Death of a Beatle' is a two-hour special examining how music legend John Lennon's name became forever intertwined with that of Mark David Chapman, the deranged fan who shot and killed him on 8 December 1980 outside his home in New York City. Twenty years have passed since the murder of John Lennon and Mark David Chapman has recently been denied parole. The man who robbed a generation of a great idol claims that his reading of Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye' prompted his violence against Lennon. Never before broadcast audiotapes of Chapman and an interview with the man who's been talking with the killer for years will bring a new perspective to Chapman's horrific crime.