Chapter 27: Trailer

On December 8, 1980 Mark David Chapman shocked the world by murdering the beloved purveyor of peace, 40-year old musician and activist, John Lennon, outside The Dakota, his New York apartment building. Chapman's motives were fabricated from pure delusion, fueled by an obsession with the fictional character Holden Caulfield and his similar misadventures in J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. In one instant, an anonymous, mentally unstable 25-year old, socially awkward Beatles fan who had fluctuated between idealizing Lennon and being overcome with a desire to kill him - altered the course of history. Jared Leto, 60 pounds heavier for the role, bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the real Chapman, who to this day, is incarcerated in Attica Prison, on a guilty plea. Aside from a Larry King interview in 1992, he has not spoken with the media. However, Chapman did reveal the mechanics of his unraveling during those three fateful days in New York City, to crime journalist Jack Jones.