Karl Hutchings: Killer who cut homeless woman into 10 pieces ‘handed police map to shallow grave’

A murderer gave police a map showing where he buried the dismembered body of a woman who was last seen alive more than seven months ago, a court heard.

Prosecutor Christine Agnew KC said the remains of 55-year-old Julie Buckley were found in 10 pieces in a shallow grave in the Cambridgeshire village of Wimblington after the killer was revealed.

Karl Hutchings, 48, pleaded guilty to Ms Buckley’s murder on September 15 last year and provided police with a map showing where her remains were, the barrister told Cambridge Crown Court on Monday.

The prosecutor said Ms Buckley and Hutchings “were friends who had spent some time together, both of whom were addicts to class A drugs”.

Buckley, who was staying with Hutchings at his home in the Christchurch village, was last seen alive on CCTV footage from a Budgens supermarket in a nearby town on January 28.

Concerns were raised for her welfare after she failed to attend appointments, and Ms Agnew said it emerged Ms Buckley had been murdered between January 29 and the morning of January 30.

Ms Agnew said Ms Buckley’s phone was used on January 29.

He said Hutchings went to the One Stop store at 8.41am on January 30 and used Ms Buckley’s bank card to buy alcohol.

The prosecutor said Ms Buckley later sold her car for £500.

Miss Agnew said Hutchings, who initially denied murder and then changed his plea, told a teacher at HMP Peterborough that he had “waited” before admitting the crime because he “hoped he would be dealt with on a lesser level”.

He said Hutchings told the teacher he killed Miss Buckley “because she stole from him and was trying to convince him he was crazy.”

She said Hutchings told the teacher he had hit Ms Buckley on the head with the hammer, which “stunned” her, adding: “He hit her on the head again and that finished her off.”

Autopsy examination showed 11 blows to Ms Buckley’s skull.

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

Allison Summers, commuting Hutchings’ sentence, said he had a “long history of mental health problems and serious drug addiction.”

He said Ms Buckley was homeless and Hutchings “felt sorry for her” and offered a place to stay.

“The exact trigger and exact sequence (of what happened) may never be known for certain,” he said.

However, he said it “may have started spontaneously when Hutchings lost his temper and started attacking Ms Buckley”.

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

He said he pleaded guilty after being informed that the psychiatric report did not support the medical defense of diminished responsibility.

Judge Mark Bishop adjourned the case until Thursday, when he will sentence Hutchings at Cambridge Crown Court.