The harrowing words "Evil", "murderous" and "cruel" resonated through the courtroom as Paul Butler received a life sentence for the murder of his estranged wife, university lecturer Claire Chick. Yet the most chilling label came from Butler himself following the brutal killing of the 48 year old mother and grandmother on January 22nd this year outside her West Hoe Road home. After being apprehended at a Liskeard hotel, he hauntingly admitted to the authorities, "I am a monster. I have just seen hell, I am going to hell."

Appearing in court initially, clad in jeans and a tight white long-sleeved top that emphasised his robust physique, Butler's relationship with Claire began when she was at a low ebb, termed "emotionally vulnerable." Following her first marriage dissolution in 2021 and her mother's death, she relocated to Stangray Avenue, with Butler as her next-door neighbour. By Summer 2022, sparks had turned to flames as they carried out a romance.

Claire was warmly remembered by peers as "happy, bubbly, ambitious, attractive, wonderful, witty person" shining in her university lecturer role. A devoted mother of two daughters and "besotted" grandmother of five, she once confided in feeling "safe" within Butler's towering 6ft 5ins frame, dwarfing her own 5ft 2ins stature, reports Plymouth Live.

However, the court heard how what began as endearing attentiveness evolved into disproportionate protectionism, an obsession that veiled a deadly truth –– he "clearly loved her", but menacingly so. The court heard that Butler had a knack for appearing "vulnerable." He was admitted to hospital in March 2023 with a perforated bowel, and his survival seemed uncertain. Yet, he pulled through with her by his side and took the opportunity to propose.

Claire, meanwhile, acquired her own place on Stangray Avenue, and Butler joined her there. Ms Martin noted that Butler subsequently launched a café on Mutley Plain with one of Claire's daughters, though the venture eventually failed and shut down. The pair tied the knot on June 14, 2024, but doubts had already crept into Claire's mind. The honeymoon was marred by an intense quarrel, leading Claire to contemplate cutting it short.

She even confessed to regretting the marriage, lamenting that "everything was all about him." By August 2024, Claire made her intentions to leave clear—Butler's responses swung from declarations of love to threats of violence, followed by apologies and threats of suicide.

Butler vacated the home in early September, relocating to a shared place on the same street that he once owned. On September 5, Claire consulted a lawyer regarding Butler's alarming behaviour and discussed the possibility of divorce. Prosecutor Joanna Martin, KC, revealed that on September 13, Butler attempted suicide by overdosing. Claire rushed to his aid and he was subsequently hospitalised, where he confessed suicidal thoughts to mental health professionals.

During his hospital stay, he also "expressed feelings of jealously and thought she [Claire] was seeing someone." The court learned that Claire found it challenging to leave him, burdened with guilt. They tried to mend their relationship through couples' counselling, but the attempt was unsuccessful, leading to another overdose by Butler. At this point, he started accusing her of infidelity, while simultaneously claiming he was seeing other women to provoke jealousy.

On September 19, Claire reached out to the police for the first time, alarmed by his increasingly unstable behaviour. Around this period, he travelled to Kuala Lumpur but sent her a letter demanding half of their house and pension. On September 26, she provided her first statement - one of six in total - to the police, expressing her fear over his erratic conduct. Upon his return from overseas, he persisted in making unwelcome calls to her.

She gave her next statement to the police on October 14, followed by a third on October 16. In these statements, she admitted feeling "stupid and embarrassed" about the situation, which was impacting her work. She reported feeling unwell, avoiding social outings, and her friends noted that she was struggling to cope.

The court was informed that on October 29, Claire withdrew her statements. At that time, Butler was out on bail with conditions, and Claire revealed that she was seeking a way to cope with their separation. However, by November, she was reportedly "really struggling" due to Butler's persistent behaviour. She confided in friends and family that she had attempted to reason with him, but he became increasingly erratic.

The court learned that Butler would post on his Facebook page, claiming he "knew about her movements", which led Claire to suspect he was stalking her. She discovered that he would sit outside her house and send her emails at work. One such incident occurred on November 22, when Butler visited her house and got into an argument with her. He pushed her, causing her to fall and bruise her leg. She asked him to leave, and he was subsequently arrested and bailed with conditions prohibiting him from contacting her. By mid-December, Claire found him attending social functions she was at, and she feared he had installed a tracker in her car.

She took the car to a garage, but staff were unable to locate the device. Gathering courage, she confronted him, and he admitted to installing the tracker, removing it, and handing it over to her. By mid-December, the court heard that Claire was "really struggling". She was concerned that she couldn't get a divorce as they hadn't been married long enough. She also believed she couldn't sell her home in Stangray Avenue because Butler had placed a restriction notice on the Land Registry.

Ms Martin revealed that Claire had confided in her, saying "that he had made her life hell". Despite her insistent pleas for him to cease contact, he persisted with text messages and threats of suicide. By the close of December, Claire had entered a new relationship with Paul Maxwell when Butler showed up at her home to confront him. Mr Maxwell maintained he was merely returning a book, but Butler later confessed to friends his disbelief and claimed to have seen Claire partially undressed after standing on a window ledge.

The court learnt that he dialled a friend in a visibly enraged state. During the conversation, he uttered the words "I will end up killing someone" out of sheer fury. On December 31, Claire submitted another report to the authorities detailing his surveillance of her residence, which led to Butler's arrest on suspicion of stalking. Post-interview, he was released on bail under specific terms, yet continued his pattern of stalking and harassing Claire.

Tragically, on January 10, 2025, Claire placed her sixth—and ultimately final—call to the police, submitting a formal statement which she endorsed on January 21, merely a day before her untimely demise. In her testimony, she voiced an urgent plea, stating: "I honestly feel that Butler will kill me if further action is not taken immediately. I am in fear of leaving my house." She conveyed her terror over both Butler’s past actions and the potential harm he could inflict in the future.

By this point, she had listed her property for sale and relocated to a flat on Kingdom Street in Millbay, settling in on January 18. Unbeknownst to her, Butler was still monitoring her movements and noticed the removal van at her old residence, which he then trailed.

On January 20, Butler conveyed to his GP that he felt in a "better mood" and seemed more upbeat. However, a friend who encountered him at a cafe described him as looking "run down" and mentioned that Claire had been "playing" with his mind. He reassured acquaintances that he would "never hurt" Claire, though he harboured suicidal thoughts.

Ms Martin highlighted that Butler sought legal counsel from a friend about Claire's Stangray Avenue property. In the recorded conversation, he confessed his jealousy towards Claire and admitted to installing a tracking device in her car, referring to her as a "f***ing slag."

During the call, Ms Martin pointed out, he expressed intense anger and acknowledged that if it weren't for his daughter, he might have faced a murder charge. In a disturbing twist, he altered his Facebook profile name to "Stangray Strangler", an action that was captured in a screenshot and sent to Claire. Her alarmed reaction was: "OMG I'm at the police station... I wish he would just get on and put me out of my misery."

The court was informed that Claire had reached out to her solicitor on the same day regarding Butler's violation of his bail terms and her worries that the police had not yet responded. Claire described her life as "a living hell" to her solicitor, according to Ms Martin. She expressed frustration with the police for not taking appropriate action during a lecture where she met a friend and planned a more in-depth conversation for January 24.

On the fateful day, Butler was seen on CCTV at Portland Villas wearing a hooded top before returning home to change into a camouflage jacket and baseball cap, armed with a rucksack. The court viewed a compilation of CCTV footage tracking him to a Starbucks on Mutley Plain at 6.50pm, where Ms Martin noted that Butler had "evidently formulated a plan".

Butler was then captured purchasing a set of three kitchen knives from Sainsbury's on Armada Way and entering the toilets, presumably to stash them in his bag. He later confessed to discarding two smaller knives and keeping the largest one, admitting to police his intention to either "hurt or confront" Mr Maxwell, "frighten him, or slash his tyres".

CCTV footage followed him to the Hoe, close to Claire's new residence and where he anticipated finding Mr Maxwell. Upon seeing Mr Maxwell's car exit the Waterfront pub car park, Butler pursued on foot, texting a friend, "I love her simply too much to deal with it all." He conceded to having consumed "a few beers" and predicted he would "feel different tomorrow."

Claire stepped out from her apartment block expecting to meet Mr Maxwell but instead faced Butler, menacingly wielding a knife. A bystander reported to the authorities about observing a hooded man grab a woman and repeatedly "thrust at her multiple times." Another eyewitness in their vehicle, with the dashcam rolling, described a scene where a man seemed to be brutally striking a woman "really going for it", while she appeared "cowering on the ground" trying to shield her head.

At that moment, Mr Maxwell emerged from his vehicle, dog lead in hand. He initially mistook a scream for student horseplay until he heard a woman's desperate cries of "get off me" and bolted towards West Hoe Road. One onlooker recounted seeing a man standing directly opposite a female. Calls of "get off her" echoed from another passerby across the street.

Mr Maxwell caught sight of a man departing the scene and identified him as Butler, which led him to the chilling realisation that the victim was Claire. However, Butler abruptly shifted his aggressive behavior towards Mr Maxwell, pursuing him down the road and around a van while threateningly shouting "I will f***ing do you too" before ultimately fleeing.

In the aftermath, Mr Maxwell rushed to administer CPR to Claire as more help arrived. Shortly after 9pm, an ambulance was summoned to the harrowing scene, and Claire was urgently transported to Derriford Hospital. Despite every possible effort by the medical team, she tragically passed away at 9.46pm.

Ms Martin revealed to the court a witness statement describing how they saw a man "really going for it". In hospital, it emerged Claire had been struck with more than 20 knife wounds. Ms Martin noted grimly that there was "no chance of survivability" and that Claire likely perished at the scene.

The post-mortem examination detailed 23 stab injuries, some of which were forceful enough to penetrate her ribs and breastbone. The most significant wound measured 10cm deep.

Additionally, Ms Martin highlighted the presence of "multiple defensive injuries" found on Claire.

Butler, who later confessed to police that his intended target had been Mr Maxwell and stated after seizing Claire's hand he did not remember anything else, neither the pursuit of Mr Maxwell nor the attack, proceeded to abandon his camouflage jacket. Subsequently, he visited the Sainsbury's store at Marsh Mills, buying a dressing gown to attend to a serious gash on his hand, along with Scotch whiskey and ibuprofen, falsely claiming to store personnel he incurred the cut from a domestic accident.

An attempt to book a room at the Premier Inn in Marsh Mills was thwarted due to no availability.

During this period, when a friend inquired about his condition via message, he chillingly responded, "Better than Claire". Butler further admitted, "I'm pretty certain she's dead" and morosely confessed, "I meant to get him [Mr Maxwell] but f***ed up. I killed her. I tried to get him but he ran".

In a subsequent text, Butler intimated to the friend his contemplation of an overdose, implying it would be preferable to "better than a life sentence".

The following day, Butler visited a Tesco and an Aldi, where he purchased additional painkillers and a change of clothes. He then travelled by train to Liskeard and took a taxi to another Premier Inn where he checked in.

At 7.40pm, police arrived and forced their way through a barricaded door, discovering Butler who had evidently been ill. After being rushed to Derriford Hospital due to an overdose, he underwent surgery on his hand.

On January 24, he was charged with the murder of Claire.

The court heard Butler's confession to the police at the hotel: "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, not just one. I don't care about me. I don't have a priest or access to a priest. I need to say how it is - I am a monster. I have just seen hell, I am going to hell. This is what I am going to look forward to."

Ms Martin informed the court that Butler had previous convictions. Between 1986 and 1988, when he was aged between 15 and 17, he had been convicted for offences "including sexual offences against girls and women" as well as assault causing actual bodily harm.

Claire's eldest daughter, Bethany Hancock-Baxter, addressed the court with her impact statement while Butler wiped his eyes. She demanded of him, "I want this evil man to listen to me", labelling his affection as inauthentic and contrasting it with her mother's generosity, saying "wasn't ever genuine - my mum would do anything for anyone - unlike you."

She highlighted how Claire had "five gorgeous grandchildren" whom Butler had been privileged to spend time with, yet "jealousy got the better of you."

Bethany conveyed her belief that Butler's motive was driven by a possessive logic: "If I can't have her, no-one can."

She didn't hide the "anger I have for you" for the "vile, malicious act that you did" and grimly noted that one day they would have to explain Claire’s fate to the grandchildren, igniting anew their mourning. Bethany wanted to make it clear to Butler what a "vile, evil murderer you are", adding "my mum is gone because you couldn't live with your guilt, anger and jealousy".

Claire's younger daughter, Lydia Peers, labelled Butler a "selfish man" inflicted with "cold blooded hands caused all this pain". Despite being embraced by the family who "put aside your past", she stated he felt he "lost" his "control" over Claire, deciding fatalistically that if Claire could not be his, she wouldn't belong to "even her amazing grandchildren."

She accused him, saying: "You didn't love her, ever. Stabbing her 23 teams is not love. You're a murderer. This was not an accident. This was not a mistake. You made sure she was gone."

In court, Mr Maxwell faced Butler directly from the witness box. While Butler seemed moved to tears during Claire's daughters' statements, he appeared disinterested when Mr Maxwell began his victim impact statement, looking around and ignoring him.

However, when Mr Maxwell paused and looked at Butler, a tense moment of eye contact ensued, with both men scowling in silence until Mr Maxwell resumed reading. Despite this, Butler continued to glare, and after the statement, as Mr Maxwell walked past the dock, they exchanged intense looks until Butler audibly remarked about being winked at.

Alan Butler, Claire's father, had his statement read out in court by Ms Martin. He lamented the tragic loss of his "beautiful daughter" who was "brutally and savagely murdered" by an "evil person who took her life."

He remembered her as "generous and full of fun," someone who lived a purposeful life and possessed an "infectious laugh."

He recounted his harrowing worries for her when she reached out to him in September 2024 after parting ways with Butler, revealing "in her own words she was in a living hell". He detailed that she had sought the police's assistance "several times" alleging she felt pursued and spied upon.

Hearing the pain and distress in her voice, he admitted it "broke my heart over and over again".

He accused Butler of "brutally killing the most beautiful human being" and inflicting immeasurable pain on countless individuals – her children, her grandchildren, friends, and family. He confronted Butler saying, "murdered my daughter and broken my heart... and you will go straight to hell".

He highlighted Claire’s esteemed international reputation in her professional capacity as a teacher and lamented that Butler's deed had made the "world was a poorer place". In his words, "How could you value a human life so cheaply. I rage with anger at what you have done."

He derided Butler as an "excuse of a man", noting Claire’s slightness and her inability to defend herself against him.

Making reference to other tragic cases where women fell victim to violence from current or former male partners, he penned: "There are too many men who take the lives of women because they can't have what they want. They are evil. You are evil."

Butler's defence counsel Adam Vaitilingam KC acknowledged his duty to present mitigating factors, but conceded there were "very limited amount we can advance", recognising that a life sentence was all but "inevitable". He added that Butler would likely be aged considerably before even being considered for parole.

However, he noted that Butler did not concur with every detail presented by the CPS regarding the months leading up to the murder. He stated that Butler was "adamant that he did not go to the address intending to attack" Claire and that "somebody else was the target of his anger."

Mr. Vaitiligam observed that Butler had, at the very least, chosen to attend court rather than take the "coward's way out" and had offered an early guilty plea, as well as shown remorse for his actions.

While passing sentence, Judge Robert Linford stated: "The Victim Personal Statements read to the court set out in graphic detail the effects of your savagery. You did not just hurt and kill Claire, you have caused untold harm and misery to her family and friends."

He noted that Claire's brother had spoken of her legacy in his victim impact statement, saying it would be "valued for years by those she knew and taught". Judge Linford stated that the loss of Claire had left "an irreplaceable void in the lives of so many people. You are responsible for all this suffering by so many and you alone." He stated that Butler had started to "excessively influence" Claire's life, adding: "In short, there were signs that you were controlling her. Those were warning signs of what lay beneath the surface of your personality."

He told Butler: "There is absolutely no doubt at all that whilst there were occasions when the two of you met and things were cordial, overall the story is one of obsession and control." He remarked on how Claire had sought legal counsel about Butler violating his bail conditions, mentioning "and she expressed concerns that those breaches had not been acted upon by the police."

Judge Linford recalled for the court the nature of the assault, which eyewitnesses described as Butler "really going for it" while Claire lay defenseless on the ground. He stated: "It was on any view a frenzied and deliberately murderous attack." The judge detailed the brutality of the incident, noting it involved "sustained and excessive violence towards [Claire]" continuing, "This was a frenzied attack, I repeat, involving the infliction of a minimum of 23 stab wounds. It was nothing less than sheer murderous brutality."

He mentioned that Butler had received a psychiatric evaluation before sentencing, which showed there was "no evidence of a psychotic episode or current mental disorder". He had perused a letter penned by Butler which he described as "soaked through with remorse for what you have done and an understanding of the harm that you have done to her family and friends."

He agreed with Butler's defence that "if you are ever released from the sentence that I am about to pass you will be a very old man." Judge Linford sentenced Butler to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years, deducting 88 days already served in custody. Alongside this, Butler received a concurrent sentence of 18 months for carrying the bladed weapon.

Butler exited the courtroom, displaying an air of indifference as he made his way out without acknowledging anyone in the public gallery. Judge Linford then conveyed a message to Claire Chick's family through Ms Martin KC, expressing his admiration for their quiet and dignified manner during the hearing of the horrific details of the case.

For those affected by this incident or feeling unsafe, support services are available within the city. Information can be accessed on the Council's website at: Plymouth support offer | PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK.

Additionally, Victim Support operates a 24-hour helpline at 0808 1689111.