Watch Online Free HD Solarmovies. On the morning of December 8 1980, John Lennon was happy in New York, and looking forward to the future, having just turned 40 he had finally recovered from the years as a Beatle he so hated. But by the end of that day, John would be dead and the world would be in mourning. So exactly what happened on that fateful day? Here are the final 24 hours of the ex-Beatle's life before he was so senselessly murdered by Mark David Chapman.