Winter Discovery Auction Nov 14
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/14/2013
Letters from John Lennon's killer detailing his obsession with the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" to the police officer who arrested him.
The four missives from Mark David Chapman The letters are typed and signed by Chapman. They were written over several months in 1983, after he had pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Each letter is typed and signed by Chapman. They are dated form January 15,1983-May 31,1983
In the first letter, from Jan. 15, 1983, Chapman says his reason for writing, besides wanting to be Spiro's friend, is to ask for help in locating his copy of "The Catcher in The Rye," which he was reading at the time of his arrest. "Have you read `The Catcher in the Rye' yet?" Chapman asks. "I would like you to read it and tell me what you think of it. As you remember, in the copy that was taken from me I had written `This is my statement.'"
In one letter, Chapman said he'd let Spiro decide whether Lennon was a "phony" or not, a reference to troubled "Catcher in the Rye" narrator Holden Caulfield, who refers to people as "phonies" in the book, written by J.D. Salinger. Spiro said he re-read the novel on Chapman's request. He also states that Spiro had said something Big was going to happen that night of the arrest, and wanted Spiro to recall if he said it and why.
Chapman said that he believes that it is part of a phenomenon. Chapman, 57, was denied parole in August for the seventh time. During the hearing, he again expressed remorse for Lennon's killing and spoke of his Christian faith.
Mark David Chapman's Letters To Police Officer Who Arrested Him
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