42 years without John Lennon: Remember the ex-Beatle’s death and who was the killer Mark Chapman [FLASHBACK]

The night of December 8, 1980 represented a great loss for music. Around 10:50 pm, after leaving recording at the Record Plant studios with Yoko Ono, John Lennon he was shot four times – twice in the back and twice in the shoulders – as he was returning home, in front of the building where he lived in New York.

Lennon he was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, which was surrounded by reporters and an apprehensive crowd. However, shortly afterwards, the doctor Stephan Lynndirector of the emergency service, announced in the lobby that the musician arrived at the scene dead and, despite the efforts of doctors, could not be revived.

42 years ago, the music industry took a hit when the man in the white coat announced the death of John Lennon, aged 40 at the time. To mark the date, Rolling Stone Brazil remembers the last moments of the star, as well as explains who was his killer, Mark Chapman.

How was John Lennon’s day?

December 8, 1980 was full of work and commitments for John Lennon and the wife Yoko Ono. After having breakfast at Café La Fortuna, the musician cut his hair for a special appointment: a photo session with Annie Leibovitzphotographer of Rolling Stone USA.

After convincing the professional to photograph the couple, John Lennon the photo session began, which yielded some of the most emblematic images of the artist with his wife: the musician, without clothes and in the fetal position, next to Yoko Onodressed.

As explained on the website That isthen the star gave an interview to David Sholin. Around 4:30 pm, he and Ono they went down to the Record Plant studio, where they would record “Walking on Thin Ice”. Before, however, they gave autographs to some fans who were there – and one of them was Mark Chapmanwho would be responsible, hours later, for the death of the formerBeatle.

After working in the studio, John Lennon It is Yoko Ono they returned home. In front of the Dakota Building, however, the star was shot four times and did not resist.

Who was Mark Chapman?

At age 25, Mark Chapman was the author of one of the crimes that most marked the cultural industry. The Texas-born, brown-haired white man was arrested at the scene of the crime, where he waited patiently after shooting Lennon. As explained to Rolling Stone USAthe criminal read the book The Catcher in the Ryein JD Salingerwhile waiting for the police to arrive.

Previously, Chapman reconnoitred the place. He visited the entrance to the Dakota Building several times, where John Lennon was performed, to ask about the artist and say he was a “huge fan”. Hours before shooting the formerBeatlethe criminal also got an autograph from the musician on the album cover double fantasy.

Later, after being arrested, Chapman explained that he was a great admirer of Beatlesbut the situation changed when John Lennon he went on to state in songs that he did not believe in God or the Bible. In particular, the 1970 song “God” infuriated the criminal, who considered himself a born-again Christian.

“I wanted to scream out loud ‘Who does he think he is to say these things about God and heaven and the Beatles?’ Saying you don’t believe in Jesus and stuff like that. At that point, my mind was going through a darkness of rage and rage,” said Chapman posteriorly.

What happened to Mark Chapman?

for the murder of John Lennon, Mark Chapman was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole after serving 20 years in prison beginning in 2000. Since then, he has tried trials for parole, but each time the appeal has been denied.

In 2010, during a hearing, the criminal also stated that he intended to gain notoriety with the death — and the formerBeatle would be an easier target than other celebrities. “I felt that killing John Lennon I would become somebody and instead I became a murderer, and murderers aren’t somebody,” he said at the time. He also acknowledged that it was “a horrible decision to end someone’s life for selfish reasons.”