{"id":41113,"date":"2023-12-05T16:38:53","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T15:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1938974"},"modified":"2023-12-05T16:47:34","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T15:47:34","slug":"why-did-mark-david-chapman-kill-john-lennon-true-story-behind-murder-without-a-trial","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/why-did-mark-david-chapman-kill-john-lennon-true-story-behind-murder-without-a-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Why did Mark David Chapman kill John Lennon? True story behind Murder Without a Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple TV+ is revisiting the tragic case, which saw musician John Lennon murdered by a fan in 1980. <\/p>

By Grace Henry\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 December 2023 at 15:38 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Apple TV+ is revisiting one of the most shocking cases of all time in its brand new documentary series, John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial.<\/p>\n

On the evening of 8th December 1980, musician John Lennon, formerly of The Beatles, was fatally wounded in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City.<\/p>\n

The killer was Mark David Chapman, an American Beatles fan.<\/p>\n

Including exclusive eyewitness interviews and previously unseen crime scene photos, the docuseries hopes to shed new light on the life and murder of music and cultural icon John<\/span> Lennon<\/span>, and the investigation and conviction of Mark David Chapman, who confessed to the crime.<\/p>\n

Read on for everything you need know.<\/p>\n

Why did Mark David Chapman kill John Lennon?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Archival\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
John Lennon.<\/span><\/figcaption> Apple TV+<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Mark David Chapman was a 25-year-old former security guard from Honolulu, Hawaii, who had no prior convictions. He was a fan of The Beatles.<\/p>\n

Chapman claimed that he had been angered by John Lennon\u2019s infamous remark in 1966 that The Beatles were \u201cmore popular than Jesus\u201d; by the lyrics of Lennon\u2019s song God, in which he states that he does not believe in The Beatles, God or Jesus; and Lennon\u2019s song Imagine, where he says \u201cimagine no possessions\u201d, despite living a very lavish lifestyle.<\/p>\n

According to Chapman<\/a>, the latter made him believe Lennon was a \u201cphony\u201d.<\/p>\n

Chapman was believed to have planned the killing over several months<\/a> and waited for Lennon at the Dakota.<\/p>\n

Early in the evening of 8th December, Chapman met Lennon, who signed his copy of the album Double Fantasy.<\/p>\n

Later that evening, when Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono returned home, Chapman fired five bullets from a revolver<\/a>, four of which hit Lennon in the back.<\/p>\n

The musician was immediately rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival, aged 40.<\/p>

Where is Mark David Chapman now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Chapman pleaded guilty to murdering Lennon and was given a sentence of 20 years to life imprisonment.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s currently serving the sentence at\u00a0Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York\u2019s Hudson Valley.<\/p>\n

He interviews with the Board of Parole every two years seeking release. He will next appear in front of the board in February 2024.<\/p>\n

He has been denied parole 12 times since he became eligible in 2000.<\/p>\n

During his parole hearing in August 2022<\/a>, Chapman said: \u201cI am not going to blame anything else or anybody else for bringing me there. I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was evil, I knew it was wrong, but I wanted the fame so much that I was willing to give everything and take a human life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 68-year-old added: \u201cI hurt a lot of people all over the place, and if somebody wants to hate me, that\u2019s OK, I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in 2020, Chapman told the board<\/a>: \u201cI assassinated him [\u2026] because he was very, very, very famous, and that\u2019s the only reason. And I was very, very, very, very much seeking self-glory.\u201d<\/p>\n