A STALKER who stabbed his ex to death after she went to police about him six times including on the day she died has been jailed.
Claire Chick, 48, was suffered 23 knife wounds after Paul Butler ambushed her outside her home in,Devon, in January.
Tragically the mum-of-two could not be saved and was declared dead in hospital the following morning.
Claire, who worked as a lecturer at the University of Plymouth, had gone to the police six times to make a statement in the months leading up to her death due to her ex-husband's stalking campaign.
On the day she was murdered, the mum told police: “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 three times for assault, harassment and stalking but refused to stop harassing Claire.
He has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years after he previously pleaded guilty to murder.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Linford said Butler had carried out a “frenzied, brutal, murderous” attack.
Plymouth Crown heard the 53-year-old, who also admitted possessing a knife, first got with Claire in 2021 after they met as neighbours.
The pair married in June 2024 but split just two months later due to Butler's behaviour.
The former doorman then launched a terrifying stalking campaign against Claire after refusing to accept the break up.
After she started a new relationship with Paul Maxwell, Butler was seen on CCTV buying three knives from .
He also changed his name on to Stangray Strangler after his road name and put a tracker on the mum's car to follow her.
On one of these occasions, she messaged her daughter saying: “I wish he would just get on with it and put me out of my misery”.
Jo Martin KC, prosecuting, said: “After the relationship was over there was constant texting, the tracking of her car, placing the restriction on the sale of her house, threatening suicide.
“She felt that he had made her life hell. She did repeatedly tell him to leave her alone and she felt violated by him.
“Then on the day of her murder, going to her workplace to watch her. She believed he would murder her.”
Despite being on bail and banned from going near her, Butler went to her home dressed in a camo hoodie and lay in wait for Claire.
When she left, the thug ambushed her – stabbing her more than 20 times with one of the knives he bought.
She was found seriously injured in West Hoe Road, Plymouth, at around 8.55pm on January 22.
Butler fled the scene but not before chasing Claire's new partner, who had returned from a regular evening run and witnessed the murder.
The killer shouted at him: “I'll f***ing do you too.”
An inquest heard Claire died after suffering multiple stab wounds.
Claire's eldest daughter Bethany Hancock-Baxter said her mum's murder had left a “huge void”.
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.
“Despite all the hate I have for you, I cannot bring myself to do what you did to my mum – that's because I am not evil like you.”
While Claire's dad Alan Butler described Butler as a “nasty narcissist”.
He added: “You have brutally killed the most beautiful human being and robbed the world of a high achiever.
“You have murdered my daughter, taken her future, broken my heart and will go straight to hell.
“I can never forgive you for what you have done. I rage with anger with what you have done.
“There are too many men who take the lives of women because they can't have what they want. They are evil, he is evil.”
Following Claire's death, Devon and Cornwall Police made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to previous contact.
“Our investigation into Claire Chick's contact with Devon and Cornwall Police prior to her murder in January is ongoing,” an IOPC spokesman said.
“Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Ms Chick's family and we are keeping them updated on the progress of our investigation.”
