Man admits murdering neighbour Julie Buckley though her body has not been found

A man has admitted murdering his near neighbour, Julie Buckley, despite the 55-year-old's body not having been recovered, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Karl Hutchings, 48, changed his plea to guilty at a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Sept. 16 after initially denying the offence. He is due to be sentenced on Oct. 24. Hutchings had been charged in February with murdering Buckley between Jan. 20 and Jan. 31.

Cambridgeshire Police launched a missing-person investigation in February after officers discovered blood splattered around Buckley’s bungalow in Christchurch, near Wisbech, on Feb. 13. Forensic testing later linked the blood to Buckley, the force said. Detectives believe Buckley was killed on Jan. 30 and that Hutchings subsequently used her bank cards and sold some of her possessions.

Buckley was last seen on Jan. 28 on CCTV buying a small bag of shopping, including what appeared to be kitchen roll, at a Budgens supermarket. Police said she was captured wearing a light-coloured top and a beanie hat and that her communications stopped abruptly after that date.

Hutchings was arrested at the property on Feb. 13 and was formally charged on Feb. 16. He pleaded not guilty when he appeared via video link on March 19 but changed his plea at the recent Crown Court hearing. Cambridgeshire Police released a custody photograph of Hutchings after the change of plea.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stott said investigators were "pleased Hutchings has finally decided to take responsibility for what he has done" but urged him to reveal where he had left Buckley’s body so she could be given a burial. "While it won’t help the pain Julie’s family are feeling, it will make the process easier for them," Stott said.

Police have carried out extensive searches of land and water in the March and Christchurch areas. Dive teams searched waterways around Bedlam Bridge and Boots Bridge over the Sixteen Foot Bank drainage channel. A fisherman reported finding what was thought to be human hair in the water, but DNA testing indicated it was not from Buckley, the force said.

Two other people — a 49-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman from Christchurch — were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and remain under investigation, police said.

Investigators repeatedly appealed to the public for information and for dashcam footage from Jan. 29 and Jan. 30. Detectives also took the unusual step of featuring Stott on the BBC’s Crimewatch Live programme in March to seek further leads.

Hutchings’ social media history attracted attention during the inquiry. A photograph posted in March 2019 showed him wearing a mask similar to that associated with the fictional character Hannibal Lecter; friends' comments on the post indicated they took it as a joke at the time.

Prosecutors have not disclosed whether Hutchings has provided details about the location of Buckley’s remains. Police said searches and public appeals would continue, and they reiterated an urgent request for anyone with information about Buckley’s movements in late January to contact investigators.

The case highlights ongoing challenges in homicide investigations where a body has not been recovered. Convictions can be secured in the absence of a body when forensic evidence and other corroborating material meet the threshold required by prosecutors and the court. Hutchings will learn his sentence at the Oct. 24 hearing at Cambridge Crown Court.