On the 8th of December 1980, music icon and peace activist John Lennon was assassinated just inside the entrance to the Dakota Apartments, his New York home. This was the first high-profile celebrity murder in history. The world was in shock. Mark Chapman, the man accused and later convicted of the crime, surprisingly had stayed at the scene and started to read a novel.
In Spring 2020, TV producer and writer David Whelan, concerned at the dozens of anomalies he found in the case, commenced a three-year long investigation into the assassination of John Lennon. Whelan gained exclusive access to the notebooks and paperwork of the NYPD's lead detective on the case, as well as interviewing everyone who was connected to the events: Dakota workers, Lennon insiders and employees, NYPD cops and detectives, and the medics who tried to save John Lennon in the Roosevelt Hospital Emergency Room. All gave new and highly revealing testimony.
Whelan’s thorough investigation will reveal overwhelming evidence which proves that Mark Chapman was not the cold and calculated killer we were told he was. Whelan shockingly concludes that Chapman was a mind-controlled Manchurian candidate patsy, placed at the crime scene to take the blame for Lennon’s murder, while a second shooter assassinated John Lennon as he entered his Dakota residence. Whelan’s investigation explosively reveals that nefarious actors and hidden organisations conspired to assassinate John Lennon, and to set up Mark Chapman as the fall guy for one of the world’s most infamous and shocking crimes.
The author recently revelaed that he plans to publish an updated edition of his book by the end of the year.
On his documentary film he says "I am still planning to produce a documentary film about my investigation sometime in 2025. But, as I have said many times before, these things do take time and I will only produce something that will not cut corners or gloss over uncomfortable facts. I would like to think that documentaries that say something new and interesting can still somehow be produced in our current vanilla TV times. That said, I’m realistic. It’s not going to be easy."
Recieved in an e-mail from the author, David Whelan, Wednesday 6 December 2023:
My John Lennon assassination book has finally been published
On this 43rd anniversary of John Lennon’s assassination, I am proud to announce that my book, Mind Games: The Assassination of John Lennon has now been published on Amazon.
My book is the whole truth about John Lennon Murder. The official narrative about John’s despicable murder is a lie. We all know John was obsessed with getting to the truth of things. I hope this book goes some way to getting to the truth of his assassination.
The book is in English language and is available in paperback in all Amazon outlets across the world. We will be publishing an e-book next Spring and we will also be producing an audio book early next year. We are currently negotiating foreign language version deals with individual publishers from various regions and countries across the world. As these deals are finalised, we will announce the releases as they happen next year. It’s going to be an uphill battle to get this book into the public consciousness. Please spread the word amongst your family and friends about this book and its content.
As most of you know, I have been investigating John’s assassination for over three years now. I have spoken to everyone involved with the case and I have managed to access all the lead detective’s notebooks and files. I am relieved that all my work is now finally out there for the world to read.
This book is the just the start of a process for getting justice for John Lennon. Though I believe my work has uncovered most of what really happened on 8th December 1980, there is still work to do. I urge everyone who reads the book to continue looking into the case. There are still unreleased FBI, CIA, NYPD and Manhattan DA’s office files. Most released files are still heavily redacted. We must continue to seek the whole truth about the people behind John Lennon’s assassination and their methods and motives.
My writing will continue here on Substack. There are plenty more subjects surrounding the case that need further exploring beyond my book. Lastly, thank you to all my subscribers for your interest in my work. Your support is greatly appreciated. I’m looking forward to hearing what you all think about the book.
Recieved in an e-mail from the author, David Whelan, Tuesday 28 November 2023:
New Apple Lennon Murder TV Series Trailer Review
On December 6th, Apple TV will release a 3-part TV series on John Lennon's assassination called promisingly: 'Murder Without a Trial'. Here's my review of the trailer.
David Whelan, 28 Nov
Apple TV have released a short trailer for their upcoming Lennon assassination TV series. I shall be reviewing the whole series in depth after it comes out on December 6th. But for now, here are my thoughts on the trailer.
In the trailer, the first person we see is cab driver Richard Peterson, a partial witness to Lennon’s murder. Peterson says: “Lennon was walking in and this kid says, John Lennon.” Peterson then says off-camera, “This guy just shot John Lennon.”
There are two very important things to understand with what Peterson is saying: firstly, Peterson has never said he saw John Lennon get struck with Mark Chapman’s alleged bullets. Peterson has consistently stated that he only saw Chapman raise a gun and shoot. John was out of Peterson’s vision when Peterson said he saw Chapman fire a gun.
What Peterson has not been consistent with over the years, is stating that he heard Chapman call out “John Lennon”. It is provable that Chapman did not do this. But, Peterson today says he did. Peterson’s statement from the night of the murder does not mention Chapman calling out “John Lennon”. Peterson has added this to his story. This is a crucial point, because the John Lennon assassination official narrative, needs us to believe that Lennon turned after Chapman called out to him, to square away Lennon’s frontal wounds. This did not happen. My forthcoming book will prove this.
Peterson’s original statement from December 1980 mentions Chapman shooting, putting down his gun, taking off his coat and hat and then reading a book. Peterson has subsequently said he then ran off looking for help. None of this timeline works with what we know. Peterson never mentions seeing Lennon being hit and he never mentions the Dakota doorman who we know was there. Various witnesses stated that they saw a yellow taxi speed off seconds after hearing gun-fire outside the Dakota. I believe this was Peterson. I do not believe Peterson saw what he said he did. I think he saw Chapman and he may have seen Chapman raise a gun, the rest I believe he picked up after returning to the crime scene later.
The second person we see in the trailer is an emotional Joseph Many. The lift operator and part-time doorman at the Dakota. What Joseph Many did and saw after the murder is crucial to understanding the truth about John Lennon’s assassination. My book will reveal more.
The third person we see sitting in an empty diner with a grey beard is Dakota concierge Jay Hastings. His actions and recollections from the night of Lennon’s assassination, are crucial to understanding the murder. Again, my book will reveal all.
We then see one of the first officers on the scene, Peter Cullen, reeling out a now well-worn old anecdote about ‘ruining his night’ etc.
The old man we then see is Lennon murder Lead Detective Ron Hoffman saying: “was somebody working with him’ and ‘was it a conspiracy’. It is interesting that Hoffman now says this about Chapman and the murder on this 2023 trailer, as Hoffman never for one second considered the possibility that there may have been a conspiracy when he was investigating the murder back in the day. I can confidently state this, as I have interviewed Ron countless time about his investigation and I have now accessed all his notebooks and paperwork from the case.
The off-camera voice we then hear is Assistant DA officer, Kim Hogrefe. Kim reels out an easily discredited line that he has repeated in countless documentaries over the years: “his intention was to bring fame to himself”. This is simply untrue. Chapman has never sought fame. He has turned down hundreds of media request over the years. Outside of two rehearsed TV interviews in 1992, Chapman has stayed away from the media.
We then meet cab driver Mark Snyder. Snyder repeats his highly-publicised claim from the time, that Chapman said to him in his cab a couple of days before Lennon’s murder: “my name is Mark David Chapman, you will remember my name”. This is possibly true, but Snyder has also claimed that Mark Chapman shape-shifted in the back of his cab like an alien.
So, there it is. An interesting trailer for sure. I’m sure more interesting things will come out of the full series. A series I shall be watching very closely. Full review to follow on December 6th.
Author/Producer David Whelan returns to the podcast to answer your questions about the John Lennon assassination. David's forthcoming book and documentary will provide never before revealed details about the late Beatle's death and the many inconsistencies with the official story, After David's first appearance, we received so many questions that we had to bring him back to answer them.
To avoid any confusion with Jon Wiener's 2000 book Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files, the book's title has been changed from Gimme Some Truth: The Assassination Of John Lennon to Mind Games: The Assassination Of John Lennon.
David Whelan on Talk TV on 30 April 2023 discussing his bombshell findings regarding the John Lennon assassination with Howard Hughes. After a three year Investigation, Whelan has written a book - Gimme Some Truth, The Assassination of John Lennon - that will be published globally at year end 2023.