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It is difficult to criticize the official explanation of what happened to John Lennon because a universally accepted version does not exist. There was no trial, no testimonies, no witnesses. The police report was certainly of little value and the autopsy report is suppressed from public view. The version of the crime shifts significantly depending on which book you read. Nevertheless, I have developed a composite version which we shall call the "official explanation." It is based on Chapman's public statements, various books, newspaper and magazine articles, and my recent site survey of the Dakota complex. The following is a composite description of how John Lennon met is demise on December 8, 1980. For all intents and purposes, it is the official explanation.

• 10:50 PM: A limousine stops at the curb in front of the Dakota entrance. The iron gates at the entrance are open, which is normal. A doorman, Jose Perdomo is guarding the entrance.

• Yoko Ono gets out first, Lennon follows. She quickly walks about 35 feet ahead of Lennon before he gets out. She is about to walk up the lobby stairs when Lennon emerges from the limousine. He is carrying tapes from the record plant.

• 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.

There are five big problems with the official version. First, Lennon's wounds are on the wrong side of his body. The autopsy indicated he sustained four wounds on the left side of his upper body, but Chapman was standing behind him and to his right when the shots were fired.

Second, Yoko's physical location during the shooting has been reported several different ways. Most accounts claim she got out the limousine first; however, Ray Coleman wrote—inLennon, The Definitive Biography—that "John walked ahead of Yoko into the archway." (p. 679) This is the only account I've read which places John in front of Yoko. The others (at least the ones I've read) place Yoko in front. Virtually all accounts, except Chapman's, suggest John and Yoko were close together. Chapman claims Yoko was 30 or 40 feet ahead when Lennon got out of the car. Based on other versions I've read, Chapman's version is the most believable. If Yoko had been close to Lennon, she would have seen more; but virtually all accounts suggest she did not see the shooting. If she was 30 or 40 feet ahead when Lennon got out of the limousine, that would place her inside the lobby when he was actually shot. As previously stated, John walked about 22 feet from the curb before being shot. If Yoko walked at roughly the same speed as John, and was 30 or 40 feet ahead of him, then she would be 52-to-62 feet from the curb when he was shot, which would easily place her inside the lobby when John was shot. (Note: The total distance from the curb to the courtyard is about 65 feet. See Figure 3.) To my knowledge, I am the first person to claim that Yoko was inside the lobby when John was shot. I am basing this assertion on three things: (a) Chapman's version of events, (b) I have been unable to find a specific accounting of Yoko's location, and (c) the dimensions of the entrance area—which I personally observed—place Yoko inside the lobby, assuming Chapman's version is accurate; and he has no reason to lie about Yoko's location.

Third, there is a major discrepancy regarding the distance between Chapman and Lennon when the shooting occurred. The conventional, unchallenged version is five feet, but at Chapman's sentencing hearing, he stated that Lennon was about 20 feet away. Amazingly, no one has directly challenged Chapman's version of the distance. Still, most accounts either claim the distance was five feet, close range, or it is not specified at all. When I first began studying the Lennon case, I wondered why there was such a discrepancy on this point. But when I visited the Dakota, the answer became clear. According to most versions, Lennon was standing by the left entrance gate and Chapman allegedly fired while standing at the right side of the entrance directly under the archway. With those two locations as a given, the maximum distance between the two men could only be about five feet. (see Figure 3)

Fourth, Chapman claims he and Lennon did not exchange words. Yet the official version asserts Chapman called out, "Mr. Lennon." This reportedly caused Lennon to turn to Chapman. At that point, Chapman allegedly began firing. At the sentencing hearing, Justice Dennis Edwards made a point of asking Chapman if he said anything to Lennon before shooting him. "Did you say anything at or about that time?" Edwards asked. Chapman replied: "No, your Honor." Nevertheless, it has been widely reported that Chapman called out, "Mr. Lennon," then shot him. For people who believe Chapman is guilty because he pled guilty, shouldn't we accept his full version of events; particularly those he gave to the judge at the sentencing hearing? If we cannot accept his full story, then why should we accept his confession at all?

Fifth, there are several accounts of shattered glass and bullet holes in glass doors; however, the specific location of the doors is somewhat ambiguous. In the book,Who Killed John Lennon?, writer Fenton Bresler presented Police Officer Steve Spiro's personal notes describing the crime scene. Regarding bullet holes in glass doors, Spiro wrote: "Turning to my right with the suspect [Chapman] I see the doorman, another male, and at least three bullet holes in the glass doors. My gun is now pointed toward the doorway."²

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