John Lennon’s last words will be revealed for the first time by a witness in a new Apple TV documentary about the night the Beatle member was murdered.
Lennon: Murder Without A Trial will feature the concierge of Manhattan’s Dakota building – where Lennon was shot dead on December 8, 1980 – speaking publicly about the tragedy for the first time.
Jay Hastings, who worked on the front desk at the building and heard Lennon’s last words, says the star cried out ‘I’m shot’ before falling to the ground.
‘He runs past me. He goes, ”I’m shot.” 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,”’ says Mr Hastings.
Taxi driver Richard Peterson was sat in his parked car outside the Dakota building and witnessed the shooting. He says: ‘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. I’m looking at him shoot him. This guy just shot John Lennon.’
He adds: ‘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.’
John Lennon (pictured) was shot outside Manhattan’s Dakota building as he retuned home on December 8, 1980
A crowd gathered outside the Dakota apartment building (pictured) after Lennon, who lived there, was shot hours earlier in front of the building
The documentary also reveals audio recordings of Lennon’s killer Mark Chapman (pictured) speaking to his lawyers ahead of his trial, The Telegraph reported
The documentary, out on December 6, will also reveal audio recordings of Lennon’s killer Mark Chapman speaking to his lawyers ahead of his trial, The Telegraph reported.
Asked about his motives for shooting the star by his legal team, Chapman references the Beatles song by saying: ‘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 b****rd that ever lived.’
Peter Cullen, an NYPD officer, arrested Chapman who stayed at the scene after the shooting holding a copy of The Catcher In The Rye.
Mr Cullen says: ‘We put the cuffs on him and it was strange: there was no resistance at all. He actually apologised to us. He said, ”Gee, I’m sorry you guys, I ruined your night.” I says, ”You gotta be kidding me. You know you just ruined your whole life?”’
The documentary will also look at the aftermath of the shooting and dive deep into conspiracy theories that sprung up after Lennon’s death.
The Beatles legend was shot dead at the age of 40 by unhinged fan Chapman outside his home in New York City.
The new documentary by Apple TV+ titled ‘John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial’ will also reveal previously unseen crime scene photographs that shed light on Lennon’s death.
Some of the star’s closest friends will provide their accounts following one of the most famous killings in history.
Richard Peterson, a taxi driver, in John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial, premiering on December 6
Elliot Mintz in John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial, premiering this month
Lennon was the founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles
Producers secured access to the New York City police department, the Board of Parole and the district attorney’s office documents for the three part documentary.
It will aim to explore the effect Lennon’s had across society. The series is produced by 72 Films and narrated by Kiefer Sutherland.
It comes after Sir Paul McCartney told how he would have been wracked with guilt if he had not repaired his friendship with Lennon before he was murdered.
John left The Beatles in 1969 and he had become embroiled in legal battles over the band’s back catalogue which caused tension between him and his former song-writing partner Sir Paul, now 81.
They got their friendship back on track in the mid 1970s and Sir Paul spent time at the home John shared in New York with his second wife Yoko Ono.
But Sir Paul admits he would have been devastated if he had not had the chance to repair the cracks in his relationship with John before he was killed.
Sir Paul said on the McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast: ‘In the end it was something I was very glad of, when he got murdered, that I’d had some really good times with him before that happened.
‘It would have been the worst thing in the world had he just been killed and we still had a bad relationship. That would have been a big guilt trip for me.
‘Luckily, we were friendly, we talked about how to bake bread.
‘You’ve got to remember I sued him in court, I sued his friends from Liverpool, life-long friends, in court. There’s a lot of getting over that has to be done.’