On 8 December 1980, the world was shocked and saddened by the death of John Lennon, the famous former Beatle, who was shot and killed outside his apartment building in New York City, the Dakota Building, where he lived. The man who killed him, Mark David Chapman, stayed where he was until the police got there. But no one has ever been sure why he did it… until now.

After The Beatles broke up, the band members each pursued different musical paths. Meanwhile, George Harrison was learning about Indian culture, Paul McCartney formed the band Wings, and John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, moved to New York to use music to encourage people to live in peace.

Lennon released several albums in the 1970s. After taking a five-year break to raise his son Sean, he returned with Double Fantasy, released in late November 1980. Sadly, it would be the last album he released during his lifetime.

On a cold winter’s night (8 December 1980), John Lennon left his apartment in New York (the Dakota) on his way to his recording studio. Outside the building, a fan went up to him to ask for an autograph on a copy of Double Fantasy.

Lennon agreed, as he always did. He didn’t know that this would be the last time he left his home alive. When he and Yoko Ono returned later that night, Chapman was still waiting for them. It was around 10:50 p.m. He fired five shots, four of which hit the superstar.

Lennon suddenly fell to the ground outside the Dakota Building. Chapman didn’t run away. Instead, he took off his coat to show he was unarmed and started reading his copy of The Catcher in the Rye until the police arrived.

Mark David Chapman is serving a life sentence, which is a prison sentence that can never be reduced. In August, he was refused parole for the 14th time. Chapman has said that he feels sorry about the murder.

New details have now emerged from his most recent parole hearing. The NY Post says that Chapman admitted he had planned to kill Lennon earlier.

On 28 August, he told the board he had travelled from Hawaii to New York months earlier and had waited outside the Dakota to see Lennon, but had been disappointed.

Chapman was obsessed with The Catcher in the Rye and its main character, Holden Caulfield. He said he went back to it two months later, “when I felt the need to read it again”.

On the 8th that morning, I just knew. The New York Post quoted Chapman as saying that he had an unexplained sense that that day was going to be the day he would meet and kill him.

Chapman said he wanted fame, but now says he has “no interest at all” in attention.

However, the parole board didn’t believe his story. They said he still doesn’t feel sorry for his victims. Chapman will be able to ask for his release from prison in 2027.