John Lennon with Chapman shortly before the assassination, Dec. 8, 1980
Mark David Chapman
NEW YORK (AP) — Letters from John Lennon’s killer detailing his
obsession with the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" to the police
officer who arrested him went on sale Monday through a Los
Angeles auction house.
The four missives from Mark David Chapman to Stephen Spiro are
for sale through Moments In Time, which specializes in historical
documents and rare autographs, at a fixed price of $75,000, auction
house owner Gary Zimet said. Zimet is selling the letters on behalf
of Spiro, who arrested Chapman on Dec. 8, 1980, shortly after he
shot Lennon outside The Dakota, the ex-Beatle’s Manhattan
apartment building.
The letters are typed and signed by Chapman. They were written
over several months in 1983, after he had pleaded guilty and been
sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Chapman, 57, was denied
parole in August for the seventh time. During the hearing, he again
expressed remorse for Lennon’s killing and spoke of his Christian
faith.
