Murdered woman's partner shares plans for vigil

The partner of a woman who was murdered in Plymouth has spoken about the work taking place in her memory since her death almost a year ago.

Claire Chick, 48, was found seriously injured in West Hoe Road on the evening of 22 January 2025 and died later in hospital.

Her estranged husband, Paul Butler, pleaded guilty to stabbing her to death and was jailed for a minimum of 27 years.

Paul Maxwell, her then-partner, said a candlelit vigil would take place on Plymouth Hoe on Wednesday as a mark of remembrance and to focus on "the positivity of her".

Maxwell said: "She was so respected in Plymouth.

"I'm hoping on the 21st at 18:30 GMT we're gonna meet here at Smeaton's Tower and just have a candlelit walk.

"In memory of her, obviously, but also to try and highlight domestic violence and domestic abuse, and try and let everybody out there know that we're trying to support nurses of all sorts as much as we can."

In April, the nurse and lecturer at the University of Plymouth was awarded a posthumous PhD and had a fund set up in her name to help nursing students.

"The university has been fantastic. Claire's best friends have been amazing as well in setting that up and we're going to try and help students," Maxwell added.

"Financially, domestic abuse, domestic violence, if they're struggling in any context, you know, with counselling and stuff like that, we can really keep her legacy alive for years and years to come."

Maxwell said he had had to create his own mechanisms of coping, which included focusing on "the people that were even closer than me" and positive memories.

"My priority is to make sure the girls [her daughters] are able to cope as best they can at this minute in time," he said.

"We often chat and they're more than wanting to keep her legacy alive as much as possible, really.

"Sometimes people look at me and think, well, you know, how could you go up around the Hoe every day.

"It's very easy to say people react to trauma in different ways. But, for me, the thought comes in... but I try to immediately then think, well, no - we went for walks up there, we went for coffees there.

"So, I try and think about all those things and I go over the spot every week. The thoughts may come in, but I try and then change them into a positive, which takes time."

He added: "Hopefully we can create enough energy that she'll feel us all missing her.

"We're trying very hard to focus on the positivity of her, rather than create too much negativity in our own minds.

"Her energy was incredible while she was here, and I know myself and people that work close to her can feel it on a daily basis, and the main thing is to create a legacy for her as long as we can."

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