The last person to talk to John Lennon before the Beatles star was shot and killed reveals what his final words were.
As revealed in the Apple TV+ documentary series, “John Lennon: Murder without a Trial,” the concierge working at the front desk in the Dakota, Lennon’s apartment building in New York City that he shared with his wife, Yoko Ono, and their young son, Sean Ono Lennon, was the final person to talk to the singer/songwriter before Mark David Chapman shot him.
Chapman was an obsessed fan who turned against the Beatles, specifically John Lennon, after Lennon’s highly publicized and controversial 1966 remark.
Narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, “John Lennon: Murder without a Trial” investigates the murder of Lennon, recorded audio from Chapman’s conversations with his lawyers, and the conspiracy theories that have emerged. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received 20 years in prison. The documentary will also include interviews with close friends, Chapman’s defense lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives, and prosecutors.
Jay Hastings, who was working at the front desk of the Dakota building, relives that day in the documentary. “He runs past me. He goes, ‘I’m shot.’ He had blood coming out of his mouth. He just collapsed on the floor,” Hastings said (via The Independent).
Hastings then rolled Lennon onto his back, then removed the signer’s glasses. Hastings recalls Ono yelling at him to “get an ambulance.”
Richard Peterson, another witness to the crime, said he saw the shooting from his taxi parked outside of the building. “Lennon was walking in, and this kid said, ‘John Lennon.’… I’m looking at him through the front window of my cab,” Peterson said. “I’m looking at him shooting [Lennon]. This guy just shot John Lennon. I thought they were making a movie, but I didn’t see no lights or cameras or anything so I realized, ‘Hey, this ain’t no movie.’”
Apple’s three-part documentary features a moment between Chapman and his legal team that highlights the aggravation Chapman held onto. “‘All You Need Is Love,’ have you ever heard that?” Chapman asked when his legal team asked why he shot Lennon. “Well, this is what I say to that: all you need is love and $250 million. He was the biggest, phoniest b****** that ever lived.”
Over the years, Chapman has expressed his remorse for causing Ono pain, calling his actions “extremely selfish.”
“I’m sorry for the pain that I caused,” Chapman said during his 2020 hearing. “I think about it all of the time.” Chapman was first eligible for parole in 2000 but has been denied 12 times.
According to NPR, Chapman was denied parole in 2018 (his 10th attempt) because the panel believed releasing him would be “incompatible with the welfare and safety of society.” The possibility of Chapman’s future release remains undetermined. The 67-year-old is eligible for parole in 2024.
“John Lennon: Murder without a Trial” is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Source: The Independent
