Mark David Chapman’s Copy of ‘Double Fantasy’ For Sale

Lennon was killed Dec. 8, 1980, outside his home at The Dakota apartment building in the Manhattan borough of New York City.

Double Fantasy was released just three weeks earlier on Nov. 17. Seven of the tracks feature Lennon and the other half of the tracks feature his wife Yoko Ono.

Chapman’s copy of Double Fantasy was left behind at the scene of the crime. According to the Guardian, the album was found by a maintenance man in a planter outside the gate. It was turned in to the police as evidence and then returned to the owner.

Autograph dealer Gary Zimet is selling the album through his website momentsintime.com, according to the New York Post (via Spinner.com).

“The album is the most extraordinary artifact in rock and roll history,” Zimet told the New York Post. “It has Lennon’s signature on the cover and Chapman’s forensically enhanced finger prints on the sleeve. There are evidence markings from the NYPD. I originally sold it in 1999, but it has come back up for resale. The current owner doesn’t want to be named because he received death threats.”

The album is priced at $850,000, according to the New York Post. The Guardian notes that the original owner sold the album in 1999 “for an alleged $150,000.”

Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. He was denied parole for the sixth time in September.

Click here for the New York Post story. 

Click here for the Guardian story.