Murder of John Lennon

On the night of 8 December 1980, English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, was shot in the archway of The Dakota, his residence in Manhattan, New York City. The shooter, Mark David Chapman, was a Beatles fan who was, according to his own statements, envious and enraged by Lennon's lifestyle and inspired by the character Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye.

Chapman planned the shooting over several months. Earlier that day he had met Lennon, who signed his copy of the album Double Fantasy as Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, left for a recording session at the Record Plant. When the couple returned to the Dakota around 10:50 p.m., Chapman was waiting at the building's entrance. As Lennon passed him, Chapman drew a .38 Special revolver and fired five hollow-point bullets, four of which struck Lennon in the back and shoulder from a distance of roughly nine to ten feet. Lennon staggered into the lobby before collapsing. The doorman, José Perdomo, disarmed Chapman, and concierge Jay Hastings attended to Lennon before police arrived. Officers drove Lennon directly to Roosevelt Hospital rather than waiting for an ambulance. Despite resuscitation efforts by hospital staff, Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:15 p.m. His death certificate listed the cause of death as hypovolemic shock from multiple gunshot wounds that damaged his lung, subclavian artery, and aorta.

Chapman remained at the scene reading The Catcher in the Rye until his arrest. He was taken to the NYPD's 20th Precinct for questioning, then remanded to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. He was charged with second-degree murder, as New York law at the time did not permit a first-degree charge based on premeditation alone. Against his lawyers' advice to pursue an insanity defense, Chapman pleaded guilty, stating his plea reflected the will of God. He was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment, with parole eligibility beginning in 2000. As of the most recent reporting, he has been denied parole multiple times and remains incarcerated.

The murder prompted a global outpouring of grief. Crowds gathered outside Roosevelt Hospital and the Dakota, and at least three Beatles fans died by suicide in its aftermath. Lennon was cremated the following day at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; in lieu of a funeral, Ono requested ten minutes of silence worldwide on 14 December, observed by large crowds including in Lennon's birthplace of Liverpool and in New York's Central Park. Lennon's album Double Fantasy, released weeks before his death, subsequently became a commercial success and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

The case has also attracted various conspiracy theories alleging CIA involvement or disputing Chapman's role, none of which have been substantiated in court proceedings or official findings.