Mark Chapman is a Liar: The Scene of the Crime

As may be noted elsewhere, the crime makes no sense in the light of the scene at which it occurred... This is what we are told:

Chapman is standing on the right side of the front entrance directly under the arch. Yoko passed Chapman without noticing him. Lennon passes, looks at him but does not say anything. Chapman swears Lennon recognized him from their earlier encounter because he (Chapman) was wearing a distinctive Russian hat with ear flaps. Before Lennon gets past the iron gate of the front entrance, Chapman calls to him: "Mr. Lennon." Lennon turns toward Chapman and sees him in a combat stance holding a .38 caliber revolver. Chapman fires five shots. Four hit Lennon; two in the left shoulder, two in the left side of the back. One shot misses Lennon completely. At least three bullet holes are left in the glass lobby doors.23

Lennon is about 22 feet from the curb when he is first shot. (Note: The sidewalk is 13 feet wide, there is a five-foot walkway/ledge in front of the Dakota's entrance, and Lennon was reportedly standing about four-feet inside the Dakota's entrance when he was shot. The total distance is 22 feet.) Chapman is about five feet away from Lennon when he fires. Chapman is standing behind Lennon and to his right. Yoko is inside the lobby at this point. She hears the shots but does not see anything because Lennon is outside and beyond her range of vision.

Fatally wounded, Lennon runs about 20 feet towards the lobby stairs. He pulls himself up six stairs and pushes the lobby door open. Yoko realizes he is shot because she sees blood. He staggers past the front desk in the main lobby and falls face down by the concierge stand. Altogether, Lennon runs about 35 feet, which includes climbing six stairs, before collapsing.

Yoko screams at Hastings: "John’s been shot! John’s been shot!" He calls the police.

Doorman Jose Perdomo screams at Chapman: "Leave! Get out of here!"

Chapman does not leave. A hysterical Yoko cradles Lennon’s head in her arms. Perdomo asks Chapman, "Do you know what you’ve done?" "I just shot John Lennon," he replies. Then he throws down his gun, takes off his overcoat, folds it up at his feet, and calmly begins reading his paperback, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Perdomo kicks the gun away.

The police arrive within minutes and eventually arrest Chapman. They realize Lennon is dying and don't wait for an ambulance. Instead they lift his bullet-ridden body to a patrol car and rush him to Roosevelt Hospital where he is pronounced dead in the emergency room.