John Lennon was Murdered - December 8, 1980

This week (December 8-14) in crime history – John Lennon was murdered (December 8, 1980); Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped (December 10, 1963); Bernie Madoff was arrested for masterminding a Ponzi scheme (December 11, 2008); Singer Sam Cooke was shot and killed (December 11, 1964); Leona Helmsley was sentenced for tax fraud (December 12, 1989); The Mona Lisa was recovered two years after it was stolen from the Louvre (December 12, 1913); Texas Seven escape from a maximum security prison (December 13, 2000). 

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week - 

On December 8, 1980, singer John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside his apartment building in New York City. After committing the murder, Chapman waited calmly outside, reading a copy of The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman was a troubled individual who was obsessed with Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the J.D. Salinger's novel about a disaffected youth, and with various celebrities. While working as a security guard in Hawaii, he decided that Lennon was a phony and, while listening to Beatles tapes, Chapman decided to plan his murder. Chapman purchased a gun and traveled to New York. Although he called his wife to tell her that he was in New York to shoot Lennon, she ignored his threats. Unable to buy bullets in New York due to strict laws, Chapman flew to Atlanta and purchased hollow-nosed rounds. 

On the day of the murder, Chapman bought an extra copy of The Catcher in the Rye and joined fans waiting outside The Dakota, Lennon's apartment building. That evening, as Lennon walked by on his way into the building, Chapman shot him in the back and then fired two additional bullets into his shoulder as the singer wrenched around in pain. On June 8, 1980, just two weeks before he was scheduled to present an insanity defense at trial, Chapman pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 20 years-to-life. Ironically, Chapman was sent to Attica prison, where 10 years earlier, rioting had inspired Lennon and wife, Yoko Ono, to record a benefit song to "free all prisoners everywhere." In prison, Chapman became a born-again Christian and spends his time writing evangelical tracts for publication. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.”

 

Michael Thomas Barry is columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that include Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His books can be purchased from Amazon through the following link: 

 http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418055382&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

John Lennon & Yoko Ono were arrested on drug charges - 1968

On October 18, 1968, John Lennon and Yoko Ono are arrested for drug possession at their home near Montagu Square in London, England. The arrests came at a tempestuous time for the couple. Only days earlier, an announcement was made that Ono was pregnant, creating a scandal because both Lennon and Ono were still married to other people. Her pregnancy ended in a miscarriage a few days after the arrest.

Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher, the instigator behind the raid on Lennon and Ono, was an anti-drug zealot who would later arrest George Harrison and his wife on similar charges. While Lennon was frantically trying to get rid of the evidence, the police read a warrant through a bedroom window and then broke down the front door. Drug-sniffing dogs found 200 grams of hashish, a cigarette rolling machine with traces of marijuana, and half a gram of morphine. However, the couple denied that the drugs belonged to them. When the matter finally approached trial, Lennon pleaded guilty because he was worried that Ono would be deported. He was received a small fine and warned that another offense would bring a year in jail.

 

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for CrimeMagazine.com and is the author of Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California 1849-1949. The book can be purchased from Amazon through the following link:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=la_B0035CPN70_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361552464&sr=1-3

John Lennon & Yoko Ono are Arrested for Drug Possession - 1968

On this date in 1968, John Lennon and Yoko Ono are arrested for drug possession at their home near Montagu Square in London, England.

 
The arrests came at a tempestuous time for the couple. Only days earlier, an announcement was made that Ono was pregnant, creating a scandal because both Lennon and Ono were still married to other people. Her pregnancy ended in a miscarriage a few days after the arrest. Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher, the instigator behind the raid on Lennon and Ono, was an anti-drug zealot who would later arrest George Harrison and his wife on similar charges. While Lennon was frantically trying to get rid of the evidence, the police read a warrant through a bedroom window and then broke down the front door. Drug-sniffing dogs found 200 grams of hashish, a cigarette rolling machine with traces of marijuana, and half a gram of morphine. However, the couple denied that the drugs belonged to them. When the matter finally approached trial, Lennon pleaded guilty because he was worried that Ono would be deported. He was fined £150 and warned that another offense would bring a year in jail.

Mark David Chapman Sentenced for Murdering John Lennon - 1981

On this date in 1981, Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life for the murder of John Lennon, a founding member of The Beatles, one of the most successful bands in the history of popular music.

 

On December 8, 1980, Chapman shot and killed the 40-year-old singer, songwriter and peace activist, outside Lennon’s New York City apartment building, the Dakota, where he lived with his wife Yoko Ono and their young son Sean. Lennon, who was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, shot to fame in the 1960s with The Beatles, whose multiple best-selling albums and hit films, such as A Hard Day’s Night (1964), turned the group into hugely influential global pop icons. After The Beatles broke up in 1970, Lennon embarked on a successful solo music career, writing and performing such songs as “Imagine” and “(Just Like) Starting Over.” He also directed a 1972 documentary film, also titled Imagine, which was a sometimes-surreal glimpse at a day in the life of Lennon and Ono, set to their music. On the day of Lennon’s murder, Chapman, a Beatles fan who was born in 1955, spent the day hanging out near the musician’s apartment on West 72nd Street and Central Park West. Late that afternoon, a photographer captured a shot of Lennon as he stopped to autograph his Double Fantasy album for Chapman before walking with Yoko Ono toward a limousine waiting to take them to a recording session. Later that night, shortly before 11 p.m., the couple returned to the Dakota, where a waiting Chapman shot Lennon four times as the musician walked toward his building. Chapman stayed at the scene, reading The Catcher in the Rye, a book he was obsessed with, until the police arrived and took him into custody. Lennon was pronounced dead at Manhattan’s Roosevelt Hospital around 11:15 p.m. Chapman initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity; however, he later decided to drop the insanity defense and plead guilty to second-degree murder. At his sentencing hearing on August 24, 1981, Chapman read from The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman’s requests for parole have all been denied and he continues to serve time at New York’s Attica State Prison.