Yoko Ono previously spoke out about John Lennon's final words before he was murdered outside of his New York apartment.
On the night of December 8, 1980, the world was shaken when Lennon was gunned down by Mark David Chapman.
Lennon, only 40 years old, had been returning home with his wife, the renowned Japanese artist Yoko Ono, when Chapman, 25, fired four shots at the musician.
The horrifying attack took place just hours after Lennon had signed an autograph for his killer, who had been waiting for the right moment to strike.
Yoko Ono Reflects on Final Moments with John Lennon
Yoko Ono, who shared both a life and creative partnership with Lennon, refrained from speaking about that harrowing night for many years.
At the time, she feared backlash from Beatles fans who blamed her for the band's breakup and resented her relationship with John. However, in an interview on Desert Island Discs, Yoko finally opened up about their final moments together, per the Liverpool Echo.
She revealed a poignant memory of their last conversation, saying: "I said 'shall we go and have dinner before we go home?' and John said: 'No, let's go home because I want to see [son] Sean before he goes to sleep.'"
When asked if Lennon said anything after the shooting, Yoko responded with a heartbreaking: "No."
Mark David Chapman: A Killer's Disturbing Motive
Mark David Chapman’s motives for killing John Lennon have long been a subject of fascination. In a recent parole hearing, as the 45th anniversary of the murder approached, Chapman admitted that his desire for fame drove him to commit the crime.
He explained: “To be famous, to be something I wasn’t. And then I just realised, hey, there is a goal here. I don’t have to die and I can be a somebody. I had sunk that low.”
Chapman expressed a chilling sense of predestination, claiming he "just knew" that December 8 would be the day he would meet and kill Lennon.
In earlier parole hearings, Chapman admitted that he was obsessed with the character Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.
Caulfield’s disdain for “phoniness” led Chapman to view Lennon as a "phony," and he believed that by killing the musician, he could destroy that facade.
The twisted logic behind his actions became clearer when Chapman stated: “I had no thought about [the pain] at all at the time of the crime, I didn’t care.”
Chapman’s Parole Denied: A Lack of Remorse
Chapman has since expressed a changed mindset and no longer desires fame.
During his 14th parole attempt in August, he told the board: “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.”
However, despite offering an apology, Chapman’s remorse was deemed insufficient.
The parole board ruled that he still lacked “genuine remorse or meaningful empathy” for the pain his actions had caused.
Chapman is serving a sentence of 20 years to life at Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York, where he spends his time studying the Bible and playing volleyball with fellow inmates. His next parole hearing will take place in 2027.