Murder suspect arrested over woman’s death after manhunt by armed police
Share:
Paul Antony Butler, 53, has been arrested after Devon and Cornwall Police launched a manhunt. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found seriously injured in the street and later died. Devon and Cornwall Police launched a manhunt for Paul Antony Butler, 53, after the woman was discovered in Plymouth, Devon, on Wednesday.
![[A woman was found seriously injured in the street and later died in Plymouth on Wednesday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/23/15/0c2ac39a-3cb0-4c2a-beb8-0325d7757c44.jpg)
He was located and arrested in Liskeard, Cornwall, around 20 miles from Plymouth, and is now in police custody, the force said. The force will make a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) because of previous contact with the victim.
Previously, detectives warned the public not to approach “armed and dangerous” Butler but call them if he is spotted. The alleged victim, in her 40s, was found seriously injured in the street on West Hoe Road at 8.55pm on Wednesday 22 January. She was taken to hospital but sadly pronounced dead in the early hours. Her next of kin have been informed, police said.
A shop worker said she heard “screams” and people asking for an ambulance to be called at the time of the incident. David Badham, who runs the Central Convenience shop on the street, said: “I had a member of staff working and she said she heard screams.
“She obviously then popped her head out of the door to see what was going on, to hear people saying ‘Call an ambulance’.”. “He is currently in police custody having been arrested on suspicion of murder,” a Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said.
