Mark Chapman now. Mark David Chapman - biography, information, personal life

Mark Chapman will likely never be released

June 22, 1981 American Mark David Chapman At a trial in New York, he pleaded guilty to the murder of one of the most famous musicians of the twentieth century - John Lennon, one of the creators and leaders of the British group The Beatles.

The judges found Chapman sane and sentenced him to life imprisonment, which he was to serve in the Attica prison near Buffalo.

Six months earlier, on December 8, 1980, Chapman shot the legendary Beatle at the gates of the Dakota House building in Manhattan, where Lennon lived with his wife, a Japanese avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, and a five-year-old son Sean.

Autograph before death

The events of that ill-fated December day, when one of the “murders of the century” was committed in New York, the world media later vied with each other to describe in great detail. Around five in the evening, John and Yoko went to the recording studio to work on a new composition - Walking on Thin Ice.

Leaving the Dakota House (they had lived in this house for eight years by that time), the couple, before getting into the car, managed to chat with a group of fans who, according to tradition, were waiting for them at the entrance to the building, holding photographs and covers at the ready autograph plates.

The couple did not know that among the fans there was a man who, five hours later, would fire five bullets at John. 25-year-old Mark Chapman, a guy from the Hawaiian city of Honolulu, was waiting for the musician in the company of other fans. When Lennon approached, Champion handed him the cover of the Double Fantasy album and a pen. The Beatle smiled and wrote: “John Lennon, December 1980,” after which he asked: “Is this everything you wanted?” “Yes,” answered the young man. “Thank you, John.”

It is amazing that the moment of this meeting was preserved on film. Historical photo taken by an amateur photographer Paul Goresh. He was also a devoted Beatles fan, and when stranger guy approached him with a request to help get Lennon’s autograph and even offered 50 dollars for Goresh to capture their communication - the photographer agreed without any doubt.

When asked why it was so important for Mark to get this photo, Chapman replied: “Otherwise no one in Hawaii will believe me that I talked to John Lennon himself.”

Then events developed like this: at half past ten the Lennon couple returned from the studio. They could have driven the limousine directly into the protected yard of the Dakota, but, as luck would have it, this time they decided to walk the last, short part of the journey. Leaving the car outside, John and Yoko walked through the wide archway into the courtyard.

Shots into history

John walked a little behind his wife and even managed to pay attention to the man trampling at the gate young man, with whom he communicated during the day. A few seconds later, when the musician was almost leading into the yard, a shout was heard from the street: “Mr. Lennon!”

John turned around - and at that moment a bullet whistled over his head, and behind him there was a crash of glass: it was one of the windows of the Dakota breaking. A second later, the Beatle was hit by a second bullet. Then the third, fourth... Two of them hit Lennon in the left shoulder, and two more in the back, piercing the lung and aorta.

Amazingly, after this the musician was still able to stand on his feet. He walked staggering a few steps; got to the entrance, wheezed to the concierge Jay Hastings: “They shot at me!..” - and fell, dropping from his hands a cassette with a recording of a song just recorded in the studio.

While Dakota employees were bustling around in the hall, trying to help the mortally wounded musician, and Yoko was screaming in horror; While the police arrived, without waiting for the ambulance, they loaded John into the car and rushed to the nearest hospital, trying to get there before he bled to death. Chapman calmly took off his hat and coat and sat down on the sidewalk. Opposite the Dakota, across the street, was the entrance to the subway, but the killer did not even try to reach it, run away or hide.

Waiting for the police to finally come after him, he took a book out of his pocket and began to flip through the pages, running his eyes over them. It was the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" Jerome Salinger. When going on a crime, Mark deliberately took him with him. Later he admits that in his thoughts he often identified himself with the main character of the novel, a teenager Holden Caulfield.

Doorman Jose Perdomo, jumping out of the Dakota, shouted at Chapman: “Do you know what you did?!” “Yes,” he answered. “I just shot John Lennon.”

Split personality

The question that for many years after this tormented both John’s fans and journalists who conducted numerous investigations on this matter: what made Chapman commit the crime?

At one time, the conspiracy version of the murder was popular in the American press; it was, in particular, promoted by the famous publicist Phil Strongman. He was sure that Lennon was “ordered” by the American intelligence services at the suggestion of even higher and “darker” figures in the country’s leadership.

Politicians and influential lobbyists from arms companies could not help but be irritated by Lennon's declarative pacifism, Strongman is convinced. John and Yoko staged protests many times against the Vietnam War, the arms race and, in general, the rabid militarism for which the United States is so famous. Each of these performances, without exaggeration, became a global event.

However, fans of this version remain in the minority. Most are sure that the matter is a matter of mental illness, a strange insanity of Mr. Chapman himself.

A day after the murder, on December 9, Mark, while at the police station, wrote a statement that two entities lived inside him. The one who is more kind, she would never want to offend anyone, much less take their life. But his smaller inner half, his own pocket devil, had been “persuading” him for several months to carry out his insidious plan.

The devil wanted to become famous, to become famous throughout the world, as John Lennon was famous. I wanted to become new Herostratus. And in the end the devil won. Mark flew from Hawaii to the States, came to the Dakota and committed murder.

Chapman later admitted that when he shot his victim, he was trying to “become a little Lennon.” In his work log - he worked as a security guard and watchman - he sometimes signed not as “Mark Chapman”, but as “John Lennon”.

A century of will not to be seen

36 years have passed since the murder, and Chapman spent all these years behind bars. Nine times he applied for pardon and parole, but the court never took his side.

The killer first addressed the authorities and the public with such a request in 2001, after serving 20 years. He stated that he had overcome his psychological problems and was no longer a danger to society. John Lennon, Chapman recalled, was a man of progressive, tolerant views, and would certainly have pardoned him if he had been alive.

However, for the trial - both that time and all subsequent times - the opinion of the widow of the deceased, Yoko Ono, turned out to be decisive. The artist said that she would no longer be able to live in peace if the killer was released.

Fear for his own life and for John's children - Sean and Juliana, born in the first marriage of a musician with a college classmate by Cynthia Powell, - will turn her life into hell.

“I am afraid that this will bring back nightmare and chaos,” the Japanese woman wrote to the judges. “Neither I nor both of John’s sons will be safe for the rest of our lives.”

Surprisingly, unlike so many people who would prefer to move away from a place where everything reminds of the tragedy, Yoko did not even think about selling her apartment in Dakota. He still lives in his and John’s home, not wanting to part with the memories dear to his heart.

Not far from home, in New York's Central Park, there is a Lennon memorial, where Yoko scattered the ashes of her beloved husband on a platform with the word Imagine laid out on it - in honor of one of his most famous songs.

en.wikipedia.org

Biography

Born in 1955 in Texas in the family of US Air Force sergeant David Curtis Chapman and nurse Katherine Elizabeth Peace. From the age of 10, Chapman became an avid Beatlemaniac. Mark played guitar in the school rock band and collected Beatles records throughout the years. Chapman's room was plastered with posters of his idols. In imitation of them he grew long hair and always dressed a la the Beatles. He was 15 years old when the Beatles broke up. A year later, Mark disappeared from Atlanta, where he lived and studied. They said he went to Los Angeles. When he returned, his friends did not recognize him - he was a completely different person. He walked around the school and offered everyone to buy records from his Beatles collection. Changed and appearance Brand - short haircut, white shirt, strict black tie around the neck. It turned out that Chapman joined the “Association of Young Christians”, moreover, he became its activist, and during school breaks he carefully studied the Holy Scriptures.

After school, he did not study anywhere, he did not have a specific profession. Between his graduation and his arrest at the Dakota Gate, he traveled extensively as an "Asiatic Refugee Agent." The geography of his trips included South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Lebanon and England. From Lebanon, Chapman brought a tape recording of a street shootout. At home he listened to this tape several times. According to eyewitnesses, she “excited him greatly and at the same time terrified him.” Since December 1979, Chapman has been working as a caretaker at the Waikiki cooperative building in downtown Honolulu. On his last day of work at Waikiki (October 23, 1980), watchman Chapman signed his work log not as “Mark Chapman” but as “John Lennon.” Having settled with Waikiki, Chapman bought a pistol, borrowed 2 thousand in cash and, without properly explaining to his wife where he was going, crossed the Pacific Ocean.

John Lennon's murder

Petitions for pardon

Chapman filed such petitions 9 times ( last time in August 2016), all of them were rejected. Chapman's filing of petitions caused a negative public reaction. Thus, Yoko Ono, before considering her first petition in October 2000, sent a letter to the New York State Pardon Commission. Calling Chapman a "subject", Yoko wrote, in part, that she would not feel safe if he were released, and that releasing Chapman would be unfair to John Lennon, who did not deserve to die; in addition, Chapman's release could lead to violence against himself.

On October 3, 2000, the Pardons Board reviewed and rejected Chapman's first petition, in which he claimed to have dealt with his psychological problems and no longer poses a danger to society. The commission's decision, in particular, noted that Chapman remained interested in maintaining his fame, which was the motive for the murder.

In addition, the commission is firmly convinced that your parole is at the moment would diminish the seriousness of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law.

Original text(English)

Additionally, this panel strongly believes that your release to parole supervision at this time would deprecate the seriousness of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law

Lawyer Robert Gangi, a member of the New York State Correctional Association, opined that Chapman would likely never be pardoned due to the political outcry that would be caused by the release of Lennon's killer.

In August 2014, another request was also rejected.

Two years later, in August 2016, Chapman filed another petition for clemency. It was also rejected.

Movies

About Mark Chapman and his last days Before the murder of John Lennon, the films “The Assassination of John Lennon” and “Chapter 27” were shot.
Great interview with Mark Chapman in a prison cell is shown in the film “John Lennon: The Messenger”, released in 2002.

Write a review of the article "Chapman, Mark David"

Notes

An excerpt characterizing Chapman, Mark David

“But, dear princess,” Anna Mikhailovna said meekly and convincingly, blocking the way from the bedroom and not letting the princess in, “wouldn’t this be too hard for poor uncle at such moments when he needs rest?” At such moments, talking about worldly things, when his soul is already prepared...
Prince Vasily sat on an armchair in his familiar pose, crossing his legs high. His cheeks jumped up and down and seemed thicker at the bottom; but he had the appearance of a man who was not much occupied with the conversation between the two ladies.
– Voyons, ma bonne Anna Mikhailovna, laissez faire Catiche. [Leave Katya to do what she knows.] You know how the Count loves her.
“I don’t even know what’s in this paper,” said the princess, turning to Prince Vasily and pointing to the mosaic briefcase she was holding in her hands. “I only know that the real will is in his office, and this is a forgotten paper...
She wanted to get around Anna Mikhailovna, but Anna Mikhailovna, jumping up, again blocked her way.
“I know, dear, kind princess,” said Anna Mikhailovna, clutching the briefcase with her hand so tightly that it was clear that she would not let him go soon. - Dear princess, I ask you, I beg you, have pity on him. Je vous en conjure... [I beg you...]
The princess was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the struggle for the briefcase. It was clear that if she spoke, she would not speak in a flattering manner for Anna Mikhailovna. Anna Mikhailovna held him tightly, but despite that, her voice retained all its sweet viscousness and softness.
- Pierre, come here, my friend. I think that he is not superfluous in the family council: isn’t it, prince?
- Why are you silent, mon cousin? - the princess suddenly screamed so loudly that in the living room they heard and were afraid of her voice. – Why are you silent when God knows who here allows themselves to interfere and make scenes on the threshold of the dying man’s room? Schemer! – she whispered angrily and pulled the briefcase with all her might.
But Anna Mikhailovna took a few steps to keep up with the briefcase and grabbed her hand.
- Oh! - said Prince Vasily reproachfully and in surprise. He stood up. - C "est ridicule. Voyons, [This is funny. Well,] let me go. I'm telling you.
The princess let me in.
- And you!
Anna Mikhailovna did not listen to him.
- Let me in, I tell you. I take everything upon myself. I'll go and ask him. I...enough of this for you.
“Mais, mon prince,” said Anna Mikhailovna, “after such a great sacrament, give him a moment of peace.” Here, Pierre, tell me your opinion,” she turned to the young man, who, right up to them, looked in surprise at the embittered face of the princess, which had lost all decency, and at the jumping cheeks of Prince Vasily.
“Remember that you will be responsible for all the consequences,” said Prince Vasily sternly, “you don’t know what you are doing.”
- Vile woman! - the princess screamed, suddenly rushing at Anna Mikhailovna and snatching the briefcase.
Prince Vasily lowered his head and spread his arms.
At that moment the door, that terrible door that Pierre had been looking at for so long and which had opened so quietly, quickly and noisily fell back, banging against the wall, and the middle princess ran out of there and clasped her hands.
- What are you doing! – she said desperately. – II s"en va et vous me laissez seule. [He dies, and you leave me alone.]
The eldest princess dropped her briefcase. Anna Mikhailovna quickly bent down and, picking up the controversial item, ran into the bedroom. The eldest princess and Prince Vasily, having come to their senses, followed her. A few minutes later, the eldest princess was the first to emerge from there, with a pale and dry face and a bitten lower lip. At the sight of Pierre, her face expressed uncontrollable anger.
“Yes, rejoice now,” she said, “you have been waiting for this.”
And, bursting into tears, she covered her face with a handkerchief and ran out of the room.
Prince Vasily came out for the princess. He staggered to the sofa where Pierre was sitting and fell on it, covering his eyes with his hand. Pierre noticed that he was pale and that his lower jaw was jumping and shaking, as if in a feverish trembling.
- Ah, my friend! - he said, taking Pierre by the elbow; and in his voice there was a sincerity and weakness that Pierre had never noticed in him before. – How much do we sin, how much do we deceive, and all for what? I’m in my sixties, my friend... After all, for me... Everything will end in death, that’s it. Death is terrible. - He cried.
Anna Mikhailovna was the last to leave. She approached Pierre with quiet, slow steps.
“Pierre!...” she said.
Pierre looked at her questioningly. She kissed the young man's forehead, moistening it with her tears. She paused.
– II n "est plus... [He was gone...]
Pierre looked at her through his glasses.
- Allons, je vous reconduirai. Tachez de pleurer. Rien ne soulage, comme les larmes. [Come on, I'll take you with you. Try to cry: nothing makes you feel better than tears.]
She led him into the dark living room and Pierre was glad that no one there saw his face. Anna Mikhailovna left him, and when she returned, he, with his hand under his head, was fast asleep.
The next morning Anna Mikhailovna said to Pierre:
- Oui, mon cher, c"est une grande perte pour nous tous. Je ne parle pas de vous. Mais Dieu vous soutndra, vous etes jeune et vous voila a la tete d"une immense fortune, je l"espere. Le testament n"a pas ete encore ouvert. Je vous connais assez pour savoir que cela ne vous tourienera pas la tete, mais cela vous impose des devoirs, et il faut etre homme. [Yes, my friend, this is a great loss for all of us, not to mention you. But God will support you, you are young, and now you are, I hope, the owner of enormous wealth. The will has not yet been opened. I know you well enough and I am sure that this will not turn your head; but this imposes responsibilities on you; and you have to be a man.]
Pierre was silent.
– Peut etre plus tard je vous dirai, mon cher, que si je n"avais pas ete la, Dieu sait ce qui serait arrive. Vous savez, mon oncle avant hier encore me promettait de ne pas oublier Boris. Mais il n"a pas eu le temps. J "espere, mon cher ami, que vous remplirez le desir de votre pere. [Afterwards, perhaps I will tell you that if I had not been there, God knows what would have happened. You know that the uncle of the third day He promised me not to forget Boris, but he didn’t have time. I hope, my friend, you will fulfill your father’s wish.]
Pierre, not understanding anything and silently, blushing shyly, looked at Princess Anna Mikhailovna. After talking with Pierre, Anna Mikhailovna went to the Rostovs and went to bed. Waking up in the morning, she told the Rostovs and all her friends the details of the death of Count Bezukhy. She said that the count died the way she wanted to die, that his end was not only touching, but also edifying; The last meeting between father and son was so touching that she could not remember it without tears, and that she does not know who behaved better during these times. terrible moments: Is it the father who remembered everything and everyone in such a way in the last minutes and such touching words told his son, or Pierre, whom it was a pity to see, how he was killed and how, despite this, he tried to hide his sadness so as not to upset his dying father. “C"est penible, mais cela fait du bien; ca eleve l"ame de voir des hommes, comme le vieux comte et son digne fils,” [It’s hard, but it’s saving; the soul rises when you see people like the old count and his worthy son,” she said. She also spoke about the actions of the princess and Prince Vasily, not approving of them, but in great secrecy and in a whisper.

In Bald Mountains, the estate of Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, the arrival of the young Prince Andrei and the princess was expected every day; but the wait did not disrupt the orderly order in which life went on in the old prince’s house. General-in-Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich, nicknamed in society le roi de Prusse, [the King of Prussia,] from the time he was exiled to the village under Paul, lived continuously in his Bald Mountains with his daughter, Princess Marya, and with her companion, m lle Bourienne. [Mademoiselle Bourien.] And during the new reign, although he was allowed entry into the capitals, he also continued to live in the countryside, saying that if anyone needed him, then he would travel one and a half hundred miles from Moscow to Bald Mountains, but what would he no one or anything is needed. He said that there are only two sources of human vices: idleness and superstition, and that there are only two virtues: activity and intelligence. He himself was involved in raising his daughter and, in order to develop both main virtues in her, until she was twenty, he gave her lessons in algebra and geometry and distributed her whole life in continuous studies. He himself was constantly busy either writing his memoirs, or making calculations from higher mathematics, or turning snuff boxes on a machine, or working in the garden and observing the buildings that did not stop on his estate. Since the main condition for activity is order, order in his way of life was brought to the utmost degree of precision. His trips to the table took place under the same unchanging conditions, and not only at the same hour, but also at the same minute. With the people around him, from his daughter to his servants, the prince was harsh and invariably demanding, and therefore, without being cruel, he aroused fear and respect for himself, which the most cruel person could not easily achieve. Despite the fact that he was retired and now had no significance in government affairs, every head of the province where the prince’s estate was, considered it his duty to come to him and, just like an architect, gardener or Princess Marya, waited for the appointed hour of the prince’s exit in the high waiter’s room. And everyone in this waitress experienced the same feeling of respect and even fear, while the enormously high door of the office opened and the short figure of an old man in a powdered wig appeared, with small dry hands and gray drooping eyebrows, which sometimes, as he frowned, obscured the shine of smart people. and definitely young, sparkling eyes.

Mark David Chapman was born in 1955 in Texas to the family of US Air Force sergeant David Curtis Chapman and nurse Katherine Elizabeth Peace. At the age of ten he became an avid Beatlemaniac, then played guitar in a school rock band and that's it. school years collected The Beatles records. His room was plastered with posters of idols. In imitation of them, he grew his hair long and dressed invariably a la the Beatles. Chapman was 15 years old at the time of the Beatles' breakup; a year later he disappeared from Atlanta, where he lived and studied. He was said to have gone to Los Angeles. After some time, Chapman returned to continue his studies at school. During his absence, he joined the Young Christian Association and became its activist, which is why his appearance changed dramatically - now he wore a short, neat haircut, a white shirt and a strict black tie; During school breaks I carefully studied the Holy Scriptures. Also in free time he walked around the school and offered everyone to buy records from his Beatles collection.

In 1970, he became a follower of the religious movement "Renaissance" and was outraged by Lennon's remark "We are more popular than Jesus", calling it blasphemy. He later stated that he was further angered by the songs "God" and "Imagine". He even claimed in his testimony that he liked to sing the latter with the changed lyrics: "Imagine John Lennon dead" (with English - “Imagine John Lennon is dead”).

After school, Chapman did not study anywhere and did not have a specific profession. From the time he left school until his arrest at the Dakota Gate, he traveled extensively as an "Asiatic Refugee Agent"; The geography of his trips included South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Lebanon and England. From Lebanon, Chapman brought a tape recording of a street shootout. At home, he often listened to this tape several times in a row. According to eyewitnesses, she “excited him greatly and at the same time terrified him.”

In the last years before the assassination attempt on John Lennon, Chapman lived with his wife Gloria on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In December 1979, he took a job as a caretaker at the Waikiki Cooperative Housing in downtown Honolulu, only to quit less than a year later. On his last day of work at Waikiki (October 23, 1980), Chapman signed his work log not as “Mark Chapman” but as “John Lennon.” Having settled with Waikiki, Chapman bought a pistol, borrowed $2,000 in cash and, without properly explaining to his wife where he was going, crossed the Pacific Ocean.

John Lennon's murder

Petitions for pardon

In 2000, twenty years after his conviction, Mark David Chapman became eligible to apply for clemency and parole; in case of refusal, the next application may be submitted after 2 years. Once every two years, starting in 2000, in August, Chapman submits another petition; a total of 10 petitions for clemency were submitted (the last one in August 2018), each of which was rejected. He will be able to submit his next petition no earlier than August 2020. The very fact that Chapman filed a pardon petition caused a negative public reaction.

Yoko Ono, before considering her first petition in October 2000, sent a letter to the New York State Pardons Commission. Calling Chapman a "subject", Yoko wrote, in part, that she would not feel safe if he were released, and that releasing Chapman would be unfair to John Lennon, who did not deserve to die; in addition, Chapman's release could lead to violence against himself. On October 3, 2000, the clemency board reviewed and rejected Chapman's first petition, in which he argued that he had overcome his psychological problems and was no longer a danger to society. The commission's decision, in particular, noted that Chapman remained interested in maintaining his fame, which was the motive for the murder.

Furthermore, the panel firmly believes that granting you parole at this time would detract from the seriousness of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law.

Original text (English)
Additionally, this panel strongly believes that your release to parole supervision at this time would deprecate the seriousness of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law.

Lawyer Robert Gangi, a member of the New York State Correctional Association, opined that Chapman would likely never be pardoned because the release of John Lennon's killer would cause a political uproar.

(1955-05-10 ) (64 years old)

Biography

Mark David Chapman was born in 1955 in Texas to the family of US Air Force sergeant David Curtis Chapman and nurse Katherine Elizabeth Peace. At the age of ten he became an avid Beatlemaniac, then played guitar in a school rock band and collected Beatles records throughout his school years. His room was plastered with posters of idols. In imitation of them, he grew his hair long and dressed invariably a la the Beatles. Chapman was 15 years old at the time of the Beatles' breakup; a year later he disappeared from Atlanta, where he lived and studied. He was said to have gone to Los Angeles. After some time, Chapman returned to continue his studies at school. During his absence, he joined the Young Christian Association and became its activist, which is why his appearance changed dramatically - now he wore a short, neat haircut, a white shirt and a strict black tie; During school breaks I carefully studied the Holy Scriptures. Also, in his free time, he walked around the school and offered everyone to buy records from his Beatles collection.

John Lennon's murder

Lennon signs a copy Double Fantasy Chapman (right) hours before his death

Murder scene. Chapman was on the street near the nearest gate (in this photo) and shot in the back at Lennon, who was approaching the far gate with Yoko Ono.

Petitions for pardon

Furthermore, the panel firmly believes that granting you parole at this time would detract from the seriousness of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law.

Original text (English)

To become famous by killing someone is not at all new idea, and it didn’t bring happiness to anyone. Mark Chapman, the killer of John Lennon, who has been in prison for more than 35 years and is despised and hated by thousands of people in the world, was no exception.

Childhood years

Chapman Mark David was born on May 10, 1955, the son of a US military sergeant and a nurse in Texas. The family was not prosperous; the boy’s parents often quarreled, did not pay attention to the child and did not raise him. Wanting to hide from scandals and noise, Mark always sought refuge. As he got a little older, he began to run away from home, just so as not to hear swearing. Already in childhood, he creates his own fictional world, in which there is no fear, understanding and love reign. Throughout his subsequent life, Mark spoke with great dislike about his parents, especially his father.

Personality formation

Chapman Mark David, whose biography began quite unremarkably, led the ordinary life of a child from a poor family American family. At about the age of 10, he developed his first significant hobby: he learned and fell in love with the music of The Beatles. Now, in moments of peace in his soul, he played their music for the inhabitants of his fictional world; if war reigned in the house, then explosions occurred in Chapman’s world atomic bomb, and little men died in the millions.

This autistic type did not have the opportunity to easily get along with his peers, but in order to avoid persecution and ridicule at school, Mark strove to “be like everyone else.” Already at the age of 14, he began to smoke marijuana, began to skip school, and sought freedom and self-realization. At this time he leaves home for a whole week. The guy is looking for his own path, he passionately wants to be loved and admired, and for this he is ready to do a lot.

The Beatles in Chapman's life

Mark tended to look for idols. on his transition period The Beatles' fame was at its peak, and he found the desired reference point in Lennon. All the walls of Chapman's room were covered with portraits of the group and posters. In appearance he tried to imitate his idol, let his hair grow, even began to wear it. Lennon admired him precisely as a hero, he enthusiastically immersed himself in the philosophy of a rock musician, and imitation became his form of touching glory. It was fame that delighted Mark most of all. He secretly passionately dreamed of becoming famous in any way. The young man, in imitation of his idol, even tries to make music, writes songs and plays in a band, but it all quickly ends.

When Chapman was 15 years old, the Beatles broke up, and Mark began looking for a new idol. But Lennon will not disappear from his life, gradually from an object of love he turns into an object of hatred, although everything in this relationship was not simple. Lennon became a fatal figure for Chapman in every sense. The ideas of love and equality that Lennon preached become part of Mark’s worldview, but gradually they acquire a pathological interpretation.

New Horizons

Mark Chapman, whose story takes a sharp turn, changes greatly. He disappears from his hometown for almost a year, and nothing is known about this period of his life. After his return, Mark changed a lot: he cut his hair, changed his jeans and T-shirt to a white shirt and tie, and began selling off his collection of Beatles records.

The changes are associated with his new hobby, this time Jesus Christ became his idol. Chapman joined the Young Christian Association, became imbued with their ideas, now reads the Bible and becomes a passionate activist in the movement. He wants glory again, but now through the path to God. His worldview is strengthened by faith, he associates himself with his idols, and, just as he once wanted to be like Lennon, he now longs for a path like that of Christian activists, and perhaps like Christ himself.

The young man had an emptiness in his soul that he tried his best to fill with something. Mark wanted to become a good citizen, an AMH activist, perhaps even its leader.

Finding purpose

After graduating from school, Chapman does not find anything to do. He is taking college exams, but AMH sends him to Beirut on a humanitarian mission. For five years he has been traveling a lot around the world, helping Vietnamese refugees, visiting different countries, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, UK, Lebanon, Hong Kong. Officially, he worked as a watchman, and he even had a girlfriend, Gloria Abe, whom he married. Life is getting better.

In his free time, Chapman reads Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye again and again, from which he draws strength and reinforces his new philosophy. He listens to the Beatles again, beginning to associate himself with Lennon. Salinger's book gives rise to a certain vague need in him to save “the children playing by the precipice in the rye.” But his subconscious interprets this noble thought extremely strangely. He feels resentment towards Lennon for being “more popular than Christ.” A strange symbiosis occurs in Chapman's head: the views of Lennon and Salinger are mixed with the desire for fame and love. All this leads to the fact that Mark begins to imagine himself as John Lennon and Holden Caulfield at the same time.

In the fall of 1980, Chapman quits the company where he worked as a security guard. In the registration register he signs: “John Lennon.” Mark would later say that at this time he was overcome by ideas generated under the influence of Salinger and Lennon. He passionately wanted something, but did not understand what. And the “little people” in his head told him what to do: kill Lennon and become him.

Subsequently, psychiatrists who assessed Chapman’s condition would not find confirmation of psychopathology, and would consider that the stories about “little men in the head” were a fiction in order to obtain the leniency of the court. The most passionate desire is to be famous, that’s what drives the young man. The feeling of hatred for his idol grows more and more in him. He sees a contradiction between what Lennon preaches and the way he lives. Several apartments, houses, even his own island against the background of the idea of generosity and equality seem offensive to Chapman. Especially when he remembers that he has no money, no job, or any prospects for the future. He is insanely jealous of his idol, and this feeling leads to the destruction of his personality and the removal of any moral restrictions. Mark believes that he, who is no worse than Lennon, is worthy of what his idol has - money, fame, worship. So, the goal has been set, all that remains is to achieve it.

John Lennon's murder

In October 1980, Chapman Mark David buys a gun and moves to New York to be closer to the object of his desire - John Lennon. He wanders around the city, picks up a prostitute, but he doesn’t yet have the courage to act. Over the course of three months, Chapman carefully plans the murder, and on the morning of December 8, with Salinger’s book “The Catcher in the Rye” under his arm, he appears at Lennon’s house. Chapman hangs around all day, and at 4 p.m. Lennon leaves the house to go to the recording studio. Mark asks for his autograph and hands over an album on which the unsuspecting idol signs it. This moment was captured by photographer Paul Goresh. The photograph was the last photograph of Lennon during his lifetime; Chapman’s contented face can be seen in the corner. But while he does nothing, the musician leaves, and Mark remains at the house under the pretext of waiting: they promised to print this photograph. In the evening, when Lennon and his wife were returning home, Chapman called out to him and fired five bullets at point-blank range into the idol. After that, he calmly sat down under a lantern and immersed himself in reading Salinger's book. Lennon died at 11:15 p.m. from massive blood loss. Chapman did not resist arrest.

The event caused a storm of demonstrations; on the protesters’ posters one can see the words “Mark David Chapman- the death of the assassin!”, they demanded the death of the idol’s killer.

The court found Chapman sane; all his stories about “little men in his head” did not make any impression on the psychiatrists. The motive for the murder was recognized as a thirst for glory, and the sentence was harsh: life imprisonment with the right to serve after 20 years.

Years of imprisonment

Chapman Mark David was sent to a maximum security prison near Buffalo. Thirty years later he was transferred to Erie County. He works in the prison library, reads a lot, and claims that he truly believed in Christ.

Possibility of release

In 2000, Chapman Mark David exercised his right to petition for release. But the court did not find his arguments convincing. He has the right to submit a request every two years, which he does regularly. The court has already rejected him six times, and so far his dreams of freedom have not come true. Yoko Ono is the most vehement opponent of his release, and this is understandable.

Chapman Mark David, whose story is becoming less famous today, continues to serve his sentence and live. While the idol of millions - John Lennon - has been gone for more than 35 years, his story and life continue to delight and inspire people. The day will come and someone will ask: “Chapman Mark David...Who is this?” And the name Lennon will continue to live in the memory of many generations, no matter what.