The Beatles – John Lennon Assassination
Mark David Chapman – the Man Who Took the Life of a Beatles Icon
Aug 20, 2009
The death of John Lennon will always be remembered as one of music’s greatest losses. Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon four times inflicting severe injuries that were to prove fatal. The following is a breakdown of the John Lennon assassination, December 8th, 1980; a day that Beatles fans will never forget.
The John Lennon Assassination & Mark David Chapman – The Beatles Icon in New York
On the morning of December 8th, 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono awoke in their New York apartment building The Dakota. Beatles fans mingled outside as they often did, hoping to glimpse the star.
Amongst them lay in wait Mark David Chapman clutching a copy of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman was obsessed with the book and its central character, Holden Caulfield. He was also obsessed with the Beatles star, a fixation that had manifested itself into an overriding desire to bring about the end of John Lennon.
At approximately 5.00pm John Lennon and Yoko Ono left the Dakota building heading for a recording session. Stopping to sign autographs for the Beatles fans gathered outside the apartment, Mark David Chapman presented Lennon with a copy of his latest album, Double Fantasy. Photographer Paul Goresh took a now infamous photo of the moment as Lennon signed the album, the bespectacled Chapman in the background, a half-smile on his face.
However, Mark David Chapman did not take this opportunity to hit his target. Missing this first chance, Chapman waited outside the apartment building for Lennon to return.
The Incident in New York – The Man Who Shot John Lennon and Left Beatles Fans Shocked
Just before 11.00pm, after a few hours at the recording studio, John Lennon and Yoko Ono returned home. Exiting their limousine in the street, Yoko Ono walked into the building’s lobby with Lennon following behind.
Mark David Chapman was waiting, and as the star walked past him Chapman shot John Lennon four times, a fifth missing its target. The four hollow point bullets, fired from a Charter Arms .38 revolver, hit Lennon in the back and shoulder with one slicing through Lennon’s aorta, the largest blood vessel in the human body.
Lennon managed to stumble up five steps towards the apartment lobby before collapsing, losing blood rapidly from his wounds. As John Lennon lay helpless, Mark David Chapman made no attempt to flee the scene.
Sitting calmly in the street, Chapman waited for the police to arrive. In his hands he clutched The Catcher in the Rye; inside the front cover of the book he had written: "To Holden Caulfield. From Holden Caulfield. This is my statement."
John Lennon and Mark David Chapman – Beatles Fans Lose an Icon
John Lennon was rushed to the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Beatles fans waited outside. He was pronounced DOA a little after 11.00pm. He was cremated in New York two days later.
Mark David Chapman was put on trial and charged with second degree murder after much debate regarding his mental health. Ever since the John Lennon assassination he has been behind bars in the Attica Correctional Facility in New York. Denied parole five times he remains there to this day.
Conspiracy theories surround the John Lennon assassination as they do the Kennedy assassination. But the fact remains that Mark David Chapman took the life of John Lennon and robbed the music world of one of its greatest icons on December 8th, 1980. Beatles fans will never forget this dark day.
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