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<v Speaker 1>Caalaroga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm reed Carter. Saturday, December sixth,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five, forty five years ago, Monday, The World

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<v Speaker 1>Lost John Lennon. December eighth, nineteen eighty, New York City,

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<v Speaker 1>ten fifty pm. John Lennon and Yoko Ono step out

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<v Speaker 1>of their limousine on West seventy second Street. They've just

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<v Speaker 1>returned from the Record Plant studio, where they'd been mixing

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<v Speaker 1>Yoko's song Walking on Thin Ice. John played lead guitar

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<v Speaker 1>on the track, his last recording. They walked toward the Dakota,

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<v Speaker 1>their gothic apartment building overlooking Central Park. A young man

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<v Speaker 1>steps out of the shadows, twenty five years old, pudgy glasses.

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<v Speaker 1>He'd been waiting there all day. Mark David Chapman drops

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<v Speaker 1>into a combat stance, raises a point three to eight

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<v Speaker 1>caliber Charter Arms revolver loaded with hollow points. Bullets fires

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<v Speaker 1>five times. Four bullets tear through Lenin's back and shoulder.

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<v Speaker 1>One misses, shattering a window of the Dakota. Lenin staggers

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<v Speaker 1>up five steps into the security vestibule. I'm shot, I'm shot.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he collapses, scattering the cassette tapes he'd been carrying.

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<v Speaker 1>Chapman doesn't run, doesn't hide. The doorman, Jose Perdomo, shakes

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<v Speaker 1>the gun from his hand and kicks it across the pavement.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know what you just did? Perdomo screams. Chapman

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<v Speaker 1>is calm, almost serene. Yes, I just shot John Lennon.

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<v Speaker 1>He removes his coat and hat, stands under a street lamp,

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<v Speaker 1>pulls out a paperback book, and starts reading. When police

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<v Speaker 1>officers Steven Spiro and Peter Cullen arrive two minutes later,

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<v Speaker 1>they find Chapman standing peacefully on West seventy second Street

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<v Speaker 1>reading The Catcher in the Rye. Inside the book he'd written,

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<v Speaker 1>this is my statement, Holden Callfield. John Lennon was rushed

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<v Speaker 1>to Roosevelt Hospital. Doctors worked frantically for twenty minutes, but

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<v Speaker 1>he'd lost over eighty percent of his blood. At eleven

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen pm, the former Beatle was pronounced dead. He was

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<v Speaker 1>forty years old. I'm reed, Carter, this is celebrity trials today.

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<v Speaker 1>The man who killed John Lennon mark David Chapman's twisted

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<v Speaker 1>path from YMCA councilor to cold blooded assassin. How the

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<v Speaker 1>Catcher in the Rye became his Bible and December eighth,

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty The Knight That Stole one of the greatest

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<v Speaker 1>musicians who ever lived, Part one of two Chapman's troubled origins.

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<v Speaker 1>Mark David Chapman was born May tenth, nineteen fifty five,

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<v Speaker 1>in Fort Worth, Texas. His father, David Curtis Chapman, was

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<v Speaker 1>a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force. His mother, Diane,

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<v Speaker 1>was a nurse. When Mark was young, the family moved

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<v Speaker 1>to Decatur, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. From the outside,

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<v Speaker 1>the Chapmans looked like a normal American family. David was

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<v Speaker 1>a boy Scout leader taught guitar at the local YMCA.

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<v Speaker 1>Neighbors said they seemed happy, well adjusted, but inside the

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<v Speaker 1>house things were different. Mark later claimed he lived in

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<v Speaker 1>constant fear of his father. Said David was physically abusive

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<v Speaker 1>toward his mother, emotionally distant from his son, unloving. Mark

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<v Speaker 1>felt like an outsider in his own home, so he

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<v Speaker 1>created his own world, imaginary friends he called the little people,

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of them living in the walls of his bedroom.

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<v Speaker 1>They worshiped him, followed his commands made him feel powerful, important, special,

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<v Speaker 1>I used to fantasize that I was a king over

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<v Speaker 1>these little people. Chapman would later say it was the

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<v Speaker 1>first sign of something deeply wrong. By fourteen, Mark was

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<v Speaker 1>using drugs marijuana, LSD, heroine, skipping classes, defying his parents,

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<v Speaker 1>running with the wrong crowd. He once ran away from

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<v Speaker 1>home and lived on the streets of Atlanta for two weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>He was also bullied relentlessly at Columbia High School in Decatur.

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<v Speaker 1>Wasn't athletic, didn't fit in. The other kids called him names,

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<v Speaker 1>made him feel worthless. Then at sixteen, everything changed. Mark

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<v Speaker 1>Chapman became a born again Christian. He started distributing biblical tracks,

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<v Speaker 1>found his first girlfriend, a fellow believer named Jessica Blankenship.

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<v Speaker 1>His grades improved, he stopped using drugs, and he devoted

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<v Speaker 1>himself to the South DeKalb County YMCA. Mark became a

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<v Speaker 1>summer camp counselor. And here's what's strange. He was exceptional

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<v Speaker 1>at it. The children adored him. They nicknamed him Nemo,

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<v Speaker 1>after Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.

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<v Speaker 1>He'd get down on one knee to help a struggling

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<v Speaker 1>kid play games with them for hours make them feel seen,

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<v Speaker 1>valued important. When Mark won the award for Outstanding Counselor,

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<v Speaker 1>the children were on their feet chanting his name, Neamo

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<v Speaker 1>name Oh. The YMCA director called him a pied piper

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<v Speaker 1>with the kids. Everyone who worked with him in caretaking

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<v Speaker 1>professions said he was outstanding, compassionate patient, exactly the kind

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<v Speaker 1>of person you'd want working with children. So how does

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<v Speaker 1>that person become an assassin? It was around this time

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<v Speaker 1>that a friend recommended a book, J. D. Salinger's The

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<v Speaker 1>Catcher in the Rye, published in nineteen fifty one, the

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<v Speaker 1>story of Holden Callfield, a disaffected teenager railing against the

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<v Speaker 1>phoniness of the adult world. Mark felt an immediate connection

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<v Speaker 1>Holden's alienation, his disgust with hypocrisy, his fantasy of being

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<v Speaker 1>the Catcher in the Rye, standing at the edge of

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<v Speaker 1>a cliff, saving innocent children from falling into the corrupt

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<v Speaker 1>adult world. The book became Mark's new Bible, and Holden

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<v Speaker 1>Callfield became his new identity. Something else happened during Mark's

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<v Speaker 1>religious phase. He turned against one of his childhood heroes,

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<v Speaker 1>John Lennon. In nineteen sixty six, Lenin had made his

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<v Speaker 1>infamous comment about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus

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<v Speaker 1>in the American South. That statement sparked outrage, album burnings, boycotts,

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<v Speaker 1>death threats. Mark's Christian friends made a joke they'd sing

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<v Speaker 1>Lenin's song Imagine with altered lyrics, Imagine Imagine if John

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<v Speaker 1>Lennon was dead. Mark called the original song communist. Was

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<v Speaker 1>furious about the line imagine there's no Heaven? Who did

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<v Speaker 1>Lenin think? He was telling people not to believe in God?

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<v Speaker 1>The seeds were planted, the contradiction was forming. Mark Chapman

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<v Speaker 1>loved John Lennon's music, and Mark Chapman despised everything John

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<v Speaker 1>Lennon stood for. After high school, Mark moved to Chicago

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<v Speaker 1>briefly to play guitar in churches and Christian night spots,

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<v Speaker 1>then came back to Georgia, worked odd jobs for the YMCA,

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<v Speaker 1>attended community college. In nineteen seventy five, he went to

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<v Speaker 1>work with Vietnamese refugees at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. Again, he excelled,

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<v Speaker 1>was promoted to assistant director. People trusted him with their

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<v Speaker 1>most vulnerable populations, but the demons never went away. The

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<v Speaker 1>little people still talked to him, and the darkness was

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<v Speaker 1>always there. Waiting. In nineteen seventy seven, Mark's parents began

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<v Speaker 1>divorce proceedings. His world was crumbling. He bought a one

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<v Speaker 1>way ticket to Hawaii Paradise escape. Instead, he tried to

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<v Speaker 1>kill himself carbon monoxide poisoning. Failed attempt, woke up in

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<v Speaker 1>a hospital, and here's the twist. He recovered so well

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<v Speaker 1>that the hospital hired him, first in maintenance, then in

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<v Speaker 1>the print shop. For a while, things seemed better. Mark

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<v Speaker 1>fell in love with his travel agent, a Japanese American

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<v Speaker 1>woman named Gloria Abe. In nineteen seventy eight. He took

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<v Speaker 1>a trip around the world Tokyo, Soul, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok,

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<v Speaker 1>New Delhi, Beirut, Geneva, London, Paris, Dublin, came back and

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<v Speaker 1>proposed to Gloria. They married on June second, nineteen seventy nine.

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<v Speaker 1>But happiness never lasted long for Mark David Chapman. He

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<v Speaker 1>got fired from the hospital, rehired, then quit after an

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<v Speaker 1>argument with a nurse. Took a job as a night

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<v Speaker 1>security guard at a high end apartment complex, started drinking heavily,

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<v Speaker 1>and the obsessions returned. The Little People The Catcher in

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<v Speaker 1>the Rye artwork, music and John Lennon, the lavish lifestyle,

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<v Speaker 1>the millions of dollars, the Dakota apartment overlooking Central Park.

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<v Speaker 1>Reading Anthony Fawcett's book about Lenin's life in New York,

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<v Speaker 1>the yachts, the farms, the country estates, while the man

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<v Speaker 1>preached love and peace. In Mark's mind, twisted by the

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<v Speaker 1>Catcher in the Rye, John Lennon was the ultimate phony,

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<v Speaker 1>a hypocrite, someone who needed to be stopped. September nineteen eighty,

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<v Speaker 1>Mark wrote a letter to a free I'm going nuts.

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<v Speaker 1>He signed it the Catcher in the Rye. The countdown

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<v Speaker 1>had begun. The first trip to New York. Eight minutes

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<v Speaker 1>October nineteen eighty, Mark David Chapman resigned from his job

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<v Speaker 1>as a security guard. He told his wife he was

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<v Speaker 1>going to New York, didn't tell her why. On October

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<v Speaker 1>twenty seventh, he walked into a gun shop in Honolulu

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<v Speaker 1>and purchased a Charter Arms point three to eight special revolver,

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<v Speaker 1>five shot snub nosed, perfect for concealment. Two days later,

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<v Speaker 1>he flew to New York City. Called the Federal Aviation

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<v Speaker 1>Administration beforehand to learn how to transport a firearm. They

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<v Speaker 1>told him. Bullets could be damaged during air travel, so

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<v Speaker 1>he left the ammunition behind. Mark checked into a hotel

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<v Speaker 1>on the Upper West Side, walked to the Dakota Building

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<v Speaker 1>on Central Park West, just to look, just to see

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<v Speaker 1>where John Lennon lived. He stood outside for hours, watching, waiting,

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<v Speaker 1>but he didn't have bullets, and part of him, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>the part that was once Nemo, the beloved camp counselor,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't really want to go through with it, so he left,

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<v Speaker 1>flew back to Hawaii, tried to put the murder out

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<v Speaker 1>of his mind, but he couldn't stop thinking about it,

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't stop reading The Catcher and the Rye, couldn't stop

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<v Speaker 1>listening to John Lennon's music and getting angrier. I would

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<v Speaker 1>listen to this music and I would get angry at him.

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<v Speaker 1>Chapman later said, for saying that he didn't believe in God,

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<v Speaker 1>that he just believed in him and Yoko, and that

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't believe in the Beatles, I just wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>scream out loud, who does he think he is saying

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<v Speaker 1>these things about God and Heaven and the Beatles? In

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<v Speaker 1>Mark's warped mind, killing Lenin wasn't murder. It was justice.

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<v Speaker 1>Holden Caulfield's justice, punishing the phony, saving the world from hypocrisy.

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<v Speaker 1>He needed bullets. Mark flew to Atlanta, visited an old

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<v Speaker 1>friend from the shooting range, picked up hollow point ammunition,

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<v Speaker 1>the kind that explodes on impact, designed to cause maximum damage.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he practiced, went into the woods near Atlanta, fired

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<v Speaker 1>round after round, getting comfortable with the gun, preparing for

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<v Speaker 1>what came next. December sixth, nineteen eighty, two days before

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<v Speaker 1>the murder, Mark David Chapman flew back to New York City.

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<v Speaker 1>He checked into the YMCA on the Upper West Side

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<v Speaker 1>for one night, fitting given his history with the organization,

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<v Speaker 1>then moved to the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown, Manhattan. He

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<v Speaker 1>had everything he needed, the gun, the bullets, the book,

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<v Speaker 1>the target. December eighth, nineteen eighty, Monday morning, Mark left

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<v Speaker 1>his hotel room, left behind personal items police would later find,

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<v Speaker 1>including a copy of the album he planned to have signed,

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<v Speaker 1>walked to a bookstore bought a fresh copy of The

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<v Speaker 1>Catcher in the Rye. Inside the front cover, he wrote

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<v Speaker 1>this is my statement and signed it Holden Callfield. Then

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<v Speaker 1>he walked to the Dakota and waited. The day was

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<v Speaker 1>cold but clear, Mark positioned himself outside the building's entrance

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<v Speaker 1>on West seventy second Street. He wasn't alone. There were

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<v Speaker 1>always fans waiting for a glimpse of Lenin. He blended

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<v Speaker 1>in perfectly. Around mid morning, he missed seeing Lenin step

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<v Speaker 1>out of a taxi and enter the building, but later

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<v Speaker 1>he spotted Lenin's five year old son, Sean, returning from

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<v Speaker 1>a walk with the family nanny, Helen Seaman. Mark approached them,

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<v Speaker 1>reached out and shook Shawn's hand. He was a beautiful boy.

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<v Speaker 1>Chapman later said he even quoted Lenin's song beautiful Boy

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<v Speaker 1>to the child. Something should have stopped him then, holding

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<v Speaker 1>the hand of an innocent child, knowing what he was

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<v Speaker 1>about to do to that child's father, But the Holden

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<v Speaker 1>Callfield delusion was too strong. The phonies had to be punished.

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<v Speaker 1>Around five pm, John Lennon and Yoko Ono urged from

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<v Speaker 1>the Dakota. They were heading to the record Plant studio

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<v Speaker 1>to work on Yoko's song Walking on Thin Ice. A

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<v Speaker 1>team from RKO Radio was there to interview them. Fans

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<v Speaker 1>crowded around. Mark stepped forward with his copy of Double Fantasy,

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<v Speaker 1>Lenin's recently released album with Yoko silently handed it to

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<v Speaker 1>Lenin asked for an autograph. Lenin obliged. He was always

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<v Speaker 1>gracious with fans, believed they'd earned it by waiting. Standing

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<v Speaker 1>nearby was Paul Gorish, an amateur photographer and Lenin superfan.

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<v Speaker 1>He'd been taking pictures of Lenin for years had developed

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<v Speaker 1>a casual relationship with the musician. Gorrish raised his camera

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<v Speaker 1>snapped a photograph. The image would become one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most haunting in rock history. John Lennon head bowed, signing

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<v Speaker 1>an album. Mark David Chapman beside him, watching intently. The

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<v Speaker 1>assassin and his victim caught together in the same frame

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<v Speaker 1>hours before the murder. After signing, Lenin looked at Chapman,

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<v Speaker 1>Is this all you want? Chapman smiled, nodded. He was

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<v Speaker 1>very kind to me, Chapman would later say, ironically, very

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<v Speaker 1>kind and was very patient with me. He asked me

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<v Speaker 1>if I needed anything else. I said no, no, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>and he walked away, very cordial and decent. Man. Lennon

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<v Speaker 1>and Ono got into the waiting limousine, drove to the

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<v Speaker 1>recording studio, spent the evening mixing, walking on thin ice

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<v Speaker 1>and Mark David Chapman stayed right where he was, waiting,

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<v Speaker 1>the signed album in his hand, the gun in his pocket,

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<v Speaker 1>the book ready to be read. Paul Gooresh talked to

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<v Speaker 1>him briefly, asked where he was from Hawaii. Where are

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<v Speaker 1>you staying? Chapman snapped at him, why do you want

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<v Speaker 1>to know? Gor Esh backed off. As the hours passed,

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<v Speaker 1>Gorsh decided to leave. It was getting late cold. He

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<v Speaker 1>had the autograph he wanted, he told Chapman, and he

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<v Speaker 1>was heading home. Chapman tried to stop him. I'd wait.

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<v Speaker 1>You never know if you'll see him again. Gorsh left anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>missed the murder by minutes. Mark David Chapman stood alone

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<v Speaker 1>outside the Dakota reading The Catcher in the Rye, waiting

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<v Speaker 1>for John Lennin to come home. Make it make sense.

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<v Speaker 1>He had the autograph, Lenin had been kind to him,

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<v Speaker 1>very cordial and decent. Chapman could have walked away, could

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<v Speaker 1>have gone back to Hawaii, could have gotten help. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>he waited because in his twisted mind, kindness didn't matter.

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<v Speaker 1>Fame was the crime, and the punishment was death. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>be right back with December eighth, nineteen eighty The Night

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<v Speaker 1>Mark David Chapman murdered John Lennon outside the Dakota. The

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<v Speaker 1>Hollow Point Bullets, the five Shots, the Last Words, and

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<v Speaker 1>the book that explained nothing. Welcome Back to Celebrity Trials.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm reed Carter. December eighth, nineteen eighty ten fifty pm.

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<v Speaker 1>John Lennon and Yoko Ono returned to the Dakota after

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<v Speaker 1>spending the evening at the Record Plant studio. Their driver,

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<v Speaker 1>Doug McDougall, later said Lennon was in high spirits. The

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<v Speaker 1>album was doing well. Double Fantasy had just gone gold,

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<v Speaker 1>the new song was coming together. John wanted to get

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<v Speaker 1>home quickly to say good night to Sean before going

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<v Speaker 1>out for a late dinner at the Stage Deli. The

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<v Speaker 1>limousine pulled up to the curb on West seventy second Street.

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<v Speaker 1>Standard practice would have been to drive into the Dakota's

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<v Speaker 1>secure interior courtyard, but Lennon liked to walk in from

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<v Speaker 1>the street. Made him feel like a regular New Yorker,

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<v Speaker 1>normal accessible. Yoko exited first, John followed, carrying a stack

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<v Speaker 1>of cassette tapes. They walked toward the entrance. A figure

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<v Speaker 1>stepped out of the shadows. Mark David Chapman still there

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<v Speaker 1>still waiting five hours since the autograph. Freezing cold but patient, resolute,

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<v Speaker 1>Lenin walked past him. Didn't recognize him, Why would he

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<v Speaker 1>just another fan. Chapman was wearing a scarf and a

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<v Speaker 1>winter coat underneath a promotional T shirt for Todd Rundgren's

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<v Speaker 1>album Hermit of Mink Hollow, another of his obsessions. Mister Lenin,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what some witnesses heard. Others heard nothing. Chapman himself

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<v Speaker 1>claimed he didn't remember calling out. What happened next took seconds.

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<v Speaker 1>Chapman dropped into what he called a combat stance, legs apart,

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<v Speaker 1>arms extended, both hands gripping the thirty eight revolver. He

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<v Speaker 1>fired five times, rapid succession, hollow point bullets designed to

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<v Speaker 1>mushroom on impact to cause maximum internal damage. The first

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<v Speaker 1>bullet missed shattered a window of the Dakota Building. Four

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<v Speaker 1>bullets found their target. Two entered the left side of

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<v Speaker 1>Lenin's back, one exiting through his chest, puncturing his lung,

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<v Speaker 1>the other lodging in his neck. Two more hit his

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<v Speaker 1>left shoulder. Lenin staggered forward, made it up five steps

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<v Speaker 1>into the security vestibule, blood pouring from his wounds from

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<v Speaker 1>his mouth, I'm shot, I'm shot. He collapsed on the floor.

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<v Speaker 1>The cassette tapes scattered around him. His glasses, the famous

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<v Speaker 1>round spectacles, smashed against his face. As he fell. Dorman

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<v Speaker 1>Jose Perdomo grabbed Chapman's arm, shook the gun loose, kicked

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<v Speaker 1>it across the pavement. The revolver came to rest in

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<v Speaker 1>some bushes near Chapman signed copy of Double Fantasy. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you know what you just did? Chapman was calm, almost peaceful. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I just shot John Lennon. He removed his coat and hat,

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<v Speaker 1>showed Perdomo he had no other weapons. Then he walked

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<v Speaker 1>to the curb, sat down, pulled out the catcher in

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<v Speaker 1>the rye, and started reading inside. Jay Hastings, the night concierge,

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<v Speaker 1>rushed to Lenin's side started to make a tourniquet, but

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<v Speaker 1>when he ripped open Lenin's shirt and saw the wounds,

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<v Speaker 1>the blood, the destroyed tissue, he knew a tourniquet wouldn't help.

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<v Speaker 1>He covered Lenin's chest with his uniform jacket, removed the

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<v Speaker 1>blood covered glasses, called the police. Yoko was screaming, John's

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<v Speaker 1>been shot, John's been shot. The responding officers Stephen Spiro

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<v Speaker 1>and Peter Cullen arrived within two minutes. They found Chapman

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<v Speaker 1>exactly where Perdomo had left him, on the street, reading

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<v Speaker 1>his book, completely at peace with what he'd done. He

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<v Speaker 1>was very docile. Spiro later recalled. He offered no resistance

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<v Speaker 1>at all. They cuffed him put him in the back

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<v Speaker 1>of the squad car. Chapman looked up and said, I

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<v Speaker 1>acted alone. Inside the Dakota Lenin was dying. Too much

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<v Speaker 1>blood loss, too much damage. The hallow point bullets had

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<v Speaker 1>done exactly what they were designed to do. Another pair

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<v Speaker 1>of officers, Bill Gamble and James Moran, lifted Lenin into

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<v Speaker 1>their patrol car. No time to wait for an ambulance,

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<v Speaker 1>they raced toward Roosevelt Hospital on West fifty ninth Street,

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<v Speaker 1>sirens blaring. Moran looked back at Lenin, Are you John Lennon?

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<v Speaker 1>Some accounts claim Lenin nodded, Others say he moaned. Others

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<v Speaker 1>say he was already unconscious. The truth is unclear. What's

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<v Speaker 1>certain is that John Lennon never spoke again. At Roosevelt Hospital,

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<v Speaker 1>doctor Stephen Lynn and a team of emergency room physicians

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<v Speaker 1>worked frantically. Lenin had no pulse when he arrived, no

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<v Speaker 1>blood pressure. They opened his chest, tried to massage his heart,

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<v Speaker 1>pumped unit after unit of blood, but he'd already lost

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<v Speaker 1>over eighty percent of his blood supply. The damage was catastrophic.

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<v Speaker 1>After nearly twenty minutes of effort, they stopped. At eleven

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen pm, Doctor Lynn walked out to speak with Yoko Ono.

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<v Speaker 1>We have very bad news. Unfortunately, in spite of massive efforts,

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<v Speaker 1>your husband is dead. Yoko collapsed. No, tell me it's

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<v Speaker 1>not true. Tell me he's okay. It wasn't okay. John Lennon,

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<v Speaker 1>founding member of the Beatles, husband, father, artist, activist, was

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<v Speaker 1>dead at forty years old. Outside the Dakota crowds were

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<v Speaker 1>already gathering. Word had spread. Radio stations interrupted their broadcasts.

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<v Speaker 1>Television networks broke into programming across the city, across the country,

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<v Speaker 1>across the world. People stopped what they were doing. Howard

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<v Speaker 1>Cosell delivered the news during Monday night football. An unspeakable tragedy.

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<v Speaker 1>John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West

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<v Speaker 1>side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps of

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<v Speaker 1>all of the Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed

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<v Speaker 1>to Roosevelt Hospital dead on arrival. This morning, thousands of

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<v Speaker 1>people gathered outside the Dakota crying, singing Lenin's songs, leaving flowers, candles, photographs,

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<v Speaker 1>a spontaneous memorial that would last for days. And Mark

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<v Speaker 1>David Chapman, he was in a holding cell at the

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<v Speaker 1>twentieth Precinct Calm Cooperative, reciting passages from the Catcher in

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<v Speaker 1>the Rye. When asked why he did it, he had

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<v Speaker 1>one answer to be somebody, John Lennon was dead and

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<v Speaker 1>Mark David Chapman finally had what he wanted fame. That's

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<v Speaker 1>part one of our John Lennon Assassination Special tomorrow. The

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<v Speaker 1>Trial that Never was Why Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty

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<v Speaker 1>against his lawyer's advice, claiming God told him to the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty years to life sentence, forty five years behind bars,

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen parole denials, and the question that haunts us still,

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<v Speaker 1>could anything have stopped him? John Winston Lennon was born

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<v Speaker 1>October ninth, nineteen forty in liver England. Formed The Beatles

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<v Speaker 1>with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Changed music forever,

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<v Speaker 1>changed culture forever. After the Beatles broke up. He moved

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<v Speaker 1>to New York with Yoko, raised their son Sean, made

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<v Speaker 1>music that still resonates today. Imagine all the people living

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<v Speaker 1>life in peace. He should be eighty five years old,

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<v Speaker 1>should be watching his grandchildren grow up, should be making music,

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<v Speaker 1>should be alive. Instead, he's frozen at forty, shot in

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<v Speaker 1>the back by a man who thought fame was worth

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<v Speaker 1>more than human life. Someone has to say his name.

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<v Speaker 1>John Lennon, husband, father, artist, Dreamer. Rest in peace, John,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm read Carter. See you tomorrow for part two. This

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<v Speaker 1>is Celebrity Trials