The man who murdered John Lennon has opened up about his motive as the 45th anniversary of the incident draws closer.
On December 8, 1980, Lennon — aged just 40 — was shot outside the Dakota apartment building by Mark David Chapman, then 25, as he left alongside his wife Yoko Ono.
Chapman fired four times at the musician's back, hours after having obtained a signature from him.
The killer was recently denied parole at his 14th attempt, and it was during this hearing that he opened up about the crime a little bit more.
A Desire to “Be Somebody”
Chapman told the parole board that the act was driven by a yearning for fame, as reported by the New York Post.
When asked why he targeted Lennon, he said: “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.”
He added a chilling sense of foreknowledge: “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 also recalled early trouble scheduling the act.
He flew to New York from Hawaii months earlier and lurked outside the building in October, waiting for Lennon. When the star didn’t appear, Chapman returned two months later when “the compulsion started building again.”
In previous hearings, Chapman admitted a fixation with the protagonist Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye — a rebellious literary figure whose disdain for “phoniness” Chapman projected onto Lennon.
He believed Lennon was a “phony” and that murdering him would shatter that façade, bringing Chapman a twisted sense of purpose.
Chapman's Parole Denied - Again
The August hearing marked Chapman’s 14th attempt at parole. Although he offered an apology, the board found his remorse lacking.
Referring to Lennon, Chapman said: “This was a human being. Here I am living so much longer, and not just family but his friends and the fans, I apologise 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.”
But the board ruled he still lacked “genuine remorse or meaningful empathy” for his victims. Chapman will next be eligible to apply in 2027.
Sentenced to 20 years‑to‑life, Chapman now spends his time at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, New York, engaging in nightly Bible study, playing volleyball with fellow inmates and staying in touch with his wife of 46 years, Gloria.
Chapman also spoke of his changed mindset: “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.”