43rd death anniversary of John Lennon: Who killed 'The Beatles' frontman and why?

John Lennon, a celebrated musician and frontman of the legendary British band 'The Beatles', died 43 years ago on December 8. He was shot dead outside his Dakota house in New York City on December 8, 1980.
Here a look back at how his final hours unfolded on the fateful day.
Who killed John Lennon?
Mark David Chapman assassinated Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980, when he and his wife Yoko Ono were returning to their New York City apartment. A former security guard and YMCA employee from Hawaii, he was 25 when he killed Lennon.

Currently, Chapman is serving 20-years-to-life at Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York. In 2022, he was denied parole by the board for a record 12th time

"I am not going to blame anything else or anybody else for bringing me there," he said in 2022. "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."

How the fateful day unfolded
Chapman made his second trip from Hawaii to New York in less than two months during that December weekend. Staying at the West Side YMCA, he waited outside the Dakota residence of John Lennon with other Beatles fans. Despite narrowly missing Lennon on December 6 and spending the morning of December 7 without success, Chapman returned on December 8, arranging personal effects and expressing his intent to kill Lennon. Engrossed in "The Catcher in the Rye," he missed Lennon again but coincidentally met Sean Ono Lennon (John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son). That evening, after Lennon signed an album for Chapman, he fatally shot Lennon. Chapman was promptly arrested at the scene.

Why did he kill Lennon?
Chapman said that he was motivated by fame to kill Lennon. Chapman, who was a Beatles fan since childhood, grew disillusioned with Lennon and the band due to their wealth. He perceived Lennon's prosperity as a symbol of hypocrisy and a "corrupt and vast enterprise of personal wealth and power." Developing an obsession with J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," Chapman referred to himself as "The Catcher in the Rye of my generation." He confessed to killing Lennon to "promote the reading of The Catcher in the Rye," regularly signing and distributing copies of the book in prison, as revealed in interviews with Jack Jones for "Let Me Take You Down."

How old was Lennon when he was killed?
John Lennon, born on October 9, 1940, died at the age of 40. Had he survived, Lennon would be 83 years old today. Fellow Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are currently 81 and 83, respectively. George Harrison, another member of the Beatles, passed away in 2001 at the age of 58.

Where was Lennon shot?
John Lennon was shot outside his apartment building, the Dakota, located on 72nd Street overlooking Central Park. Lennon and Yoko Ono moved into the building in 1973 and, at one point, owned five units used for various purposes.