It has been 43 years since John Lennon was murdered while he was returning back to his apartment.
Lennon’s doorman, Jay Hastings, spoke to People about the 43-year-old incident. Regarding that night, Hastings recalled Lennon’s last words and a conversation with another doorman. The doorman named Jose was the first to encounter the singer moments after he was shot. Hastings recalled:
“I could hear Jose outside, ‘Oh Mr. Lennon.’ Boom, boom, doors close, and I could hear the quick march of heels coming up the driveway. So I walked over to the counter, where there was a hidden security button to unlock the door, so you could get into the Dakota proper.”
Hastings had only heard two words coming out of Lennon’s mouth right after he was shot. He revealed:
“As I was there with my finger on the button is when he [Lennon] came running up, immediately after hearing gunshots, and he’s like, ‘I’m shot, I’m shot,’ and he just ran past me to the back office, and just collapsed.”
Yoko Ono, the singer’s wife, was there too. In fact, she was the one to get him an ambulance when he was shot. The doorman continued:
“[I] didn’t know how bad he was shot. I went into the back office, Yoko was there, like right behind him, screaming, ‘Get an ambulance. Get an ambulance.'”
Mark David Chapman shot and killed Lennon in front of the Upper West Side residential building at 10:50 p.m. local time. Less than 10 minutes later, Lennon was taken to nearby Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Yoko Ono’s Last Minutes with Lennon
Shortly before the Beatle was killed, a seemingly ordinary moment unfolded between him and Yoko Ono. While driving back from the Record Plant that night, John uttered his final words to his wife.
In a 2007 interview with Desert Island Discs, Yoko shared her final words with her husband:
“I said, ‘Shall we go and have dinner before we go home?’ and John said, ‘No, let’s go home because I want to see Sean before he goes to sleep.'”
She was also asked if John had said anything after he had been shot, to which she declined. So, those were the last words as far as Yoko Ono knew.
Where Is Lennon’s Killer Today?
Mark David Chapman confessed at the crime scene. In a later statement to a parole board, he admitted to being a Beatles fan and claimed he was ‘seeking fame.’ Earlier in the day, Lennon had an encounter with Chapman when he secured the Beatle’s autograph on a copy of the album ‘Double Fantasy.’ Having purchased the gun three months before, Chapman had traveled to New York City with the intention of committing the crime. Apparently, Chapman assassinated Lennon solely because he was ‘too famous.’
Chapman has been in prison since his arrest following the shooting. He entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder in June 1981 and received a sentence of 20 years to life two months later. Despite being denied parole for the 12th time in September 2022, Chapman continues to be eligible for parole consideration. Chapman is set to be eligible for parole once again in 2024.
