Charity honouring murder victim closes over income

Molly McLaren was a university student at the time of her death

The family of a woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend have decided to "wind up" a charity founded in her honour after losing income.

Molly McLaren, 23, was stabbed 75 times at the Dockside shopping centre in Chatham, Kent, in June 2017 after visiting the gym.

The Molly McLaren Foundation was set up by friends and family to provide advice and funding for those with eating disorders.

Her father, Doug McLaren, told BBC South East the charity had "achieved a lot" but the "revenue is not there".

An annual music festival, Mollyfest, hosted by the foundation will also wrap up.

The final MollyFest will be held at the Old Gravesendians Rugby Football Club in Gravesend on 25 May, with performances from local DJs and bands.

Her father said he believed the charity had "saved the best for last".

Ms McLaren, from Cobham, who struggled with bulimia, had been writing a blog about her experiences to help others before she was killed.

Mr McLaren said that he and his wife Jo, who also runs the charity, were not "spring chickens anymore"

"We've done a lot for charity, we've done a lot for Molly, we've achieved a lot," said Mr McLaren.

The foundation partnered with mental health charity Rewrite Your Story to sponsor more than 30 children to receive counselling.

But Mr McLaren said the charity had "lost its appeal".

"We've lost the income that we used to have. I mean, we had people kayak across the English Channel, we've had people jump out of... aeroplanes to support our charity."

Joshua Stimpson, who was 26 at the time of his conviction, admitted manslaughter but denied murder before his trial in 2018.

He was sentenced to a minimum of 26 years in prison.

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