Murder detectives have named a man wanted in connection with the death of a woman found injured in the street and warned he could be “armed and dangerous”.
Paul Antony Butler, 53, is being hunted after the woman in her 40s was attacked in Plymouth on Wednesday night.
She died in hospital in the early hours of Thursday.
Detective Inspector Rob Smith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “At this time the suspect remains at large and a major response is under way.
“We have taken the steps of releasing an image of a man we need to identify in connection to the murder investigation.
“We believe that this man could be armed and dangerous, so we are telling the public not to approach him in any circumstances and immediately call 999 if you have seen this man.”
He is described as being a white male, around 6ft 5in tall with brown/grey hair and blue eyes.
Police were called at 8.55pm on Wednesday after the woman was found in West Hoe Road.
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, told the PA news agency: “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’.”
Video footage posted on social media appeared to show numerous police cars and ambulances parked on West Hoe Road on Wednesday evening near to a post office and the West Hoe pub.
Anyone who sees Butler is asked not to approach him, but to call police on 999, quoting log 756 of January 22.
