Human remains have been found in a field following a tip-off in the murder investigation of a woman who was last seen in January.Julie Buckley, 55, was last seen alive in CCTV footage taken at a convenience store near her Cambridgeshire home.Near neighbour Karl Hutchings, 48, this week admitted murdering her - despite her body never having been located.Detectives subsequently received new information from the legal team representing the killer - pictured exclusively by the Mail wearing a sinister Hannibal Lecter-style mask on the day he changed his plea - about a potential burial site.A team began the grim task of digging up a field in the village of Wimblington and today announced they had discovered a body. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stott said: 'Julie's family have been made aware of this significant update and are being supported by specially trained officers.'The remains are yet to be formally identified. A post-mortem examination is due to take place next week. The site where the remains were located are expected to remain closed off until next week for officers to continue forensic checks. Karl Hutchings, 48 - pictured glaring from behind a Hannibal Lecter-style mask - has admitted murdering Julie Buckley, 55A police investigation was launched in February this year amid fears for Ms Buckley's wellbeing.Officers found blood splattered around her bungalow home in Christchurch, near Wisbech, on February 13, and later forensically linked it to her.Investigations also revealed that she had last been seen alive on January 28 when she was captured on CCTV buying groceries at a Budgens supermarket in the nearby village of March.Hutchings was arrested on February 13 and Cambridgeshire Police announced they were treating her disappearance as murder, saying there was evidence she had come to 'serious harm'.Detectives believe he killed her on January 30 before using her bank cards and selling some of her possessions.Hutchings was charged on February 16 with murdering Ms Buckley between January 20 and January 31.DCI Stott appeared on BBC’s Crimewatch Live programme on March 12 to appeal for further information about her disappearance as officers continued to search for her body.He said at the time: 'We strongly believe Julie may have come to harm and we’re carrying out thorough searches of the area.' Police searching a field in the Cambridgeshire village of Wimblington following a tip-off from Hutching's legal team announced today that they had found human remains Ms Buckley has been missing since the end of January. Her family have been made aware of the development. The remains are yet to formally identified The killer is believed to have used Ms Buckley's bank cards and sold her possessions after murdering her Police dive teams had been searching the water around the Bedlam Bridge and Boots Bridge areas over the Sixteen Foot Bank drainage channel near Christchurch, he added.A fisherman had also discovered what was believed to be human hair in the water, although it is understood that DNA tests suggested it had not come from Ms Buckley.Detectives also made repeated appeals for people to come forward if they had any information or dashcam footage from the March and Christchurch areas on January 29 and January 30.Hutchings pleaded not guilty when he appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on March 19 but is now due to be sentenced on October 24 following his change of plea on Tuesday.His Facebook page shows him in the macabre pose in March 2019, wearing a face mask like the one worn by cannibalistic serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 horror film The Silence of the Lambs.Friends reacted to the picture at the time with one saying: 'U do make laugh lol xx.'Another wrote: 'Ha ha, is this your world book day costume.'Speaking after the guilty plea, DCI Stott said: 'It quickly became apparent that something serious had happened to Julie, given the abrupt and complete halt in her communications from 28 January. Hutchings, seen in a custody photo released by Cambridgeshire Police after he admitted the horrific offence Ms Buckley was seen at a Budgens store, where she bought items including what appeared to be kitchen roll She was seen striding away with a small shopping bag - and has not been seen since 'I am pleased Hutchings has finally decided to take responsibility for what he has done and, while it won’t help the pain Julie’s family are feeling, it will make the process easier for them.'I hope he will now tell us where he has left her body, so she can be laid to rest with dignity.'A 49-year-old man and 42-year-old woman, both from Christchurch, who were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, remain under investigation.