A man has admitted murdering a university lecturer who was found seriously injured on the street.
Claire Chick, 48, who worked at the University of Plymouth, was rushed to hospital after being found in the city on January 22 but she died the next day.
The inquest into her death opened last month and said her preliminary cause of death was recorded as stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.
In a statement, the family praised the mum and grandmother, saying: ‘We are absolutely devastated and broken at the loss of our beautiful caring mother Claire Chick.
‘She was the most beautiful lively soul and was there for everyone. Everyone who knew our mum had so much positive words to say about her.
‘She was the life and soul of any place where she was. She loved to dance and sing even though she was pretty bad at it she had no shame in doing it in front of any audience.
‘We will never get over this as a family, she was our glue and our go-to. We won’t ever get the justice our mum deserves for this because no amount of justice will bring her back.
‘We want to thank everyone for their kind words, and we invite anyone who knew her to share their memories of her.
‘We also would like to remind the public she leaves behind five beautiful grandchildren who all refer to her as “a favourite grandma”‘.
‘We ask you respect their privacy, and everyone remains respectful to them.
‘She may be gone but her spirit will always remain alive. We love you mum, and we promise to make you proud.’
Claire, previously known as Claire Butler, was described as an ‘amazing tutor and phenomenal lecturer’ by a former student.
Richard Davies, vice-chancellor of the University of Plymouth, described her contribution to the university as ‘significant and deeply felt’ and said he colleagues would miss her ‘humour and warmth’.
A manhunt was launched for Paul Antony Butler, who was arrested about 20 miles away on January 24 on suspicion of her murder and possessing a bladed article.
He has now pleaded guilty to both charges at Plymouth crown court.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
Butler, 53 and from Stangray Avenue in Plymouth, appeared on video link from prison and appeared to wipe a tear away from his face as he entered his pleas.
Judge Robert Linford told Butler: ‘I am going to order that a psychiatric report is prepared upon you, which will assist the court in determining the minimum term that must be served by you before you are considered for parole.
‘You understand, I know, that the sentence for the offence of murder is fixed by law and on that date you will receive a sentence of life imprisonment, but the minimum term will be affected by submissions I hear from the prosecution barrister and your barrister, and that which is contained in the psychiatric report which I now order.
‘You will remain in custody until that day.’
Butler will be sentenced on April 25.
Devon and Cornwall Police referred Claire’s death to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over ‘previous contact with the victim’.
An IOPC spokesperson said: ‘After assessment of a referral from Devon and Cornwall Police we decided to investigate police contact with Claire Chick prior to her death in Plymouth on January 22.
‘We understand Ms Chick had contact with the force on a number of occasions since 2023.
‘Our investigation is considering the actions and decisions taken by Devon and Cornwall Police and examining whether relevant policies and procedures were followed.
‘Our thoughts are with Ms Chick’s family and all those affected by her distressing death. We have met with Ms Chick’s family to explain our role and express our sincere condolences.’
Assistant Chief Constable Glen Mayhew said: We are committed to fully co-operating with this ongoing independent investigation. To ensure we do not compromise the investigation it would be inappropriate to comment in more detail at this stage.’
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
