On the evening of 8 December 1980, English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, was shot and fatally wounded in the archway of The Dakota, his residence in New York City. His killer was Mark David Chapman, an American Beatles fan who was incensed by Lennon's lavish lifestyle and his 1966 comment that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus". Chapman said he was inspired by the fictional character Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, a "phony-killer" who despises hypocrisy. A worldwide outpouring of grief ensued; crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of the Dakota, and at least three Beatles fans killed themselves. The next day, Lennon was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; in lieu of a funeral, Ono requested ten minutes of silence around the world. Chapman pleaded guilty to murdering Lennon and was given a sentence of 20-years-to-life imprisonment.
