'Evil' man jailed for life for murdering estranged wife in the street

A former doorman has been jailed for life for the murder of a university lecturer in Plymouth.

Paul Butler, 53, was sentenced to a minimum term of 27 years for killing his estranged wife Claire Chick after a six-month campaign of stalking and harassment when he refused to accept their relationship was over. Ms Chick, 48, was found seriously injured on West Hoe Road just before 9pm on 22 January.

She was taken to hospital, but died soon after. Previously known as Claire Butler, Ms Chick worked at the University of Plymouth.

She died after a frenzied attack outside her home. The attack was the culmination of months of harassment, stalking and violence at the hands of Butler.

Devon and Cornwall Police made a referral to the police watchdog due to previous contact with Ms Chick prior to her death. Jo Martin KC, prosecuting, said Ms Chick had made six statements to the police about Butler and he had been arrested three times before the attack.

Victim's final statement to police In her final statement to police the day before he killed her outside her own home, she said: "I only feel that Butler will kill me if further action is not taken. I am in fear of leaving my house." Butler was arrested around 20 miles away in the Liskeard area on 24 January.

He was sentenced on Friday at Plymouth Crown Court, having previously pleaded guilty to murder, and to one charge of possession of a bladed article. The court heard that after killing Ms Chick, Butler went to McDonald's for food and told a friend: "I am pretty certain I have ended her." After the judge handed down Butler's sentence, Devon and Cornwall Police said it had made "immediate changes" to its stalking and harassment procedures, to try and focus more on protecting victims and targeting perpetrators.

'I loved Claire' The family of Ms Chick told the court how her murder left a "huge void" in their lives. Her eldest daughter, Bethany Hancock-Baxter, described Butler as "evil".

She said: "I want this evil man to listen to me. I want you to know what you have done to us as a family." Her sister, Lydia Peers, said Butler was a "parasite".

After her short-lived marriage to Butler, Ms Chick began a relationship with another man, Paul Maxwell. Mr Maxwell spoke from the witness box and repeatedly stared at the defendant as he spoke.

Butler stared back at him. "I loved Claire.

She was beautiful, funny and kind," Mr Maxwell said. The attack Despite being on bail and banned from going near her, 6ft 5in Butler continued to stalk 5ft 2in Ms Chick, even putting a tracking device on her car, the court heard.

When he learned she had begun a new relationship, he went to her flat and waited for her. He then attacked her in the street, stabbing her more than 20 times with a large kitchen knife he had bought from a supermarket that day.

Before fleeing the scene, Butler chased Ms Chick's new partner, Mr Maxwell, who had returned from a regular evening run and witnessed the attack. 'She regretted getting married' Following the end of her first marriage, Ms Chick moved to the same street as Butler, leading to them meeting in 2021, the court heard.

They became a couple by summer 2022 and married in June 2024. However, the prosecution said Ms Chick had "expressed some doubts" before the wedding, and the honeymoon was "the end of the relationship".

Read more from Sky News:Inside Pope Francis's final farewellHeadteacher jailed for attacking his deputyLuigi Mangione due in court Ms Martin said: "They had a huge argument. She told friends she regretted getting married and everything was about him.

"On August 23, she told him she wanted to live alone. He made it clear he would make her change her mind.

"He would tell her he loved her, make threats of violence and threaten suicide. "He also expressed feelings of jealousy and thought she was seeing someone." It was amid this escalating behaviour that Ms Chick began contacting the police..