28 November 2023 , 20:19
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John Lennon's killer apologised after gunning down The Beatles hitmaker outside his apartment in New York City on December 8, 1980.
Mark David Chapman's chilling confession is unearthed in a brand-new Apple TV Plus documentary, John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial. In the trailer for the three-part series, one eyewitness explains: "He actually apologised to us, he said, 'Gee I’m sorry I ruined your night'. He responded: "You gotta be kidding me, you just ruined your whole life."
According to Apple, the documentary by Emmy Award winner Kiefer Sutherland features "exclusive eyewitness interviews and previously unseen crime scene photos", shedding new light on the life and murder of cultural icon John Lennon.
Mark David Chapman's chilling confession has been unearthed (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
John was killed in cold blood outside his New York home on December 8, 1980 (Getty Images)"John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial is the most thoroughly researched examination of John Lennon's 1980 murder, which shocked and saddened the world," a press release reads. "The production was granted extensive Freedom of Information Act requests from the New York City Police Department, the Board of Parole and the District Attorney's office.
"The series includes exclusive interviews with eyewitnesses — speaking for the first time — along with some of Lennon’s closest friends, revealing shocking details of Lennon’s tragic murder. John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial also features interviews with Chapman’s defence lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors."
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The series is produced for Apple TV+ by the BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning team at 72 Films, directed by Nick Holt (“The Murder Trial,” “Responsible Child”) and Rob Coldstream (“Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain”) with executive producers David Glover (9/11: One Day in America”), Mark Raphael (“Crime and Punishment”) and Coldstream, alongside producers Simon Bunney and Louis Lee Ray.
In 2010, Mark Chapman said that by gunning down the former Beatle outside his New York apartment in 1980 he would "become somebody" and admitted he had thought about killing other stars. In a failed parole hearing, he admitted he had considered shooting chat show host Johnny Carson and film legend Dame Elizabeth Taylor.
He also claimed to have two others on his target list but said: "I lose the memory of the other two." Previously he has mentioned Jackie Onassis. He said Lennon's apartment in Manhattan "wasn't quite as cloistered" as the homes of Carson and Taylor.
He told the board: "It wasn't about them necessarily, it was just about me. If it wasn't Lennon it could have been someone else. I felt that by killing John Lennon I would become somebody and instead of that I became a murderer and murderers are not somebody."
Last month, Sir Paul McCartney said Lennon still influences his songwriting – and he ditches lyrics if his old pal would think they were too sentimental. He added that coming up with tracks now is much harder than when he was collaborating with Lennon during their time in The Beatles. Macca, 81, said about composing songs these days: “Often I’ll sort of refer… ‘What would John think of this? He’d have thought it was too soppy, so I’ll change it’.”
Sir Paul added: “I’ve met a lot of amazing and influential people, but some of my Liverpool family was better. “They had something going for them besides this niceness and good manners. Their sense of humour was ridiculous.”