Claire Chick murder: University lecturer who warned police killed by estranged husband as he's jailed for life

Claire Chick, 48-year-old mother-of-two who taught nursing at the University of Plymouth, had made six formal statements to police reporting her husband's escalating campaign of stalking, harassment, and abuse. In her final plea for help, she told officers: “I only feel that Butler will kill me if further action is not taken. I am in fear of leaving my house.”

Despite being on bail and under a court order to stay away from her, Paul Antony Butler, 53, continued to track and harass her. On January 10, he ambushed Claire outside her flat and carried out a brutal and frenzied knife attack, just hours after purchasing a large kitchen knife from a local supermarket.

Claire was taken to Derriford Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. Butler fled the scene but was arrested the next day and has on Friday (April 25) been sentenced to life in prison for her murder, with a minimum term of 27 years.

The court heard that the tragedy occurred following a six-month campaign of stalking and harassment. Despite six statements to police and Butler’s arrest on three occasions for assault, harassment, and stalking, he continued to harass her while on bail. He fitted a tracking device to her car, monitored her movements, and violated court-imposed restrictions.

On the day of the attack, Butler lay in wait outside her flat wearing a camouflaged hooded top. He ambushed her as she stepped outside and stabbed her repeatedly with a large kitchen knife he had bought earlier that day from a supermarket.

Prosecutor Jo Martin KC said a passing motorist described Butler as “really going for it.” After the attack, Butler also chased Claire’s new partner, shouting: “I’ll f***** do you too.”*

Butler fled the scene and later told a friend: “I am pretty certain I have ended her. I loved her so much. I meant to get him, but f** him. I killed her. I tried to get him, but he ran.”

He was arrested the next day at a hotel in Liskeard. In a police interview, Butler said: “She trusted me and she loved me and I can’t believe I have done this. She has children and grandchildren – I have destroyed so many lives. I don’t care about me. I am a monster. I have just seen hell, I am going to hell. This is what I am going to look forward to.”

The court was told the couple had met in 2021 when Claire moved into the same street after her first marriage ended. They married in June 2024, but the relationship quickly deteriorated. Claire ended the relationship that August, but Butler refused to accept it was over.

“She told friends she regretted getting married and everything was about him,” Martin said. “He would tell her he loved her, make threats of violence and threaten suicide.”

The day before the killing, Butler changed his Facebook profile name to “Stangray Strangler.” When a friend warned Claire, she reportedly replied: “I just wish he would get on with it and put me out of my misery.”

At a previous hearing, Butler pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a bladed article. Sentencing him to life in prison with a concurrent 18-month sentence for the weapon offence, Judge Robert Linford described the attack as a “frenzied, brutal, murderous” act of “sheer murderous brutality.”

“You did not just hurt and kill Claire – you have caused untold harm and misery to her family and friends,” the judge said. “You are responsible for all this suffering and you alone.”

Following Claire’s murder, Devon and Cornwall Police referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to their prior contact with her.

An IOPC spokesperson confirmed: “Our investigation into Claire Chick’s contact with Devon and Cornwall Police prior to her murder in January is ongoing. Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Ms Chick’s family and we are keeping them updated on the progress of our investigation.”