Analysis of film footage, from Dec. 9, 1980, NYC, suggests bullet holes in Dakota's lobby door were likely not caused by Chapman.

New evidence further exonerates Chapman

by Salvador Astucia, August 3, 2004

(last updated Jan. 16, 2006)

(Astucia is author of Rethinking John Lennon’s Assassination: The FBI’s War on Rock Stars)

Recently I obtained a copy of a home video containing news coverage of John Lennon's murder in New York City on December 8, 1980. The film is a mix of local NYC stations and national coverage of the murder. It begins around midnight on the morning of December 9, 1980, when a special report interrupts Monday Night Football to tell the world that John Lennon has just been shot and killed. Ernie Anastos of Channel 7 Eyewitness News broke the news to the public.

The identity of the person who made the video is unknown, but it appears to be authentic. The individual in question was apparently viewing and recording the Monday Night Football game when it was interrupted with news of Lennon's death by Channel 7 Eyewitness News in New York City. Wanting to learn more, the viewer apparently changed the channel to Channel 2, CBS, where reporter Jeanne Downey interviewed Sean Strub on live television in front of Roosevelt Hospital where Lennon had just died. The video resolves two anomalies in my research of Lennon's murder.

First, the film shows what appears to be at least three bullet holes in the glass doors leading to the Dakota lobby where Lennon collapsed after being fatally shot. This fact alone is potentially hard evidence which could exonerate accused assassin Mark David Chapman.Having stated that, there is an open question regarding the angle of the door when the bullets penetrated the glass. The evidence available at this time indicates the door was probably closed, and consequently out of Chapman's line of vision, but further research is needed to draw a more definitive conclusion. (See description below.)

Second, crime scene witness Sean Strub (who heard the shots, but did not see the crime as it was being committed) stated on live television (Channel 2, CBS) that Dakota doorman (Jose Perdomo) told him there "had been some sort of altercation or argument" between Lennon and Chapman moments before the shooting occurred. This is slightly different from the story which propagated across the news media,

that Chapman called to Lennon, Lennon turned, and Chapman began shooting. Nevertheless, it was apparently Perdomo--according to Strub--who first began telling people that a verbal exchange occurred between Chapman and Lennon. This is important because Chapman told Justice Dennis Edwards, the judge at Chapman's sentencing hearing on June 22, 1981, that no words were exchanged between himself and Lennon. (See transcript of sentencing hearing.)

The verbal exchange between Lennon and Chapman is critical because it establishes that Lennon probably turned to Chapman before Chapman theoretically began shooting. Lennon's turning motion is crucial because if he did in fact turn, he would probably have turned in the direction of Chapman. If this was the case, some or all of the bullets should have entered the right side of Lennon's body because Chapman was

reportedly standing to Lennon's right, a few feet behind him when the shooting started. But the autopsy report and death certificate reveal Lennon was shot four times on the left side of his body. (See death certificate.) So how could all four wounds be on the left side of the body if Chapman was standing to Lennon's right? Even more devastating, there is a strong possibility that Lennon did not turn at all. He simply walked straight ahead and was shot twice in the left shoulder, then shot twice more in the left side of the back as he ran towards the lobby door.

The identity of the witness who claimed a verbal exchange had occurred between Chapman and Lennon has been a question in my research; however, I had always assumed it was Perdomo, but never I knew for certain until viewing the live interview of Sean Strub. According to Strub, the story came from Perdomo; however, Perdomo's credibility has since been drawn into question, given he was an anti-Castro Cuban exile, similar to those trained by the CIA during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the burglary of the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist during the Watergate Scandal.

Perdomo's Cuban heritage, and his anti-Castro leanings, should have made him a prime suspect as an intelligence operative tasked to drop Lennon's security at a pre- determined time, thereby allowing an assassin to slip in and make the kill, then blame the crime on mind control subject, Mark David Chapman.

Figure 1: Entrance to Dakota as it looked in June 2003.

Figure 2(a): Full-view of bullet-ridden lobby door. (Broadcast on Channel 7 Eyewitness News, NYC, Dec. 8/9, 1980)

Figure 2(b): Closer view of bullet holes. (Broadcast on Channel 7 Eyewitness News, NYC, Dec. 8/9, 1980)

Figure 2(c): Close-up view of three bullet holes in lobby door. (Broadcast on Channel 7 Eyewitness News, NYC, Dec. 8/9, 1980)

Figure 3: Aerial sketch of lobby entrance from New York Times, Dec. 10, 1980. (cropped)

Figure 4(a): Recent photo of lobby stairs

Figure 4(b): Internet photo of Dakota entrance; source is unknown, but appears to be authentic. Lobby door is open.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 693