THE KILLER of John Lennon, Mark David Chapman has had his sixth application for release postponed after his parole board requested more information.

The 55-year-old has served 29 years in Attica correctional facility in New York or second-degree murder, and has had five applications for parole denied so far.

The latest application hearing has been put off until 6 September as Chapman’s parole board is seeking extra information to complete his record.

Chapman was convicted to serve a sentence of 20 years to life for the fatal shooting of musician John Lennon in 1980. He was also required to undergo psychiatric treatment, as he was believed to be suffering from a psychotic disorder.

Chapman is infamously linked to JD Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, as he carried the book with him when he shot Lennon and read excerpts from it at this trial. He likened himself to the book’s protagonist, Houlden Caulfield, and told police following his arrest:

“I’m sure the large part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must be the Devil.”

Chapman had showed signs of a mental illness and reported hearing voices before he shot Lennon; he had developed a series of obsessions centring on art, music, John Lennon, and The Catcher in the Rye.

Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono, who was with him when he was shot, has repeatedly called on Chapman’s parole board to deny his release. Ono has cited fears that she and her sons will be put in danger if her husband’s killer walks free.

John Lennon would have turned 70 this October.