'Skilled butcher' murdered, cut up and buried partner

A "skilled butcher" has been found guilty of murdering her partner before cutting her body in two and burying her remains in the back garden of a house more than 15 years ago.

Izabela Zablocka was first reported missing in 2010, and her remains were found buried in Princes Street, Derby, on 1 June 2025.

The discovery came, Derby Crown Court heard, after Anna Podedworna, 40, of Boyer Street in Derby, contacted Derbyshire Police last year, telling them the body would be found there.

Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC said "mounting pressure" caused Podedworna to "crack" and email the police last year when a Polish television journalist flew to the UK to interview her.

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing

On Tuesday, Podedworna was convicted of murder by a jury, as well as perverting the course of justice and preventing a lawful burial.

Podedworna showed no emotion when the jury returned their verdict, after deliberating for seven hours and six minutes.

She will be sentenced on Wednesday.

The jury was told the two women had moved to the UK together from Poland in search of work and lived in the Normanton area of Derby.

The prosecution said Zablocka phoned her mother in Poland on 28 August 2010 and was not heard from again.

Aspden said shortly after this call, Zablocka was murdered by Podedworna, who "dismembered Izabela's body by cutting it in half with a large knife".

Police discovered the defendant had previously been employed as a "skilled butcher", and her work involved "deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife".

The court heard the body was buried in the back garden, before concrete hardstanding was then laid over the top.

The jury was also told Podedworna emailed police on 21 May 2025, saying she wished to provide evidence in relation to Zablocka's disappearance.

She told officers three days later they would find her body buried in the garden in Princes Street, the court heard.

But Podedworna claimed Zablocka died by "accident" during a violent confrontation, and claimed she ended up killing her partner in "self-defence".

The jury was told "considerable force" would have been needed to cut Zablocka's body in half, and that electrical tape had been used to bind her legs together before she was buried.

Aspden said it was not known why Zablocka was murdered, but there was "evidence of sexual jealousy" between her and Podedworna.

He described their relationship as "a stormy and turbulent one".

The court heard men had found Podedworna sexually attractive, which "caused suspicion, jealousy, and conflict" in her relationship with Zablocka.

Kasia, the victim's daughter who was still living in Poland when Zablocka went missing, told police she believed her mother wanted to undergo gender reassignment surgery but could not afford to, Aspden said.

Zablocka was reported missing by her family to UK police in November 2010 and then to police in Poland in January 2011, the court heard.

In 2024, Zablocka's daughter, now an adult, contacted Polish organisation Missing for Years, who contacted Podedworna via Facebook.

Podedworna claimed that she did not know where Izabela was and that she did not know what had happened to her.

A year later in May 2025, Rafal Zalewski - a Polish TV journalist - requested an interview with Podedworna, which the court heard "proved to be a tipping point".

Det Insp Kane Martin, of Derbyshire Police, said Podedworna was "a self-proclaimed, deceitful and manipulative liar".

He added the killer's "chilling account" to police and subsequently the jury, was "vague and emotionless".

He said: "She clearly thought her careful and considered disposal of Izabela and the lies she told in the years that followed would help her to avoid responsibility for what she had done.

"Having cut Izabela in two, she did no more than throw her in the bin as she awaited the opportunity to dig the filthy grave and bury her in the dead of night.

"She then removed all trace of Izabela - lying and obstructing justice in the years that followed.

"Podedworna is a selfish individual, concerned only about the impact upon herself."

Samantha Shallow, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Izabela Zablocka came to Derby in search of a new life with her partner, but instead met her death.

"Anna Podedworna not only brutally murdered her partner, but she subjected Izabela's loved ones to 15 years of uncertainty and anguish, not knowing if she was alive or dead.

"Podedworna hid the truth for years, but justice has caught up with her.

"Her callous actions took a mother and daughter away from her family and denied them the opportunity to grieve her passing and lay her to rest."

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