but a big hole in the wall where this portrait was supposed to be, and no leads,” he explained. The complexity of the case would require an innovative strategy.

Geller launched a two-pronged investigation: examining the creation of the fraudulent portrait and the mechanics of the replacement, and tracing the sale of the stolen artwork​. A piece of tape, torn with teeth, retained traces of saliva, but no matches were found in the national DNA database initially. With no viable fingerprints found, no video footage​ and a delay before the crime was discovered, physical evidence was sparse. Detective Geller had to get creative.

Working closely with Jerry Fielder from the Karsh Estate, Geller was able to understand the special details that made the original photo unique​. Then, Geller searched auction houses and online listings around the world. A suspicious Roaring Lion print, claiming to be from the Karsh estate, was marked for sale at Sotheby’s in London​. It had no history (called "provenance" in the art world), the wrong frame, slight damage and was sold in May 2022, within the window of the theft — all signs it could be the stolen photo.  "The size was right, the signature was right — everything kind of looked right," Geller explained​. 

However, getting information on the seller from Sotheby’s proved a legal labyrinth. Geller had to initiate a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) request — an intricate process involving the Ministry of the Attorney General, Canada’s Department of Justice, and British authorities — taking almost a year​.

The Fairmont Château Laurier called out to the public to submit any photos from their visits, allowing Geller and hotel staff to identify critical clues. Detective Geller relied heavily on public help and the cooperation from the Château staff to piece together the time of the theft. "[We] were able to create a timeline based on the two photos," he said, noting that a visitor’s Christmas Eve photo showed the authentic portrait still hanging, while a later photo by journalist Paul Hunter captured the fake. By comparing details like the size of the portrait relative to the wall paneling, they determined when the real Roaring Lion was replaced. 

After several weeks of following up on tips from the public, Geller determined there were three investigative launch points: the creation of the fraudulent portrait before December 25, 2021, the theft and replacement of the portrait between December 25, 2021, and January 6, 2022, and the sale of the portrait after January 6.

Finally, the MLAT eventually returned a trove of documents confirming the suspect’s identity: Jeffrey Wood, a 43-year-old man from Powassan, Ontario. Wood, who created a fake persona, had fabricated credentials and attempted to sell the stolen portrait under a pseudonym​. While he demonstrated a certain cunning, Wood was consistently undercut by disorganized execution — a recurring theme Geller noted throughout the investigation.

While investigating the crime, Geller obtained a search warrant for Wood’s storage unit in Ottawa where he discovered another printed Roaring Lion leading to evidence of the production of the counterfeit​. More crucially, a toothbrush recovered from Wood’s storage provided a match to the DNA extracted from the ripped tape.

Geller's meticulous assembly of physical, forensic, documentary, and circumstantial evidence ensured an airtight case resulted in Wood’s arrest on April 25, 2024. The buyer, an Italian lawyer named Nicola Cassinelli, cooperating with Detective Geller was crucial to the safe return of The Roaring Lion to Canada. The repatriation ceremony in Rome on September 19, 2024, where Italian authorities formally handed over the portrait, and its subsequent reinstallation at the Château Laurier on November 15, 2024, marked the triumphant conclusion of Geller’s relentless pursuit. 

Reflecting on the case, Geller presented lessons learned at the Canada-Italy Symposium for Heritage Property Theft. His recommendations were clear: broaden investigative teams to include experts and civilians, use the media strategically, and create a National Heritage Crime Unit to address future cultural property thefts​.

For Detective Akiva Geller, The Roaring Lion case stands as the longest and most intricate investigation of his career.

During Wood’s trial on March 14, 2025, where he pleaded guilty, the prosecutor read a moving impact statement from Estrellita Karsh — Yousuf Karsh’s wife. In it, she reflected on the deep personal connection between her family and the Château Laurier. Her late husband had maintained a photography studio on the hotel’s sixth floor in the early 1970s, and by the early 1980s, the couple had made the hotel their permanent place of residence. “It was not just where we lived and worked. It was our home, and the wonderful staff became our family,” she wrote.

Geller reflected on bringing closure to Mrs. Karsh, who passed away two weeks after the trial at the age of 95. “This portrait had a lot of meaning and this really heavily impacted her,” said Geller. “I could not tell this woman that we were not gonna look for her husband's portrait,” he recalled. “Especially if he's, I would say, probably one of the most influential artists in Ottawa’s history.”

As hotel manager Geneviève Dumas said at the unveiling, "I'm just very, very happy that this part of Canadian heritage is back home"​.

Today, thanks to Detective Akiva Geller’s dedication and clever thinking, The Roaring Lion is back where it belongs.