Post by TotalInformation on Oct 29, 2004 0:31:26 GMT
I SHOT JOHN TO STEAL HIS FAME
Oct 16 2004
Daily Record
Killer Mark Chapman tells for the first time how he planned Lennon's murder for a year, how he is haunted by Yoko's pained stare ... and how he deserves to be released after 'finding God'
By Natalie Walker[/i]
THE crazed fan who gunned down Beatles legend John Lennon murdered his hero 'to get attention'.
Mark David Chapman, convicted of killing the 40-year-old outside the star's Manhattan apartment in 1980, also told a parole board he was trying to 'steal' Lennon's fame.
Chapman, now 49, claims to have 'found God' and wants to be released from the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York after serving 24 years.
But, just last week, the State Parole Board denied his third freedom bid due to the 'extreme malicious intent' of the murder which shocked the world.
The amazing insights come from his parole board hearing on October 5 this year when he went into graphic detail about his shocking crime.
He revealed how he had planned the murder for a year after a twist of fate put Lennon at the top of a list of celebrities who Chapman had planned to kill.
And, in a chilling admission, he told the parole board members: 'I did it for attention.
'To, in a sense, steal John Lennon's fame and put it on myself, thinking I was a nobody at the time. And that's basically it.'
The former security guard from Hawaii famously met his victim and got his autograph earlier in the day, December 8, 1980 - but was unable to initially carry out his murderous plans.
Asked why not, he said: 'I guess I was just so awed, and it was daylight.
'Mrs Lennon was right with him and it just happened too quickly.'
But later, he saw Lennon and Yoko Ono again outside the Dakota building where the former Beatle lived.
Chapman told the hearing the gun 'was in my coat pocket, my right side' and he was '10 to 15 feet' away from Lennon when he let rip with five shots, four of which struck their target.
He added: 'I stood there and held the gun in my hand.
'The doorman, Jose, came over and he said, 'What have you done? What have you done?' 'He grabbed my hand and shook it, he shook the weapon out of my hand and he kicked it 20, 30 feet away.
'Pretty brave man to do that. But that's what he did.'
Chapman then took off his coat and jacket, put them down on the street and waited for the police to arrive.
The murderer said: 'I did that because I knew the police officers would come with their weapons drawn.
'I put my hands on top of my head as soon as I saw them.
'I probably didn't want to be shot. 'The first thing I said was, 'I'm alone, I acted alone.' Something to that effect.
'They escorted me to the back of the police cruiser.'
Before that, though, he recalled: 'I dropped my book on the ground, a copy of The Catcher In The Rye, and I told an officer to get my book for me.'
In one of the most surreal episodes of his parole testimony,Chapman revealed: 'They asked me what did I do. And I said,'I just shot John Lennon.' But it was as he was in the police van that he first really became aware of Yoko - an image he claims has haunted him.
Chapman explained: 'I believe Mrs Lennon came over and looked in.
'That was a very traumatic thing that I blocked out of my memory for months.'
Chapman said he had previously had other celebrities in his sights and explained his twisted reasons: 'I didn't think they were being who they really were, and that angered me.'
But he claimed to have chosen Lennon as his victim after he saw him posing on his rooftop in a book.
Chapman admitted his fixation with the Liverpool-born music great started in 1980, adding: 'I went to the Honolulu Public Library and came to the biography section, with a book called, I think, One Day At A Time.
'I opened it up and Mr Lennon was there being photographed on the roof of his building, and it just angered me.You know, here I was with these struggles.
'I was drinking. I'm not going to use that as an excuse.
'I could have pulled myself out but I chose not to.'
Pressed as to whether his anger was about Lennon not acting 'appropriately as it relates to the wealth he had', Chapman admitted: 'At the time, that's what I perceived, yes. It angered me.
'Now I realise it was a bad judgment.'
He had planned to kill the Beatles star a year earlier but changed his mind after watching a sentimental Robert Redford movie, Ordinary People.
Asked why he did not manage to halt his murderous plot, Chapman said: 'At one point, I tried. I had flown to New York once.
'But after seeing a movie, Ordinary People, I guess it struck a chord with me.
'And I called my wife and I said, 'Your love has saved me, I'm coming back.' 'I told her on the phone what my plans were.
'I did try to, at one point, stop what was building in me.
{CONTINUED BELOW}
Oct 16 2004
Daily Record
Killer Mark Chapman tells for the first time how he planned Lennon's murder for a year, how he is haunted by Yoko's pained stare ... and how he deserves to be released after 'finding God'
By Natalie Walker[/i]
THE crazed fan who gunned down Beatles legend John Lennon murdered his hero 'to get attention'.
Mark David Chapman, convicted of killing the 40-year-old outside the star's Manhattan apartment in 1980, also told a parole board he was trying to 'steal' Lennon's fame.
Chapman, now 49, claims to have 'found God' and wants to be released from the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York after serving 24 years.
But, just last week, the State Parole Board denied his third freedom bid due to the 'extreme malicious intent' of the murder which shocked the world.
The amazing insights come from his parole board hearing on October 5 this year when he went into graphic detail about his shocking crime.
He revealed how he had planned the murder for a year after a twist of fate put Lennon at the top of a list of celebrities who Chapman had planned to kill.
And, in a chilling admission, he told the parole board members: 'I did it for attention.
'To, in a sense, steal John Lennon's fame and put it on myself, thinking I was a nobody at the time. And that's basically it.'
The former security guard from Hawaii famously met his victim and got his autograph earlier in the day, December 8, 1980 - but was unable to initially carry out his murderous plans.
Asked why not, he said: 'I guess I was just so awed, and it was daylight.
'Mrs Lennon was right with him and it just happened too quickly.'
But later, he saw Lennon and Yoko Ono again outside the Dakota building where the former Beatle lived.
Chapman told the hearing the gun 'was in my coat pocket, my right side' and he was '10 to 15 feet' away from Lennon when he let rip with five shots, four of which struck their target.
He added: 'I stood there and held the gun in my hand.
'The doorman, Jose, came over and he said, 'What have you done? What have you done?' 'He grabbed my hand and shook it, he shook the weapon out of my hand and he kicked it 20, 30 feet away.
'Pretty brave man to do that. But that's what he did.'
Chapman then took off his coat and jacket, put them down on the street and waited for the police to arrive.
The murderer said: 'I did that because I knew the police officers would come with their weapons drawn.
'I put my hands on top of my head as soon as I saw them.
'I probably didn't want to be shot. 'The first thing I said was, 'I'm alone, I acted alone.' Something to that effect.
'They escorted me to the back of the police cruiser.'
Before that, though, he recalled: 'I dropped my book on the ground, a copy of The Catcher In The Rye, and I told an officer to get my book for me.'
In one of the most surreal episodes of his parole testimony,Chapman revealed: 'They asked me what did I do. And I said,'I just shot John Lennon.' But it was as he was in the police van that he first really became aware of Yoko - an image he claims has haunted him.
Chapman explained: 'I believe Mrs Lennon came over and looked in.
'That was a very traumatic thing that I blocked out of my memory for months.'
Chapman said he had previously had other celebrities in his sights and explained his twisted reasons: 'I didn't think they were being who they really were, and that angered me.'
But he claimed to have chosen Lennon as his victim after he saw him posing on his rooftop in a book.
Chapman admitted his fixation with the Liverpool-born music great started in 1980, adding: 'I went to the Honolulu Public Library and came to the biography section, with a book called, I think, One Day At A Time.
'I opened it up and Mr Lennon was there being photographed on the roof of his building, and it just angered me.You know, here I was with these struggles.
'I was drinking. I'm not going to use that as an excuse.
'I could have pulled myself out but I chose not to.'
Pressed as to whether his anger was about Lennon not acting 'appropriately as it relates to the wealth he had', Chapman admitted: 'At the time, that's what I perceived, yes. It angered me.
'Now I realise it was a bad judgment.'
He had planned to kill the Beatles star a year earlier but changed his mind after watching a sentimental Robert Redford movie, Ordinary People.
Asked why he did not manage to halt his murderous plot, Chapman said: 'At one point, I tried. I had flown to New York once.
'But after seeing a movie, Ordinary People, I guess it struck a chord with me.
'And I called my wife and I said, 'Your love has saved me, I'm coming back.' 'I told her on the phone what my plans were.
'I did try to, at one point, stop what was building in me.
{CONTINUED BELOW}