More than four decades after the world was shaken by the brutal murder of John Lennon, the man who pulled the trigger has offered a chilling new explanation for why he did it. Mark David Chapman, now 69, spoke at his latest parole hearing — and for the first time, gave an unsettlingly blunt account of what drove him to shoot the legendary Beatles star outside his Manhattan home on December 8, 1980.
“It was evil in my heart. I wanted fame,” Chapman admitted, according to transcripts reviewed by The New York Times. “I didn’t kill him because I hated him. I killed him because I wanted to be somebody.”
For years, Chapman had danced around the true motivation for the crime, often citing religious delusions, anger at celebrity culture, or a twisted obsession with Lennon’s perceived hypocrisy. But his latest statement strips away any ambiguity. “I was seeking notoriety. Plain and simple,” he told the parole board. “I wanted to be remembered.”
“It was evil in my heart. I wanted fame.” — Mark David Chapman at his parole hearing @nytimes
Chapman gunned Lennon down outside the Dakota building in New York City, firing four bullets into the 40-year-old musician’s back as he returned home with his wife, Yoko Ono. The shooting happened just hours after Lennon had autographed an album for him. The murderer then calmly sat down on the sidewalk with a copy of “The Catcher in the Rye”, waiting to be arrested.
In the new transcript, obtained by multiple media outlets, Chapman described the moment with disturbing detachment. “He walked past me and I pulled the trigger,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘This is it. This is the moment that’s going to change my life.’”
Members of Lennon’s family were not present at the hearing, but Yoko Ono has repeatedly urged authorities to deny Chapman’s parole, citing ongoing trauma and public safety concerns. “He took away a husband, a father, an artist whose work still brings peace,” her lawyer told The Guardian.
Chapman, who has now been denied parole 12 times, expressed what he called “shame and sorrow,” but his words were undercut by the cold clarity with which he recounted the killing. “I knew what I was doing,” he admitted. “I wasn’t insane. I wasn’t out of control. I was doing it for me.”
“I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t insane. I wasn’t out of control. I was doing it for me.” — Mark David Chapman @guardian
Law enforcement officials at the time described the murder as “methodically planned.” Chapman traveled to New York from Hawaii with the sole intention of killing Lennon. In previous hearings, he claimed to have idolized the former Beatle and felt betrayed by what he viewed as the singer’s wealth and influence. This time, he admitted those rationalizations were “just cover stories.”
“The real reason was selfishness and glory,” he told the board. “I thought it would make me somebody important. I was a nobody and I wanted to be remembered forever.”
The hearing has reignited intense debate over the cultural legacy of the murder. Lennon, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, was a global symbol of peace and artistic rebellion. His assassination outside his home shocked the world, prompting millions to gather for vigils in cities around the globe. A massive outpouring of grief was reported by BBC News at the time, with crowds filling Central Park in New York in stunned silence.
Crowds filled Central Park in stunned silence after news of John Lennon’s death broke in 1980. @bbc
Chapman has been serving a 20-years-to-life sentence at Green Haven Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Each time he becomes eligible for parole, the hearings draw intense global attention — with Lennon’s fans, family, and supporters campaigning to keep him behind bars. “He didn’t just take John’s life,” one longtime fan told Reuters. “He scarred an entire generation.”
Experts in criminal psychology have pointed out that Chapman’s latest statements are among the most unvarnished admissions he’s ever made. “This is the kind of raw self-awareness that comes late in life for some offenders,” said one criminologist to NBC News. “But it’s also deeply unsettling. There’s nothing noble or complicated about it. He did it for fame.”
“There’s nothing noble or complicated about it. He did it for fame.” — Criminologist on Mark David Chapman’s admission @nbcnews
For Yoko Ono, the pain remains raw. In past statements, she has described the night of the murder as “a wound that never healed.” Each parole hearing, she has said, “forces the family to relive the horror.” Lennon’s son Sean has also spoken publicly about how the loss shaped his life, telling reporters that his father’s death “echoes through every day.”
Chapman has insisted he does not expect to be released. “I deserve to be in prison,” he said. “If you set me free, I might hurt someone again. I can’t undo what I did. And what I did was unforgivable.”
But for Lennon’s fans around the world, the hearing is another reminder of how one senseless act of violence changed history. His songs — from “Imagine” to “All You Need Is Love” — continue to echo as tributes pour in year after year. “He killed a man, but he couldn’t kill the message,” one fan wrote on X. “John lives on.”
