Mark Chapman told a court on this day that God had told him to kill the singer.

This shocked his defense team who were prepared for a not guilty plea. The defense team immediately moved to the get the judge to examine Chapman's mental state.

The 40 year-old ex-Beatle, Lennon, had been shot several times as he entered his apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, opposite Central Park, on 8th December 1980.