John Lennon was shot dead at the age of 40 by an obsessed fan, Mark David Chapman, 68, outside his New York City apartment building on 8th December 1980. A new Apple TV+ documentary contains a claim from a doorman in the building that he heard Lennon’s final words as blood poured from the Imagine singer’s mouth.
Concierge Jay Hastings says in the three-part documentary, Lennon: Murder Without a Trial: ‘[Lennon] runs past me. He goes, “I’m shot”.’ ‘He had blood coming out of his mouth. He just collapsed on the floor.’
Hastings adds: ‘I half rolled him to his back and took his glasses off, put them on the desk. And Yoko was screaming, “Get an ambulance, get an ambulance, get an ambulance”.’
Taxi driver Richard Peterson also reveals in the docuseries, due out on 6 December, that he was sitting in his parked car outside the Dakota building and witnessed the shooting.
‘Lennon was walking in and this kid says, “John Lennon”. ‘He was a chunky guy. I’m looking at him through the front window of my cab.’ Peterson adds: ‘I’m looking at him shoot him. This guy just shot John Lennon. I thought they were making a movie, but I didn’t see no lights or cameras or anything, so I realized, “Hey, this ain’t no movie”.’