A man who murdered a nurse lecturer who “devoted her life to helping others” has been sentenced to life in prison.
Paul Antony Butler, 53, of Stangray Avenue, Plymouth, was given a minimum prison sentence of 27 years for the murder of 48-year-old Claire Chick.
“Her legacy will be remembered, and her knowledge and passion for nursing will be carried on by [her] students”
David Chick
Butler stabbed and killed Ms Chick, who worked as the associate head of school for international at the University of Plymouth’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, in January 2025 in an attack described by sentencing judge Robert Linford as “sheer murderous brutality”.
Family of Ms Chick, at the sentencing hearing held today at Plymouth Crown Court, spoke about the former cardiac nurse’s caring nature and her passion for nursing and healthcare education.
The court heard how Ms Chick and Butler had married in June 2024, around two years after they had first started going out, but that relationship rapidly deteriorated in the following months, in part due to coercive and controlling behaviour by Butler.
By September of that year he had moved out of the home they shared, at the request of Ms Chick, and from there Butler embarked on a campaign of stalking, threats and harassment towards her.
Prosecution barrister Joanna Martin KC told the court how Butler was “obsessed” with Ms Chick.
He threatened to take his own life over the break up, threatened to harm her or others she knew, hung around outside her house, emailed her at work, and became, the court heard, “increasingly erratic” in his behaviour.
Paul Butler
At one stage, he installed a tracking device to her car.
Fuelling Butler’s violent and threatening behaviour was jealousy over the fact she had begun a new relationship with a man named Paul Maxwell.
Ms Chick made a series of reports to police about Butler and he was arrested on two occasions, with bail conditions imposed that prohibited him from any contact with her.
On 21 January 2025, the day before she was killed, Ms Chick told her solicitor about breaches Butler had made to his bail conditions, and of frustration she felt towards police inaction regarding this.
The following day, Ms Chick called the police because Butler had been lurking outside of her place of work at the university in the early evening.
A few hours later, having run away from Ms Chick’s workplace, Butler bought a set of kitchen knives.
He said, in a claim rejected by Judge Linford, that he did so intending to slash the tyres of a car belonging to Mr Maxwell or otherwise intimidate him.
Just before 9pm, Butler, intoxicated and wielding a large kitchen knife, approached Ms Chick’s home wearing a camouflaged jacket with his hood up.
She emerged from the building, expecting to meet Mr Maxwell, who she had arranged to see, only for Butler to walk “calmly” towards her, grab her by the arm and stab her repeatedly.
Butler stabbed Ms Chick a minimum of 23 times in a brutal attack that was seen by several passersby, before then threatening to do the same to Mr Maxwell who had arrived shortly afterwards.
Ms Chick sustained injuries described in court as “non-survivable”.
She was rushed to Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital where she was pronounced dead around an hour after the attack. The court heard that she likely died on the scene.
Ms Chick’s father Alan Butler (no relation to the defendant) paid a loving tribute to the former nurse in court.
“She was a good person and had a purpose for her life,” he said.
“Claire was happy, friendly and outgoing and she devoted her life to helping others.
“Her nursing career was heading for great heights, delivering her skills and knowledge to many other countries. She was destined for greatness and the world has lost a treasure.
“She meant the world to me and I was so, so proud of her.”
“Nothing less than sheer murderous brutality”
Robert Linford
Ms Chick had worked at the University of Plymouth as a lecturer since 2015 and before that worked as a cardiac research nurse at the University of Leicester. Earlier in her career, she was a cardiac nurse at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
In her Plymouth role, she had been developing nursing education programmes across Europe, Africa and Asia.
Her father said the “world will be a poorer place” with the loss of Ms Chick.
Addressing the defendant, the father added: “You have robbed the world of an extremely talented high achiever… you have murdered my daughter and broken my heart… and you will go straight to hell.”
Ms Chick’s brother, David Chick, added in court: “Her legacy will be remembered, and her knowledge and passion for nursing will be carried on by [her] students.”
Adam Vaitilingam KC, Butler’s defence barrister, told the court that his client was remorseful, but that he understood a life sentence was “inevitable”.
Judge Linford, in his sentencing considerations, said: “You bought the knife for the specific purpose for which it was used; stabbing someone, not slashing tyres… the attack involved sustained and excessive violence towards the victim.
“This was a frenzied attack… involving the infliction of a minimum of 23 stab wounds.
“It was nothing less than sheer murderous brutality.”
He acknowledged, however, a letter he had received ahead of the hearing by Butler in which he admitted the attack was “cruel”. The judge described the statement as “soaked through” with remorse.
Butler was handed a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder, with a minimum of 26 years and 277 days served behind bars before he can be considered for parole.
