Owner of Molly's Den vintage stores shot himself, inquest told

THE owner of the Molly's Den chain of vintage and antique emporiums shot himself at his home near Ringwood, an inquest has heard.

John East-Rigby (65), company director of Molly’s Den, was found dead at his address in Mockbeggar on Wednesday 8th May.

Winchester Coroner’s Court was told a post-mortem examination concluded he had suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Mr East-Rigby, who described himself as a serial entrepreneur on his LinkedIn profile, took over Molly’s Den in October 2017, christening it MD Emporium Ltd.

Previously he founded classiccarsforsale.co.uk in 2004 and was its managing director for seven years.

Molly’s Den first launched in 2012, offering traders space to sell a wide range of items including retro furniture, vintage clothing, records, collectables and antiques.

The company currently has branches in Christchurch, Winchester and Bournemouth. A store in New Milton closed some time ago.

A full inquest is due to be held on 26th September.