John Lennon's killer on why he shot The Beatles singer to death in 1980

The man who killed John Lennon recently spoke up on why he murdered The Beatles star almost 45 years later.

In an interview transcript exclusively obtained by New York Post, Mark David Chapman described what he did as "completely selfish."

"This was for me and me alone, unfortunately, and it had everything to do with his popularity," he said.

Chapman opened up about his desire "to be famous, to be something [he] wasn't" when he was asked by a commissioner about his motive for killing Lennon.

"And then I just realized, hey, there is a goal here. I don’t have to die and I can be a somebody. I had sunk that low," he recalled.

This is consistent with what he has said about his crime in previous parole hearings. According to PEOPLE Magazine, Chapman told a parole board in September 2022 that he was "seeking fame" when he ended Lennon's life.

"I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was evil. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted the fame so much that I was willing to give everything and take a human life," he said at the time.

Chapman murdered Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980 outside his apartment building in Manhattan. Lennon had just gotten out of a limo with his wife Yoko Ono when Chapman shot him four times in the back. It happened just a few hours after he got an album signed by Lennon.

He was given a sentence of 20 years to life. He has been denied parole 14 times since, and is next eligible for it in 2027.

The Post reported that in various parole hearings, Chapman apologized for killing the music legend and for causing "devastation" to everyone who loved him.

"This was a human being," he said. "Here I am living so much longer, and not just family but his friends and the fans, I apologize for the devastation that I caused you, the agony that they must have gone through. I had no thought about that at all at the time of the crime, I didn’t care."