Butcher Describes Dismembering Partner's Body as 'Only Way' in Derby Murder Trial
A Derby butcher accused of murdering her girlfriend and concealing the dismembered body in a garden has told jurors that cutting the victim into pieces "seemed the only way" to handle the situation. Anna Podedworna, 40, is standing trial at Derby Crown Court, where she denies charges of murder, preventing a lawful burial, and perverting the course of justice.
Fatal Altercation in Normanton Home
The court heard that Podedworna struck Izabela Zablocka, a 30-year-old mother-of-one, with a horse figurine during a confrontation at their terraced home in Normanton, Derby, more than fifteen years ago. Podedworna claimed that Ms Zablocka, who regularly consumed alcohol, had physically assaulted her in the weeks preceding the incident, including holding her by the neck and threatening to kill her.
On the day of the fatal altercation, Podedworna testified that Ms Zablocka became "angry" about her returning home late from work. The defendant described being grabbed, pressed against a wall, and strangled until she found it "difficult" to breathe. "I was terrified," Podedworna told the court through a Polish interpreter. "I thought that was the end... that she would kill me."
Dismemberment and Burial in Garden
After checking Ms Zablocka's pulse and attempting resuscitation, Podedworna said she made the decision not to contact emergency services because she believed she had "no witness" and that nobody would accept her claim of self-defence. "I thought I would go to prison for the rest of my life," she explained to jurors.
The defendant, who worked as a skilled butcher at Cranberry Foods poultry factory in Scropton, Derbyshire, described using a kitchen knife to cut Ms Zablocka's body into two pieces because she lacked the strength to move it whole. "It seemed the only way... to cut her into two," Podedworna stated. She then placed the remains in plastic bin bags and buried them in a hole in the garden, later telling the court she felt "like some type of monster" during the process.
Background of Relationship and Previous Violence
The court heard that both women had moved to the UK from Poland and were in a sexual relationship at the time of the incident. Podedworna described arguments over money and jealousy, claiming that Ms Zablocka had once given her a black eye while they were living in Poland. However, she denied allegations from Ms Zablocka's daughter that she had chased the victim with a knife in Poland.
Ms Zablocka's family last had contact with her in August 2010, and her disappearance remained unresolved until the discovery of her remains. The trial continues as the prosecution and defence present their cases regarding the events that led to one of Derby's most disturbing murder investigations.
