Vanity Press Records founder David Marroquin 'doesn't deny' aggravated domestic violence charge, shuts down label

Content warning: This story is about domestic violence.

David Marroquin, the founder of Vanity Press Records, is shutting down his label after his ex-girlfriend Molly De Wind came forward about his domestic violence.

In a series of tweets from the Vanity Press Records Twitter account today, Marroquin said he “do[es]n’t deny Molly’s accusations” that he “beat [her] so bad that [she] had to get reconstructive surgery on [her] cheek and nose,” which she shared through the label’s Twitter on September 9th. Marroquin was charged with aggravated domestic violence with an arrest warrant issue by Michigan’s 15th Judicial District Court in Ann Arbor on August 6th. According to public records on the Mighican Courts website, Marroquin was arraigned on September 4th and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on September 23rd.

“I crossed a despicable line and can never go back,” Marroquin wrote in the first tweet, and in the second, “I am schizophrenic, when I hurt her I was hearing voices telling me I had no choice. it was awful. That said there is NO EXCUSE for violence against women. It was MY choice to not take my meds.” He closes out the thread by saying he’s turned himself in and will be attending a 90-day in-patient drug rehab program at the end of the week.

After De Wind came forward, artists who released on Vanity Press also spoke out about exploitation, missed payments and unsent orders. Marroquin said today he is “shutting down the label for good, refunding all orders, and paying out artists where necessary.” All releases have been removed from the Vanity Press Bandcamp page, however there is still merch up for sale.

“It [will] be as if Vanity Press never existed,” Marroquin wrote. “I am so sorry to all the artists I work with who I left a bad reputation smeared on their back catalog.” He did not share a public apology to De Wind, who is now unable to work.

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