Lennon's death 30 years on: Killer obsessed with singer's'Jesus' comment

By Chris Melzer Dec 8, 2010, 12:47 GMT

New York - 'Mr Lennon?' are the last words that former Beatle John Lennon heard. 'I'm hit,' are the last he said.

John Lennon probably was not 'more popular than Jesus,' but he influenced an entire generation. He was shot dead 30 years ago on December 8, 1980 in New York City.

On the last photo ever taken of John Lennon his murder is standing next to him as Lennon writes his autograph.

With a shy smile on his thick lips and dejected eyes behind large glasses, the killer looks on as the former Beatle signs a copy of the album he just released, Double Fantasy. A few hours later the two men encounter each other again. This time Mark David Chapman pulls out a revolver and fires five shots. Four of them strike Lennon in the back.

'Do you know what you've done?' shouted a doorman in front of the Dakota, a historic Manhattan apartment building in which Lennon lived.

Chapman answered cooly: 'I just shot John Lennon.'

Lennon had just turned 40 and, though the hype that followed The Beatles through the 1960s had long since ended, he was still a cult figure for an entire generation. In the 1950s and 1960s it was his music that thrilled people all over the world.

After the Beatles broke up in 1970, it was more his views, his art and his anti-war 'happenings' that fascinated millions, while also confusing, disgusting and polarizing many people, Chapman included.

The young Texan was completely obsessed with Lennon. But at some point the adoration changed to anger. The British singer/song-writer was to blame for his state of mind, Chapman believed. A religious fanatic, Chapman also became incensed when he found out that Lennon had once described The Beatles as 'more popular than Jesus' and his anger turned to hate.

Lennon lived at the time in New York City. From his expensive West Side apartment he had a view of Central Park. But the most successful of the four Beatles felt cast off by the record industry, immigration authorities, fans, the media and above all himself.

After a period of alcohol and drug abuse he and Ono separated, then reconciled in 1975 and soon thereafter their son Sean was born. The infant was Lennon's life, along with his home, and he nearly disappeared completely from the public. The world-famous singer became a self-described 'house husband.'

When Chapman arrived in New York, he took a hotel room, where he build an altar and put Lennon's name after the gospel of John in the Bible. With a copy of JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, whose main character, Holden Caulfield was his hero, Chapman waited in front of the Dakota.

As Lennon signed the album for Chapman, the musician asked whether he could do anything else for him. Lennon's friendliness surprised Chapman and he left his .38-calibre revolver concealed.

But he still had it with him along with 14 hours of Beatles music on cassette tapes when Lennon returned a few hours later. The musician stepped out of his limousine and walked past the 25-year-old Chapman.

'Mr Lennon,' Chapman called, then fired the five shots. Lennon was still alive when he reached the hospital, but died 19 minutes after being shot. Chapman was quickly arrested, standing in front of the Dakota reading his book and waiting for the police.

People everywhere were shocked by the news that one of the world's most famous pacifists had been murdered. Fans gathered to listen to Lennon's music and sing his songs. Sean Lennon, who was 5 years old at the time, remembers the crowds that gathered outside the Dakota, lit candles and sang songs.

Now 35, Sean Lennon looks strikingly like his father and sings his songs today. It was like being awakened from a dream, he said. And from that point on he was no longer a child.

Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. He has come up for parole, but Ono has filed an objection each time and thus far she's been successful.

Lennon's records are still sold; he is a star. He once made a prediction about how stars die. They die either in a plane crash, he said in 1965 or some maniac shoots them dead.