By Gary C. King
It was December 8, 1980, a chilly Monday evening, when Mark David Chapman, 25, went for the second time that day to the Dakota apartment building at 72nd Street and Central Park West in New York City where musician and former Beatle John Lennon resided with his wife, Yoko Ono. Chapman was packing a Charter Arms .38, which he had bought only two days earlier, concealed in the pocket of his coat.
Pacing beneath the Dakota's archway, Chapman had spotted the singer-songwriter leaving the building earlier in the day and had easily obtained Lennon's autograph. Unable at that time to carry out his plan to murder Lennon, whom he perceived as "phony and insincere," Chapman went back to his hotel room and prayed to Satan for the strength that he needed to shoot John Lennon. Feeling shut out and betrayed by nearly everyone connected to him and having failed miserably at nearly everything he had ever tried to accomplish in life, Chapman was now determined to succeed at something — especially killing John Lennon. Although it was a grim motive, Chapman wanted to carry out the odious plan in order to become well-known.
After praying to Satan and then determined more than ever to carry out his plan, Chapman, carrying his highly-cherished copy of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, returned to the Dakota later that day and began his vigil of death anew. Appearing to be just another autograph hound, Chapman waited all day for Lennon to return. Finally, at about 10:50 p.m., he saw Lennon and Yoko pull up in front of the apartment building in their limousine.
Yoko had been the first to exit the car and was about 40 feet ahead of Lennon when he got out. As Lennon approached the Dakota's archway, he looked directly at Chapman according to some media reports that were later disputed by the lone gunman who claimed that Lennon hadn't even noticed him. But by then, in either case, it was too late. Chapman had taken the .38 out of his coat pocket and began firing in rapid succession. When it was all over, five shots had been fired, and four of them had struck Lennon in the back. As John Lennon crumbled to the sidewalk in front of his home and his horrified wife, Chapman's only thoughts were, "The bullets are working." At a tremendous cost to the world, not to mention Lennon's family and friends, Mark David Chapman had finally found success. Chapman stood on the sidewalk near Lennon's body calmly reading The Catcher in the Rye until the police arrived.
Before a jury trial got underway Chapman, despite having been evaluated and labeled as delusional and probably psychotic, changed his initial plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to guilty of second-degree murder — against his lawyer's advice. As a result, the former glue-sniffing drug abuser was sentenced to prison for 20 years to life at Attica State Prison. He has been denied parole five times, in part because Yoko Ono has vehemently opposed his parole as have members of the general public. He has apologized to Ono in published statements, and has expressed sorrow for killing Lennon. Although Chapman has stated that he will not appeal any decisions that are made by the parole board in the future, it appears that he will remain behind the walls of Attica for some time to come.
