Death of John Lennon

Life, Music, Affairs, History and more.

The stunning Dakota Arms sits on the corner of West 72nd Street on Central Park West in New York, a massive, seemingly impenetrable stone fortress, home to the famous and the unknown, all of whom have in common a love for New York and, of course, loads of money. John Lennon and Yoko Ono loved The Dakota. John and Yoko owned five apartments comprising thirty-four rooms in the building, and one of John's great joys was watching the sun set over Central Park from his windows. John was one of the most popular residents in the building and was beloved by the building's staff. He was a notoriously big tipper and often doormen would fight over who got to deliver a package to John.

John and Yoko also loved the city of New York. John felt safe in New York. He once told a reporter that one of the greatest joys of his new "post-Beatles" life was being able to walk out his front door, walk down the street, and walk into a restaurant without being chased or stopped for an autograph.

Monday, December 8, 1980, the day John was assassinated, was unusually warm in Manhattan. After a very productive recording session at the Hit Factory, John and Yoko returned home. Their limousine pulled up in front of the Dakota at precisely 10:49 p.m.

Yoko exited the rented limo first, followed by John, who was carrying a tape recorder and tapes from the day's session. The tapes were of Yoko's song "Walking on Thin Ice."

As John followed Yoko down the Dakota's carriageway, Mark David Chapman called out to John from the sidewalk, "Mr. Lennon?" Chapman did not shout, but his words were loud enough to be immediately heard by John and prompt him to instinctively turn towards the sound of them.

John half-turned towards the voice and saw what he had to have perceived as an odd sight: An overweight young man wearing glasses and a olive-green military jacket was down on one knee in a combat shooting stance, aiming a gun at him. We'll never know if John recognized Chapman and recalled signing his Double Fantasy album earlier in the day. Before John could react, Chapman fired five times from his Charter Arms .38 revolver, hitting John with four of the bullets.

The front-desk clerk on duty at the time, Jay Hastings, heard the shots and immediately ran out to see what had happened. Before he left his desk, though, he hit the alarm button that was connected directly to the 20th Precinct Station House (located 10 blocks away), which would summon the police almost immediately.

Hastings burst through the front door of the Dakota's lobby and ran into a scene from a nightmare. The legendary former Beatle John Lennon was lying face-up in a spreading pool of blood on the sidewalk. Yoko Ono was bent over John, screaming his name and looking around frantically for someone to help him. John's face was stark white and his eyelids fluttered rapidly. Hastings was certain he could see the whites of John's eyes. Hastings could also see that John was still breathing, and his immediate thought was to put on a tourniquet. Hastings ripped off his tie but then had a sudden realization of just how bad John was injured. Hastings recalled that John's eyes were open but unfocused and that he made a gurgling sound, after which he vomited blood and fleshy material.

John was bleeding heavily from his chest, shoulder, and neck. A squad car pulled up in front of the Dakota, its lights spinning, and two police officers jumped out. Officers Steve Spiro and Pete Cullen had been around the corner when the emergency call came in to the station and they were immediately dispatched to 1 West 72nd Street. As soon as Spiro got out of the front seat of the squad car, he saw Mark David Chapman sitting crosslegged on the sidewalk, his olive-green jacket folded neatly in front of him, calmly reading from a paperback edition of J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Spiro instantly recognized the dark red cover of the book. At the same time, Officer Cullen looked up the carriageway and saw two people bent over the body of a man who was obviously seriously wounded and bleeding.

Cullen bent back into the car, grabbed the radio microphone and barked out, "Shots fired 1 West 72nd Street. Radio car on scene. One victim down. Ambulance needed. Urgent."

Hastings pointed at Chapman and shouted, "He's the one who did the shooting!"

Spiro immediately pulled out his gun, pointed it at Chapman and shouted, "Don't move! Put your hands on the wall!"

Spiro handcuffed Chapman, who pleaded with the officer, "Please don't hurt me! Please!"

By this time, officers Herb Frauenberger and Tony Palma had arrived and moved to where Yoko stood in shock over her bleeding husband.

The two officers then made a command decision that is still being debated to this day. They picked up the mortally wounded Lennon, carried him the few feet to their squad car, and laid him down in the backseat. Some argue Lennon might have had a better chance of surviving if he had been left at the site until the EMTs arrived. Hastings later said that he heard John's bones creaking and that his body was limp and floppy.

Chapman was arrested, and John was brought to the emergency room of Roosevelt Hospital. John had almost no pulse and, although seven doctors worked on him furiously, it was impossible to resuscitate him. His aorta had been severed and he bled out. By the time he got to the hospital, John had lost 80 percent of his total blood volume. The official cause of death was shock caused by massive hemorrhaging.

Dr. Stephen Lynn walked into the room where Yoko was waiting and said to her, "We have very bad news. Unfortunately, in spite of massive efforts, your husband is dead. There was no suffering at the end."

Yoko looked up at the doctor and said, "Are you saying he is sleeping?"

Yoko was brought back to the Dakota where she reportedly called John's Aunt Mimi, his son Julian, and Paul McCartney.

John's body was cremated and his ashes were given to Yoko.

Mark David Chapman is currently in prison and, from interviews he has given, seems to consider himself a celebrity.

In October 2001, an all-star tribute to John Lennon took place at Radio City Music Hall. Sean Lennon performed and dedicated his father's song "Julia" to his mother.

ASSASSINATION OUTCOME: One bullet hit John in the back, puncturing his right lung and aorta and exiting his body through his chest wall. One bullet hit John in the left shoulder, shattering the bone and then also exiting his body. The third bullet struck John in the left side of his neck. These three hits spun John around, and the fourth and final bullet struck John in the right upper arm, shattering the long bone and passing through his flesh to exit into his black leather jacket. Lennon was rushed to nearby Roosevelt Hospital in the back of a police car. He was gravely wounded and, after valiant efforts by the emergency team on duty, pronounced dead at 11:13 p.m.

JUDICIAL OUTCOME: Chapman—who George Harrison described as "the devil's best friend" in his tribute song to John, "All Those Years Ago"—was arrested at the scene and later pled guilty. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. He is currently incarcerated in Administrative Protective Custody (APC) at Attica State Prison in New York.

Chapman remains in prison, having been repeatedly denied parole.

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