According to what was published in murderpedia.org for Juan Ignacio Blanco.
In English:
KING: Welcome back to LARRY KING LIVE, with Mark David Chapman. Mark, will you relive those terrible moments for you, for the world, for many people around and in John Lennon's close circles? What happened that night?
CHAPMAN: Well, if you want to start with that night... I was standing there with a gun in my pocket.
KING: Did you know you were going to shoot him?
CHAPMAN: Excuse me?
KING: Did you know you were going to shoot him?
CHAPMAN: Absolutely.
KING: It's okay.
CHAPMAN: I tried not to, I prayed I wouldn't, but knowing deep down that I probably was going to get to that.
KING: Did you know it would be that night? Did you know you would see him again?
CHAPMAN: Yes, I found out that morning, oddly enough, when I left the hotel. I had some kind of premonition that this was the last time I would ever leave my hotel room. I hadn't seen him until that moment—that's what makes it interesting. I wasn't even sure he was in the building.
And then I left the hotel room and bought a copy of The Catcher in the Rye, I signed it as from Holden Caulfield to Holden Caulfield, and I wrote beneath it: «This is my statement,» underlining the word «this,» emphasizing the word «this.» I had planned not to say anything after the shooting.
I walked quickly through Central Park West up to 72nd Street and I started walking around there with fans that Jude and Jerry were already there, and later a photographer arrived.
KING: It's okay.
CHAPMAN: I…
KING: And so John went out that day, right?
CHAPMAN: He went out. I was leaning on a railing full of gargoyles and looking down, reading The Catcher in the Rye, and I think she got in a taxi and disappeared. And then that day, I went to lunch with, I think, Jude. We came back.
KING: With whom?
CHAPMAN: With Jude. She was a fan there…
KING: Aha.
Chapman: …who was there in the building, and struck up a conversation about Hawaii, about John Lennon. She had been there a number of times. And at some point during the day, she left, and John went out again. I don’t remember him coming back from the taxi, but he was obviously there in the building.
I was doing an RKO radio special, and I walked out of the building and the photographer I mentioned before, Paul Goresh, pushed me forward and said, «This is your chance. You know? You've been waiting all day. You came all the way from Hawaii for me to sign your album. Come on, come on.».
I was very nervous, and I was standing right in front of John Lennon, and I had a pen Bic black, and I said, «John, would you sign my album?» And he said, «Sure.» Yoko went over and got into the car, and he pressed the pen button and started writing. At first, he had a little trouble writing. Then he wrote his name, John Lennon, and below that, 1980.
And he looked at me, as I mentioned before, and said, «Is that it? Do you want anything else?» And I felt then, and now, that he knew something subconsciously, that he was looking into the eyes of the person who was going to kill him.
KING: How do you think... why do you think that?
CHAPMAN: Well, his wife was in the car. The door opened, and he’s a busy man. He’s on his way to the radio station or his recording studio, and he’s talking to some nobody, signing an album for some nobody, and he’s asking me if that’s all I want. I mean, he’s giving me the autograph. I don’t have a camera on me. What could I possibly give him?
KING: I'd admit that's a strange thing to say. All right. So, he's leaving?
CHAPMAN: Yes, he's leaving. A car.
KING: ¿Y qué haces el resto del día?
CHAPMAN: Me quedo parado, como un idiota, esperando a que vuelva.
KING: ¿Y a qué hora regresó?
CHAPMAN: Volvió alrededor de 10 para las 11 de la noche.
KING: ¿Habías cenado?
CHAPMAN: No, no lo había hecho.
KING: ¿Temías que pudieras no verlo de nuevo?
CHAPMAN: Probablemente.
KING: Sabías que ibas a dispararle.
CHAPMAN: Sí.
KING: ¿Cómo sucedió eso? ¿Qué pasó?
CHAPMAN: Bueno, el fotógrafo se fue. Yo… para ser honesto, tengo que decir que traté de que se quedara.
KING: ¿Por qué?
CHAPMAN: Porque había quienes pensaban que yo quería que él tomara fotos del tiroteo, lo cual no es cierto.
KING: ¿Por qué, entonces, querías que se quedara?
CHAPMAN: Quería que se quedara porque quería salir de allí. Había una parte, una gran parte de mí que no quería estar allí. Le pregunté a Jude, la fan, antes de que se fuera, si quería salir esa noche. Ella dijo que no. Si hubiera dicho que sí, habría estado en una cita con ella.
KING: Pero usted podría haberlo matado al día siguiente.
CHAPMAN: Oh, sí. Probablemente habría vuelto.
KING: Las circunstancias del asesinato, ¿qué pasó?
CHAPMAN: Estaba sentado en el interior del arco del edificio Dakota. Y estaba oscuro. Es tan ventoso. José, el portero, estaba en la acera. Y aquí hay otra cosa extraña que pasó. Yo estaba en un ángulo de donde podía ver Central Park West y 72, y veo esta limusina parar y, como saben, probablemente hay cientos de limusinas que aparecen en Central Park West por la noche, pero sabía que esa era la suya.
Y dije: «Esto es todo», y me levanté. La limusina se detuvo, la puerta se abrió, la puerta trasera izquierda se abrió. Yoko salió. John estaba muy atrás, digamos 20 pies, cuando salió. Le hice un saludo a Yoko con la cabeza cuando ella pasó por mi lado.
KING: ¿Ella te devolvió el saludo?
CHAPMAN: No, no lo hizo. Y no quiero ser tan clínico en esto, pero se lo he dicho varias veces. Espero que lo entiendas. John salió, y me miró, y creo que me reconoció, aquí está el tipo a quien le firmé el álbum antes, y él pasó junto a mí. Di cinco pasos hacia la calle, me volví, saqué mi Charter Arms calibre 38 y le disparé en la espalda.
KING: ¿En toda la espalda?
CHAPMAN: Toda la espalda.
KING: ¿No lo vio venir?
CHAPMAN: Nunca vio venir nada, Larry. Fue una cosa muy rápida, fue una cosa difícil.
KING: ¿Habías disparado esa arma antes?
CHAPMAN: Esa arma, no. ni siquiera sabía si las balas iban a funcionar, y cuando lo hicieron, recuerdo haber pensado: «están funcionando, están funcionando». Me preocupaba que en el compartimiento de equipaje del avión, la humedad los hubiera arruinado, y recuerdo haber pensado: «están funcionando».
KING: ¿Qué hizo Yoko?
CHAPMAN: Ella, naturalmente, y no puedo culparla. Corrió alrededor de la zona de la escalera. No sé si todavía está ahí en el Dakota hoy, pero ella solo, ya sabes, corrió para cubrirse, que es lo que cualquiera haría. John, de acuerdo con lo que me han dicho, tropezó con las escaleras, y luego la vi volver y subir a las escaleras, y luego ella abrazó el cuerpo de él.
KING: ¿Él… ella gritó?
CHAPMAN: No creo que gritara, pero unos minutos después de eso hubo un grito aterrador de alguien que me erizó los pelos de la nuca.
KING: ¿Te aliviaste?
CHAPMAN: No, lo que pasó fue que estaba en un… Lo que pasó antes del tiroteo, antes de apretar el gatillo y después eran dos escenas diferentes en mi mente.
Antes, todo era como calma. Y yo estaba listo para que esto sucediera. Incluso escuché una voz, la mía, dentro de mí decir: «hazlo, hazlo, hazlo». Ya sabes, aquí vamos.
Y luego, fue como si la tira de la película se rompiera. Me derrumbé. Entré en shock. Me quedé ahí apenas sosteniendo el arma en mi lado derecho, y José, el portero, se acercó, llorando, me agarró y me sacudió el brazo, y me quitó el arma de la mano, lo cual fue algo muy valiente para hacerle a una persona armada. Y pateó el arma en el pavimento, hizo que alguien la agarrara, y yo estaba…, quedé aturdido.
No sabía qué hacer. Saqué The Catcher in the Rye de mi bolsillo. Me paseé. Traté de leerlo. No veía el momento, Larry, de que llegaran los policías. Estaba devastado.
In English:
KING: Welcome back to LARRY KING LIVE, with Mark David Chapman.
Mark, will you relive with us those terrible moments for you, for the world, for a lot of people around and in circles closest to John Lennon?
What happened that night?
CHAPMAN: Well, if you want to pick it up from the night, I was standing there with a gun in my pocket.
KING: You knew you were going to shoot him?
CHAPMAN: Sorry?
KING: Knew you were going to shoot him?
CHAPMAN: Absolutely.
KING: OK.
CHAPMAN: Tried not to, praying not to, but knowing down deep it was probably going to come to that. KING: Did you know it would be that night? Did you know you would see him again?
CHAPMAN: Yes, I knew that morning, oddly, when I left the hotel. I had some type of premonition that this was the last time I was going to leave my hotel room. I hadn’t seen him up to that point, that’s what makes it interesting. I wasn’t even sure he was in the building.
And then I left the hotel room, bought a copy of «The Catcher in the Rye,» signed it to Holden Caulfield from Holden Caulfield, and wrote underneath that «This is my statement,» underlining the world «this,» the emphasis on the word this. I had planned not to say anything after the shooting. Walked briskly up Central Park West to 72nd Street and began milling around there with fans that were there, Jude and Jerry, and later a photographer that came there.
KING: OK.
CHAPMAN: I…
KING: And then John came out that day, right?
CHAPMAN: He came out. I was leaning against a gargoyle-studded railing and was looking down, I was reading «The Catcher in the Rye,» and I believe he got into a taxi and disappeared. And then later that day, I had gone to lunch with, I believe, Jude. We came back.
KING: With who?
CHAPMAN: With Jude. She was a fan there…
KING: Uh-huh.
CHAPMAN: … that was there at the building, and we struck up a conversation about Hawaii, about John Lennon. She had been there a number of times. And at one point during the day, she had left, and John came back out. I don’t remember him going back in from the taxi, but he was obviously back there the building.
He was doing an RKO radio special, and he came out of the building and the photographer that I mentioned earlier, Paul Gores, he kind of pushed me forward and said, here’s your chance. You know, you’ve been waiting all day. You’ve come from Hawaii to have him sign your album. Go, go.
And I was very nervous and I was right in front of John Lennon instantly, and I had a black, Bic pen and I said, John, would you sign my album. And he said sure. Yoko went and got into the car, and he pushed the button on the pen and started to get to it write. It was a little hard to get to write at first. Then he wrote his name, John Lennon, and underneath that, 1980.
And he looked at me ,as I mentioned earlier, he said, is that all? Do you want anything else? And I felt then and now that he knew something subconsciously that he was looking into the eyes of the person that was going kill him. KING: How do you — why do you think that?
CHAPMAN: Well, his wife was in the car. The door was opened, and he’s a busy man. He’s going to go to a radio or to his record studio, and he’s talking to a nobody, just signing an album for a nobody, and he’s asking me, is that all I want. I mean, he’s giving me the autograph. I don’t have a camera on me. What could I give him?
KING: I would admit that is a strange thing to say. All right. So he leaves?
CHAPMAN: Yes, he leaves there. A car.
KING: And what do you do the rest of the day?
CHAPMAN: I stand around, like an idiot, waiting for him to come back.
KING: And what time did he came back?
CHAPMAN: He came back about 10 to 11 at night.
KING: Had you eaten dinner?
CHAPMAN: No, I had not.
KING: Feared you might have missed him?
CHAPMAN: Probably.
KING: Knew you were going shoot him.
CHAPMAN: Yes.
KING: How did that happen? What happened?
CHAPMAN: Well, the photographer left. I — in all fairness I have to say I tried to get him to stay.
KING: Because.
CHAPMAN: Because there were those that felt I wanted him to shoot pictures of the shooting, which is not true.
KING: Why, then, did you want him to stay?
CHAPMAN: I wanted him to stay because I wanted out of there. There was a part — a great part of me that didn’t want to be there. I asked Jude the fan before she left for a date that night. She said no. If she’d have said yes, I would have been on date with her.
KING: But you might have killed him the next day.
CHAPMAN: Oh, yes. I would have probably come back.
KING: The circumstances of the killing, what happened?
CHAPMAN: I was sitting on the inside of the arch of the Dakota Building. And it was dark. It as windy. Jose, the doorman, was out along the sidewalk. And here’s another odd thing that happened. I was at an angle where I could see Central Park West and 72nd and I see this limousine pull up and, as you know, there are probably hundreds of limousines that turn up Central Park West in the evening, but I knew that was his.
And I said, this is it, and I stood up. The limousine pulled up, the door opened, the rear left door opened. Yoko got out. John was far behind, say 20 feet, when he got out. I nodded to Yoko when she walked by me.
KING: Did she nod back?
CHAPMAN: No, she didn’t. And I don’t mean to be so clinical about this, but I’ve told it a number of times. I hope you understand. John came out, and he looked at me, and I think he recognized, here’s the fellow that I signed the album earlier, and he walked past me. I took five steps toward the street, turned, withdrew my Charter Arms .38 and fired five shots into his back.
KING: All in his back?
CHAPMAN: All in his back.
KING: Never saw it coming?
CHAPMAN: He never saw anything coming, Larry. It was a very quick — it was a rough thing.
KING: What — had you shot that weapon before?
CHAPMAN: That weapon, no. I didn’t even know if the bullets were going to work, and when they worked, I remember thinking, they’re working they’re working. I was worried that the plane in the baggage compartment, the humidity had ruined them, and I remember thinking, they’re working.
KING: What did Yoko do?
CHAPMAN: She naturally, and I can’t blame her. She dashed around the stair area. I don’t know if it’s still there at the Dakota today, but she just, you know, ran for cover, which is what anyone would do. John, according to what I’ve been told, stumbled up the stairs, and then I saw her come back around and then go up to the stairs and then she cradled his body.
KING: Did he — she scream?
CHAPMAN: I don’t think she screamed, but a few minutes after that there was just a blood-curdling scream from someone and it put the hair on the back of my neck straight up.
KING: Were you relieved?
CHAPMAN: No. I — what happened was I was in a — what happened before the shooting, before I pulled the trigger and after were two different scenes in my mind.
Before, everything was like dead calm. And I was ready for this to happen. I even heard a voice, my own, inside me say do it, do it, do it. You know, here we go.
And then afterwards, it was like the film strip broke. I fell in upon myself. I like went into a state of shock. I stood there with the gun hanging limply down at my right side and Jose the doorman came over and he’s crying, and he’s grabbing my arm, and he’s shaking my arm, and he shook the gun right out of my hand, which was a very brave thing to do to an armed person. And he kicked the gun across the pavement, had somebody take it away and I was just — I was stunned.
I didn’t know what to do. I took «The Catcher in the Rye» out of my pocket. I paced. I tried to read it. I just couldn’t wait, Larry until those police got there. I was just devastated.
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