Where is John Lennon's killer now? Mark David Chapman claims he killed Beatles icon knowing it was 'evil'
THE DAKOTA, NEW YORK: John Lennon's killer testified before a parole committee that he knew it was terrible to murder the adored former Beatle but did it because he wanted fame and said he had "evil in my heart." In his remarks, Mark David Chapman cited his "selfish disregard for human life of global consequence" to a board that had just refused him parole for the twelfth time. In a transcript made public by state officials on Monday, Chapman stated that Lennon's murder was his "big answer to everything." He said, "I wasn't going to be a nobody anymore."
On the evening of December 8, 1980, Chapman murdered Lennon as he and wife Yoko Ono were making their way back to their Upper West Side apartment. Lennon had given Chapman an autographed copy of his just-released album 'Double Fantasy' earlier that day. Chapman, 67, said to the board, "This was evil in my heart. I wanted to be somebody and nothing was going to stop that."
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Speaking to the board, Lennon's killer Chapman said, "I am not going to blame anything else or anybody else for bringing me there." Chapman told the board, "I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was evil, I knew it was wrong, but I wanted the fame so much that I was willing to give everything and take a human life," Daily Mail reported.
The murderer has been imprisoned for a term of 20 years to life at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley of New York. Throughout the years, he has expressed regret during his parole hearings numerous times. During his August 31 hearing, he said, "I hurt a lot of people all over the place and if somebody wants to hate me, that´s OK, I get it."
The board noted Chapman's action has left "the world recovering from the void of which you created" in its decision to refuse his release. His subsequent parole hearing is slated for February 2024.
During his hearing in 2020, Chapman referred to his deeds as "despicable" and declared that he would have "no complaint whatsoever" if they decided to keep him behind bars forever. He said at the time, "I assassinated him ... because he was very, very, very famous and that's the only reason and I was very, very, very, very much seeking self-glory. Very selfish."
Lennon, who was the Beatles' founder, vocalist, and rhythm guitarist died on December 8, 1980, after Chapman fired five bullets from a .38 special revolver in the archway of his New York residence. On August 24, 1981, Chapman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the second-degree murder that he had been reportedly planning for months.