Gloria Hiroko Chapman, the wife of John Lennon’s killer Mark Chapman, has spoken about the moment she “knew” her husband was responsible for the murder.

Lennon was just 40 years of age when he was shop Chapman on December 8, 1980, outside the New York home Lennon shared with wife Yoko Ono.

Having been found guilty of the murder, Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Now, in an interview with The Mirror which comes as her husband applies for parole, Gloria has said how she knew about Chapman’s plans to kill Lennon two months before the incident.

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“I knew it was Mark. How did I know? Two months earlier, Mark had travelled to New York. He came home scarred, telling me that to make a name for himself he had planned to kill Lennon. But he said my love had saved him.

“The only reason I was okay with Mark making another trip was because I had believed him when he said he needed to grow up as an adult and husband, and needed time to think about his life,” she added.

“He wanted me to sacrifice being alone for a short time so that we could live a long, happy marriage together. He said he threw the gun in the ocean, and I believed him. But he had lied to me.”

Gloria, recalling the day she found out that her husband had murdered the iconic Beatle, described it as “one of the darkest nights of [her] life.”

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“I had come home from work, fixed dinner, and was watching Little House on the Prairie when suddenly words ran across the bottom of the screen: ‘John Lennon has been shot in New York City by a male Caucasian’. My life changed dramatically that night.”

She added: “I was now Mrs Mark David Chapman, the wife of a murderer and not just any murderer but one whose victim was known and loved by millions around the world.”