A killer who was obsessed with Hannibal Lecter butchered his neighbour with an electric saw before burying her in a shallow grave and then boasting to a friend how he had considered 'eating her'.Karl Hutchings, 48, cut friend Julie Buckley's body into 11 pieces following an argument before concealing her remains in a pit he dug that was less than 3ft deep.Days later he told a friend he had bludgeoned the 55-year-old with a hammer and strangled her, although it 'took her 24 hours to die because she just wouldn't die'. Prosecutor Christine Agnew KC told a judge today: 'He talked about Hannibal Lecter, saying he was obsessed by him and if there was a play he'd be the best person to pick because he wouldn't have to practise.'He said he could tell her the words from the films word for word.'Ms Agnew continued: 'He said that he had gagged her and that he would have eaten her but he didn't want to put that "toxic person" in his body.'He said that he would have happily had a "steak dinner" that night.'The sick boast is reminiscent of the scene in Silence of the Lambs where cannibalistic serial killer Lecter, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, says: 'A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.' Hutchings, 48, was pictured exclusively by the Mail wearing a sinister Hannibal Lecter-style mask following his guilty plea for murder in September last yearDetails of the case emerged for the first time today during a sentencing hearing at Cambridge Crown Court which will conclude later this week.Little was known about it previously as Hutchings admitted murdering Miss Buckley during an earlier hearing at the court, meaning details didn't emerge during a trial.Following his plea, Hutchings was pictured exclusively by the Mail wearing a sinister Lecter-style mask.Police began an investigation in mid-February last year when concerns were raised for Ms Buckley's welfare.Officers found blood spattered at the house where she was staying in Christchurch, near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, and forensically linked it to her.Checks revealed she had last been seen alive on January 28 when she was caught on CCTV buying groceries at a Budgens supermarket in the nearby village of March.Hutchings was arrested on February 13 and charged with murder - despite it being a rare 'no body' case.He eventually provided detectives with a map of her location in September last year, the day after he admitted killing her. The killer boasted to a friend that he would have happily had a 'steak dinner' as he talked about considering eating victim Julie Buckley on the night he bludgeoned her to death Ms Buckley, 55, was a friend of the defendant and had been staying in his homeThe court heard he changed his plea after learning his mental health would not be taken into account to justify diminished responsibility. Ms Agnew told the court today that the pair were friends who were living together at the time and were both Class A drug addicts.Soon after the killing, Hutchings began telling friends what had happened.One acquaintance, Caroline Parker, described him 'hyped and flirty' as he told her about the murder.'He said he had hit her with a hammer and strangled her. He said that it took her 24 hours to die because she wouldn't die,' the prosecutor said.'He said he chopped her up into 27 pieces... he mentioned burying her the next day.' She continued: 'He said it had been an ambition in life and that it was like a drug but he'd never get addicted to it.'Yet Hutchings also told his friend 'If you want anyone killed I can kill them for you', the court heard. She was last been seen alive on January 28 last year when she was caught on CCTV buying groceries at a Budgens supermarket in the village of MarchExplaining why he attacked his neighbour, Ms Agnew said: 'She wouldn't take him to get his script [slang for prescription] and she was winding him up by taking her drugs in front of him and not giving him any.'Hutchings sold Ms Buckley's car for £500 after disposing of her and also used her bank card to buy alcohol and withdraw cash at local shops and ATMs.He was arrested on February 25 and muttered 'f****** hell' to officers before claiming he was schizophrenic and had breathing difficulties.Asked if he knew why he was being arrested, he said: 'I understand but I don't understand why.'Forensic checks showed there were blood stains on a sofa at the property where he lived, some of which had 'pooled in crevices'.There was also evidence of blood on a sink, although the bathroom and shower were 'very clean', as were the walls. A burnt-out bonfire in the garden had parts of a carpet that matched a missing section in the living room, as well as underlay and clothing.A father and son out fishing around the Sixteen Foot Bank drainage channel near Christchurch had reported finding a reciprocating saw, as well as hair with 'two blades caught' in it on February 20. Police check a field in Wimblington after Hutchings finally provided a map detailing the whereabouts of Miss Buckley's remains The defendant had dug a 'shallow grave' with hand tools that was just 3ft long and 33in deepDNA was found on the handle of the saw that potentially matched Ms Buckley's. But police had to continue 'proof of life' enquiries until the map showing where the body parts had been buried was handed over by Hutchings' legal team long after his arrest.The site in a field in Wimblington was found to have a 'very shallow grave' that had been dug with hand tools and was just 3ft long, 27in wide and 33in deep. Inside were the naked remains of Ms Buckley, who is believed to have been murdered between January 29 and the morning of January 30.A post-mortem examination found she had sustained multiple 'blunt force traumatic injuries' to the skull and other fractures, including to her ribs, nose and left hand, the last probably from warding off blows before becoming incapacitated.None of the injuries were 'immediately fatal', meaning she could have clung on to life 'for some hours'.Ms Agnew told the court: 'Having ended the life of Julie Buckley, he did not even give her a dignified death.'He stripped her naked and butchered her into small sections... and buried her in a shallow grave.' Sir Anthony Hopkins won an Academy Award for his portrayal of serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 filmThe defendant spoke to an English teacher while on remand at HMP Peterborough and stated he had cut up his victim because it was easier to move her in pieces.He also told them he had 'waited it out before pleading as he was hoping he could be dealt with on a diminished [responsibility] basis'. Allison Summers KC, defending, said her client - whose previous offences include assault occasioning bodily harm and battery - had a 'history of mental health problems and drug addiction which left him isolated, vulnerable and living on the periphery of society'.He had 'felt sorry' for his victim and 'only let her live with him because he knew what it's like when no one wants you'.The attack had been spontaneous and Hutchings had intended to cause 'serious harm' rather than kill, she added.Ms Summers concluded by admitting the defendant had hoped for 'diminished responsibility' to be considered because he had 'been unwell for some time'.When he learned it would not form part of his case following a psychiatric evaluation, he 'accepted his guilt' and immediately gave the location of the body to police.But Recorder Mark Bishop said: 'It's taken him nine months [to confess to where he hid the remains] and it's only two weeks before the trial.'He may have decided he had no alternative but to say it.' Hutchings' Facebook page shows a macabre image from March 2019 in which he wore a face mask like the one worn by Hopkins in the 1991 horror film, for which he won an Academy Award.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: '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.'Hutchings will be sentenced on Thursday.