John Lennon’s Killer Told Parole Board He Murdered the Beatle ‘to Be a Somebody’ — Officials Didn’t Believe Him
Almost 45 years ago, on December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman approached singer-songwriter John Lennon for an autograph on a copy of his album Double Fantasy. Lennon signed it and left for a recording session. Later that day, at almost 11 p.m., Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, came home to their apartment in the Dakota, where Chapman was waiting for the former Beatle. As Lennon walked past him toward the entrance, Chapman pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and fired five shots, four of which struck Lennon in the back and shoulder.
John Lennon was only 40 at the time of his murder.
Chapman was arrested and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, receiving a sentence of 20 years to life in prison, where he remains today. Under New York State law, he became eligible for parole in 2000 after serving 20 years and has since come up for review every two years.
In his most recent plea for freedom — his 14th attempt — the convicted killer told the parole board that he was motivated to murder Lennon in an effort to “be a somebody.”
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
According to the NY Post, when Chapman appeared in front of the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County in late August, he told the board: “This was for me and me alone, unfortunately, and it had everything to do with his popularity,” according to the transcripts. “My crime was completely selfish.”
Though the board had heard Chapman’s pentinance before, this time around he offered a new excuse for the premeditated murder: When asked by a commissioner why he wanted to murder Lennon, he said, “to be famous, to be something I wasn’t.”
Influenced in the wrong way by The Catcher in the Rye, Chapman thought Lennon was “a phony.” He stated, “I just realized, hey, there is a goal here,” said the convict. “I don’t have to die, and I can be a somebody. I had sunk that low.”
In previous parole hearings, Chapman made similar statements, expressing remorse while explaining that he was seeking infamy and “had evil in my heart.”
At the hearing, he explained, “That morning of the 8th, I just knew. I don’t know how I knew, but I just knew that was going to be the day that I was going to meet and kill him,” Chapman said.
Everett Collection
He then apologized for the pain he caused to Lennon’s family, fans, and friends: “Here I am living so much longer, and not just family but his friends and the fans. I apologize for the devastation that I caused you, the agony that they must have gone through. I had no thought about that at all at the time of the crime; I didn’t care.”
According to records, he was denied yet again as the board found him insincere and lacking a “genuine remorse or meaningful empathy” for the victims.
Chapman is eligible for parole in 2027.
Remind