Death Certificate - Full View
Enlarged description of cause of death
Crime Scene Sketch published in New York Times on Dec. 10, 1980
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New Information
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John Lennon's Death Certificate |
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UPDATE (Salvador Astucia, June 22, 2004) -- While writing Rethinking John Lennon's Assassination, I attempted to obtain John Lennon's autopsy report from the New York City Medical Examiner's Office, but was denied access. But even without seeing the autopsy report first-hand, we still knew the nature of the wounds because on December 10, 1980, the New York Times published a summary the autopsy report in an article written by Paul Montgomery. In the stated article, Montgomery described John Lennon's wounds as follows, per the autopsy report:
"According to the autopsy, four shots struck Mr. Lennon, two in the left side of his back and two in his left shoulder. All four caused internal damage and bleeding."
Recently I obtained a copy of the John Lennon's death certificate (see below), which matches Paul Montgomery's summary of the autopsy report. The death certificate gives the following description of the wounds and cause of death:
"...Multiple gunshot wounds of left shoulder and chest....Left lung and left subclavian artery; External and internal hemorrhage. Shock."
The death certificate does not specify whether the chest wound was an entry or exit wound; however, Paul Montgomery indicated it was an exit wound because he claimed two bullets struck "the left side of his back", per the autopsy report.
This means the shooter was standing to John's left; however, a crime scene sketch published in the New York Times on Dec. 10, 1980--two days after the shooting--showed Chapman standing behind John, to John's right (see Figure A). The sketch also shows a service elevator in front of John, to John's left. That is probably where the real shooter fired the fatal shots. With this information, a different version of the crime emerges: As John walks from the entrance to the lobby, the shooter (someone other than Chapman) fires from the vicinity of the service elevator, hitting John twice in the left shoulder. After being hit twice, John runs to the lobby stairs, and the shooter fires three more shots, hitting him twice in left side of the back; one shot misses completely. The last three shots leave three bullet holes in the glass lobby doors (per Fenton Bresler's description of the crime). Apparently the two bullets that hit John in the left side of the back exited the left side of his chest, leaving bullet holes in the glass lobby door. ♠
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Death Certificate - Full View
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Enlarged description of cause of death |
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Crime Scene Sketch published in New York Times on Dec. 10, 1980 |
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Figure A |
The diagram shown in Figure A was published in the New York Times on Dec. 10, 1980; two days after the shooting. The following text accompanied the diagram in the NYT:
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Read Usenet follow-up discussion about death certificate. |
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