John Lennon was murdered in 1980 outside his New York City apartment
The concierge at the building where Beatles star John Lennon was fatally shot has revealed the musician's last words. In the new Apple TV+ documentary series, "John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial," narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, the events surrounding Lennon's shooting by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, and its aftermath are thoroughly examined.
The series delves into various conspiracy theories that emerged after Lennon's death and includes audio recordings of Chapman discussing his case with his lawyers during parole applications. The title highlights the fact that Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder just before his trial, resulting in a 20-year prison sentence, The Independent reported.
Jay Hastings who worked at the front desk of the Dakota building in New York, where the musician lived with his wife, Yoko Ona and their song Sean Ono Lennon recalled the fateful day.
"He runs past me. He goes, 'I'm shot,'" Mr Hastings recalls in the documentary. "He had blood coming out of his mouth. He just collapsed on the floor.
"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.'"
A Taxi driver named Richard Peterson also witnessed the shooting while sitting in his parked car outside the building.
"Lennon was walking in and this kid says, 'John Lennon,'" he says. "He was a chunky guy. I'm looking at him through the front window of my cab."
"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 realised, 'Hey, this ain't no movie.'"
The three-part documentary will reveal shocking details of Lennon's tragic murder, The Independent reported. It will interviews with some of his closest friends, along with Chapman's defence lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors.
When Chapman was asked why he shot Lennon, he said, "'All You Need Is Love', have you ever heard that? Well, this is what I say to that: all you need is love and 250 million dollars. He was the biggest, phoniest bastard that ever lived."
Chapman, 68, is currently being held at Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York.
At his 2020 hearing, he apologised to Lennon's widow, Ono, and called the shooting a "despicable" and "extremely selfish" act.
"I'm sorry for the pain that I caused to her," he said. "I think about it all of the time."
Meanwhile, a new Beatles song produced with a little help from artificial intelligence and including the vocals of John Lennon was recently released.
Artificial intelligence helped isolate late member John Lennon's vocals from a tape he recorded in 1978, two years before he was murdered.
They were combined with old session tracks, including parts by late guitarist George Harrison, and new lines from remaining members McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr to "reunite" the band for a final time.