Yoko Ono fears John Lennon’s killer could kill her if he was ever released

Mark Chapman has been denied parole eight times for shooting the Beatles singer

Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono has admitted she still fears the man who murdered John Lennon could hurt her if he is released from prison.

Ono, a performance artist and activist, married the Beatles singer in 1969. She was living with Lennon in Manhattan, New York, when he was shot four times by Mark Chapman outside of their apartment in 1980.

Chapman was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1981. The 59-year-old was denied parole for the eighth time in August 2014 and cannot re-apply until 2016. At his most recent parole hearing, Chapman apologised for being an “idiot” and for “choosing the wrong way for glory”. He said the “many, many people” who loved Lennon were still hurting because of his actions.

Ono, who has contested every application for parole, said his motivations for killing Lennon were the aspect of his release that perturbed her the most, telling The Daily Beast: “One thing I think is that he did it once, he could do it again, to somebody else - you know. It could be me, it could be Sean [her son], it could be anybody, so there is that concern."

John Lennon and Yoko Ono 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' (Getty Images)

When asked if she believed he presented a threat to her, she responded: “I would be concerned [if he was released]. I said he’s crazy, but probably not - probably he had a purpose he wanted to accomplish like ‘Kill John Lennon.’

“So he might have another purpose. He’s not the kind of person who’s… I don’t think he’s just doing it emotionally. There is a reason, whether a simple reason or not, to do what he does, and justify it. So that’s very scary.”

The 82-year-old also broached the subject of Lennon’s sexuality and said the pair believed everyone is bisexual to some degree.

She said Lennon may have had a “desire” to have sex with another man, but for various reasons chose not to do so.

“The beginning of the year he was killed, he said to me, ‘I could have done it, but I can’t because I just never found somebody that was that attractive.’ Both John and I were into attractiveness—you know—beauty.”