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At the time of his death John Lennon was among the most famous people on the planet. Murders that Shocked Britain
On 8th December 1980 Lennon was returning from the studio to his apartment in the Dakota building, New York City. Mark Chapman, along with other autograph hunters, had been waiting outside Lennon’s apartment for most of the day. As Lennon passed him on his way into the building Chapman shot him four times in the back with a .38 revolver. ibid.
1980 ... Reagan was gunned down ... His attacker John Hinckley claimed to be avenging the murder of another great legend: John Lennon. For many the greatest popular musician ever. Late in the evening of 8th December 1980 weeping crowds swiftly gathered outside the Dakota Building. Great Crimes & Trials s3e1: Mark Chapman and the Killing of John Lennon, BBC 1996
Chapman was now totally gripped with his obsession ... to kill the man he saw as a phony. ibid.
As the police arrived he remained quietly on the pavement reading his book Catcher in the Rye. ibid.
December 8th 1980 New York 10.50 in the evening. A limousine draws up outside an exclusive New York apartment building. A man and woman get out. Suddenly the sound of gun-shots echoes through the night air. One of the world’s most famous rock stars is hit four times. He will not survive. Infamous Assassinations: John Lennon
President Richard Nixon in particular is paranoid about Lennon whipping up opposition to him. ibid.
Around a thousand people are now standing outside the building in a collective haze. News of Lennon’s death is soon flashing around the world. ibid.
Mark Chapman is remanded in custody. ibid.
December 30th 1999 Henley on Thames: while asleep at his large country house about thirty miles south west of London George Harrison is attacked by a young man in the night wielding a knife. ibid.
One was world famous, among the greatest musicians of the 20th century. The other was a loner from Georgia with no particular talents and no direction in life. Two very different men, both on intense personal journeys that converged on a single shocking act. Crimes of the Century: Lennon Murder, Discovery 2017
The Dakota was considered to be one of Manhattan’s most exclusive addresses. ibid.
‘He [Chapman] was in the house sitting naked in front of his stereo listening to really loud Beatles’ music and invoking Satan to help him have the power to kill John Lennon.’ ibid.
I just remembered feeling at the very lowest I had ever felt. Feeling like I was nothing. Like I was nobody. Just totally useless. The Assassination of John Lennon, Chapman, Sky Documentaries 2022
Mark was very withdrawn. I could sense some sort of rage still there, confusion, paranoia. And a great deal of mistrust. ibid. biographer
They [Beatles] were in like another orbit, another constellation. I felt I was worthy of being in that constellation. ibid. Chapman
I heard a voice in my head saying, Do it, Do it, Do it. ibid.
Three days before he died John Lennon spent nine hours talking to Rolling Stone magazine … John said something which seems to be eerily prophetic now … 41 years ago on December 8th 1980 John Lennon was shot … More chilling is the idea that it was somehow preordained. John himself predicted it in a 1965 interview when he said, We’ll either go in a plane crash or will be popped off by some loonie. Four years after that in December 1969 a BBC documentary crew captured a spooky moment as he read a bizarre fan letter warning him about an assassination attempt. True Crime Recaps: John Lennon Predicted His Death, Youtube 25.29, 2022