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(CNN) – John Lennon was assassinated on December 8, 1980, in New York, by Mark David Chapman.
Here’s a look into the life of the man who was convicted of the murder of the former Beatles member.
Chapman’s personal data
Mark David Chapman
Birthdate: May 10, 1955
Place of birth: Fort Worth, Texas
Name at birth: Mark David Chapman
Father: David Chapman, a former US Air Force sergeant.
Mother: Diane Chapman, Nurse
Wife: Gloria (Abe) Chapman (June 1979-present)
Education: Attended DeKalb Junior College and Covenant College
Other facts
As documented in the press, Chapman is known for an obsessive devotion to “The Catcher in the Rye,” JD Salinger’s novel about teenage alienation.
He suffered from depression and was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic by Dr. Bernard Diamond, a defense psychiatrist.
He started using drugs and missed school his freshman year in high school. This behavior ended when he turned 16 and became a born-again Christian, as documented in the book “Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon,” by Jack Jones.
Chronology
1971-1975 – He works intermittently as a YMCA counselor.
1977 – Buy a one-way ticket and fly to Hawaii. Attempts suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Once recovered, Chapman accepts a job at the hospital where he received treatment.
1978 – He embarks on a journey around the world.
1979 – He marries Gloria Abe, the travel agent who helped him plan his trip around the world. Chapman then quits his job at the hospital and takes a job as a security guard.
1980 – He reads a book about Lennon and is enraged that the musician has so much money.
October 23, 1980 – He resigns from his job as a security guard and signs as “John Lennon.”
October 27, 1980 – Buy a .38 caliber revolver.
October 30, 1980 – Fly to New York. He cannot buy bullets, so he flies to Atlanta to acquire them and then returns to New York. His wife convinces him to return home to Hawaii.
December 6, 1980 – Go back to New York.
December 8, 1980 – Spend all day outside of the Dakota, the Central Park West apartment building in Manhattan where Lennon and his family live. He meets Lennon’s 5-year-old son Sean with his babysitter and shakes his hand. He runs into Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, when they leave their apartment. Lennon signs a copy of his recently released “Double Fantasy” album for Chapman. Chapman remains out of the Dakota until Lennon and Ono return home. The man shoots Lennon in the back four times with a .38 caliber revolver. Chapman doesn’t try to run away; is disarmed by the doorman. When the police arrive, Chapman is reading “The Catcher in the Rye” by Salinger. Lennon is pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital.
December 9, 1980 – Chapman is indicted on second-degree murder charges. After the arraignment, he is taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and placed under surveillance for a possible suicide attempt.
June 22, 1981 – Chapman’s legal defense prepares to argue an insanity defense, but Chapman pleads guilty and claims he received a message from God telling him to do so.
August 24, 1981 – Judge Dennis Edwards sentences Chapman to 20 years to life in prison and recommends that he undergo psychiatric treatment. Just before sentencing, Chapman reads a passage from “The Catcher in the Rye.”
2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 – You are denied the benefit of parole.
