Human remains found in a field have been confirmed as that of missing woman Julie Buckley – last seen alive eight months ago.

Karl Hutchings, 48, pleaded guilty at Cambridge Crown Court last week to the murder of Ms Buckley, but at the time of his plea, her body had yet to be found.

Police launched a “no body” murder investigation back in February after finding blood at her home in Christchurch, near Wisbech – and on Wednesday, police confirmed that remains found in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire, were in fact those of the 55-year-old.

It came after Hutchings’ defence team gave information to police about a potential burial site in the area.

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Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stott of Cambridgeshire Police, said: “Julie’s family have been made aware of the post-mortem results, which were inconclusive on the cause of death, and are being supported by specially trained officers.

“Our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time.”

Police believe Hutchings killed Ms Buckley on 30 January this year, then used her bank cards and sold possessions.

Officers from three forces had worked together to try to find her after she went missing, but eventually declared the case a ‘no body’ murder investigation.

Hutchings is next due in court on 24 October.

Kate O’Connor is back in Ireland following her historic silver medal at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo.

O’Connor was greeted by family and friends as she arrived in Dublin Airport.

The 24-year-old had initially planned to stay in Japan for another few weeks, but decided to cut her trip short to return home and recover from a knee injury she sustained while competing in the long jump.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, she said returning home was a precaution to make sure she is fit to compete next year.

“I’ve got the next six weeks off and we just thought it was the best move for next year, just to get home, get it scanned and just make sure that everything’s okay rather than running around the place on God knows what.

“So, I think it’s okay, I’m walking and I’m fine, but it’s just more of a medical kind of thing, just to make sure everything’s okay,” she said.

The Dundalk athlete said it was great to get a big welcome home after her success in Tokyo.

“When you’re so far away, you’re kind of in your own little bubble. It’s nice to come back and see how much it means to everybody else at home as well,” she said.

Despite picking up a knee injury in the long jump event, Ms O’Connor said she wanted to give everything to make sure she medalled.

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“The days leading up to the competition, I could kind of see like a little bit of hype online and stuff, and I suppose I’ve never really dealt with too much pressure going into a major competition, but I was definitely feeling a little bit going in.

“Friday, I just enjoyed every second of the competition. I had already won three international medals this year, so I’ve already had an amazing year and so my plan was just go in and just enjoy every second, which I did,” Ms O’Connor said.

She added: “And then day two, I was sitting in second place before the long jump, and then I dropped into fourth afterwards.

“So again, I was feeling a little bit of pressure, but I knew I was coming into two very strong events for me.

“I was carrying that knee injury at that point, but there was no doubt in my mind that I wasn’t going to give my absolute 100%.

“Because these medals don’t come around all that often, and I suppose you never know when you’re going to get the opportunity again to win one and I was just never going to let that opportunity pass.”

Ms O’Connor is the first Irish women to win a medal at a major championship in a multi-discipline event.

She is the sixth World medallist for Ireland, following Eamonn Coghlan (gold, 1500m, 1983), Sonia O’Sullivan (gold, 5000m, 1995 and silver, 1500m, 1993), Gillian O’Sullivan (silver, 20km walk, 2003), Olive Loughnane (silver, 20km walk, 2009) and Rob Heffernan (gold, 50km walk, 2013).

The Traitors Ireland has finished its first run on RTÉ with strong audiences on television and RTÉ Player.

Across the 12 episodes, the series pulled in an average of 557,000 live and viewed on the same day as live (VOSDAL) viewers, with a 50% share of viewing.

On RTÉ Player, it has been streamed 3.7 million times.

Catch-up audiences on linear added even more to those figures. For the first nine episodes, consolidated ratings rose by an average of 140,000 viewers per episode.

Hosted by Siobhán McSweeney and filmed at Slane Castle, the series saw a group of strangers compete in missions to build a prize fund while trying to identify the Traitors among them. Each night at the round table, the group voted to banish one of their own, as the Traitors plotted in secret.

The final brought the weeks of strategy and suspense to a climax, with the last Faithfuls and Traitors battling it out for the prize. Viewers were kept gripped by dramatic breakfast reveals, fierce round table showdowns and elaborate castle-set missions that tested the players’ nerve.

With the first series proving a ratings and social media hit, attention now turns to the future of the Irish version of the format, which originated in the Netherlands and has since spawned successful editions in the UK, US and Australia.

An RTÉ spokesperson said: “We are delighted with how Irish audiences have reacted to The Traitors Ireland Series 1. Discussions regarding the commissioning of Series 2 will begin in due course.”

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