Killer who cut victim's body into 10 pieces gave police a map to find her remains

A murderer gave police a map showing where he buried the dismembered body of the woman he killed, a court has heard.

The remains of Julie Buckley, 55, were found in 10 pieces in a shallow grave in Wimblington in Cambridgeshire, the prosecution said.

In Cambridge Crown Court on Monday, prosecutor Christine Agnew KC said that Karl Hutchings, 48, pleaded guilty on 15 September last year to Ms Buckley's murder.

Hutchings also provided police with a map showing where her remains were, she said.

Ms Buckley and Hutchings had been "friends who had spent some time together - they were both addicted to class A drugs", Ms Agnew said.

The victim had been staying with Hutchings at his home in the village of Christchurch.

She was last seen alive on CCTV captured at a Budgens supermarket in the nearby town of March on 28 January, 2025.

Concerns for Ms Buckley's welfare were first raised after she failed to attend her appointments.

Hutchings had initially denied the murder charge before changing his plea.

He told a teacher at HMP Peterborough that he had "waited it out" before pleading guilty as he "hoped he could be dealt with on a diminished basis", Ms Agnew said.

Hutchings also told the teacher he had killed Ms Buckley "because she had been stealing from him and had tried to convince him he was mad".

Ms Agnew said Hutchings told the teacher he had hit Ms Buckley with a hammer over the head which "made her woozy".

She added: "He hit her over the head again which finished her off".

Ms Buckley had been struck 11 times in the head, according to a post-mortem examination.

Ms Agnew said it appeared that Ms Buckley was murdered between 29 January and the morning of 30 January.

Ms Buckley's phone was used on 29 January and Hutchings used her bank card to purchase alcohol on 30 January, Ms Agnew said.

Huntley later sold Ms Buckley's car for £500, she added.

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Ms Agnew said Hutchings was arrested on 13 February last year and "extensive blood staining" was found on a sofa at his home, part of the living room carpet was missing and there were burnt items in the garden.

Allison Summers, mitigating for Hutchings, said he had a "long history of mental health problems and significant drug addiction".

She said Ms Buckley had been homeless and Hutchings "felt sorry for her" and offered her a place to stay.

Ms Summers said the "precise trigger and exact sequence (of what happened) may never be known with any degree of certainty".

She added it was "likely to have started spontaneously when Hutchings lost it and began striking Ms Buckley".

She said Hutchings had been released from a psychiatric unit less than three months before the murder.

He had pleaded guilty after he was advised that a psychiatric report did not support a medical defence of diminished responsibility, she said.

(c) Sky News 2026: Killer who cut victim's body into 10 pieces gave police a map to find her remains