John Lennon's assassin details first attempt to murder Beatles legend months before fatally shooting him
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images/Kypros/Getty Images
John Lennon's assassin has detailed the first time he planned to murder the musician three months before he killed him.
A then 25-year-old Mark David Chapman murdered the British pop star on December 8, 1980, as he returned home from a studio session with his wife, Yoko Ono.
The 40-year-old bled out on the steps outside his apartment in New York after being shot four times in the back. The Beatles star was immediately rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
In August 1981, Chapman received the sentence of 20 years to life imprisonment for Lennon's death, and since then, he has appealed for parole a staggering 14 times, once he became eligible in 2000 - all of which have been rejected.
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As for why he killed Lennon, Chapman previously said that he was angered by the singer's claim that the band was 'more popular than Jesus', as well as the lyrics for Lennon's hit song 'Imagine', which led him to view the 40-year-old as a 'phoney'.
However, he detailed his motive in a parole hearing from August, while also revealing in a previous hearing that he had planned to murder the A Hard Day's Night star two months before he conducted the assassination.
According to The New York Post, Chapman said that he'd flown from Hawaii to New York three months prior, waiting outside the Dakota building for Lennon, who ultimately never showed.
He said that he then returned in December 'after the compulsion started building again', adding: "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 has expressed remorse for killing Lennon, as he said: "This was a human being. 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. I don’t have any interest at all in being famous. Put me under the rug somewhere.
"I don’t want to be famous anymore, period.”
He'd also shown regret for his actions in 2020, calling them 'creepy' and despicable' when speaking to the board during his 11th attempt.
He also said that he often thought of Ono, adding: "I just want her to know that she knows her husband like no one else and knows the kind of man he was. I didn’t."
Chapman also described Lennon as being 'kind' to him the day of the assassination, as the singer had signed Chapman's copy of his album 'Double Fantasy' earlier on.
However, the board found that Chapman lacked 'genuine remorse or meaningful empathy' and denied his parole request, making it 14 in total.
He won't be able to apply again until 2027.