Album John Lennon signed for his killer to be auctioned

John Lennon signs the copy of Double Fantasy that is coming up for auction..

One of the grisliest artefacts in musical history is up for sale, with a murderer's fingerprints on its sleeve. An American dealer is selling a copy of John Lennon's Double Fantasy, an LP Lennon signed for Mark David Chapman – his killer.
On 8 December 1980, just five hours before Lennon's death, Chapman was photographed approaching the Beatle to get him to sign a record. After Chapman shot Lennon outside his home, this LP was allegedly found by a maintenance man in a planter outside the gate. It was handed over to police, according to the dealer, who uncovered Chapman's fingerprints around the autograph. Officials later returned it to the owner, "with a letter of extreme gratitude from the district attorney".
"The album is the most extraordinary artefact in rock'n'roll history," said Bob Zafian, a spokesman for the seller. "I have never come across a piece with such provenance. Police reports, fingerprint documentation, letters from the [district attorney], it goes on and on." The original owner, a lifelong Beatles fan, sold the item for an alleged $150,000 (£94,000) in 1999. It is now up for sale via Moments in Time. According to the New York Post, the auction site is seeking $850,000 (£535,000).
As for who is selling the item, Moments in Time is keeping his identity secret. "[He] doesn't want to be named because he received death threats," Zafian said. Chapman himself sought to reclaim – and sell – the LP. In a 1986 letter, Lennon's murderer said it would be "the least [he] could do" to auction the album and donate the proceeds to a children's charity. "Is there any way to assess the value of an item such as this?"
Presently serving a sentence of 20 years to life, Chapman was denied parole in September for the sixth time.