Anna Podedworna and Izabela Zablocka moved from Poland to the United Kingdom in 2009, seeking better employment opportunities. The two women settled in Normanton, Derby, where they built a shared life together. In August 2010, their relationship ended in tragedy when Podedworna killed Zablocka inside their home.
Podedworna claimed the killing was self-defense, stating that Zablocka had attempted to strangle her and that she struck Zablocka with a horse figurine in response. A jury at Derby Crown Court rejected this account, finding instead that Podedworna acted with unlawful intent to kill or cause serious bodily harm.
What followed was a calculated effort to conceal the crime. Drawing on her former experience as a turkey butcher, Podedworna dismembered Zablocka's body, splitting it in half. She then placed the remains in bin bags, buried them in a makeshift grave beneath their garden, and covered the site with concrete hardstanding. The concealment was thorough and effective—Zablocka's disappearance would remain unexplained for the next 15 years.
During this period, Zablocka's family grew increasingly desperate. They reported her missing both in the United Kingdom and in Poland, launching appeals for information about her whereabouts. Podedworna, however, consistently denied any knowledge of what had happened to her partner, offering no clues to investigators or grieving relatives.
The case finally broke in 2025 when Podedworna admitted responsibility for the death and revealed the burial location to police. However, her confession did not spare her from serious charges. On February 10, 2026, she was convicted at Derby Crown Court of three counts: murder, perverting the course of justice, and preventing a lawful burial.
Prosecutors built their case on the evidence of what came after the killing. Expert witnesses testified about the significant effort required to dismember a human body in the manner Zablocka's remains were treated. This dismemberment, prosecutors argued, was inconsistent with a spontaneous act of self-defense—it demonstrated a deliberate cover-up and consciousness of guilt.
Detective Inspector Kane Martin of Derbyshire Police described Podedworna's actions in stark terms, saying she had "brutally and horrifically" dismembered Zablocka, treating her "no differently to another piece of meat." He characterized Podedworna as a "monster."
