10 Celebrities Who Were Murdered By Their Own Fans

10. John Lennon

The former Beatle was murdered outside his New York home by an enraged fan, Mark David Chapman, on December 8, 1980.

Chapman waited outside Lennon's apartment building all day for the perfect moment. While waiting, Chapman shook hands with Lennon's son, Sean, and even received an autograph from John himself. His chance finally came when Lennon returned home around 10.50 pm.

This stalker adopted a combat stance, reportedly called out, "Mr. Lennon" and fired five times at John Lennon's back. One bullet missed but the other four hit their mark. Chapman didn't try to escape. He sat down and read J. D. Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye until the police arrested him.

Chapman's motive? He believed John Lennon was a phony who sang about a world with no possessions in Imagine while living lavishly. Holden Caulfield, The Catcher In The Rye's protagonist, rages a lot about hypocrisy. Chapman was also incensed by Lennon's 1966 claim that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.

At his trial, Chapman pleaded guilty against the advice of his lawyers. They had repeatedly urged him to plead insanity. He insisted that the guilty plea was God's will. The judge handed Chapman a sentence of 20 years to life.

Chapman has since changed his tune praising Lennon, calling his crime despicable, and saying he only killed the star for the sake of his own personal glory. We have no way of knowing whether this is an act of genuine contrition or an attempt to hoodwink the parole board. Chapman has been denied parole 11 times.