Anna Podedworna claimed she was acting in self-defence
11:04, 10 Feb 2026Updated 11:53, 10 Feb 2026
mum guilty of murdering, chopping up and burying partner
A 40-year-old mum-of-two from Derby has been found guilty of murdering, dismembering and burying her former partner in the back garden of their Normanton home.
Following a three-week trial at Derby Crown Court, a jury took just over a day to unanimously convict Anna Podedworna of killing Izabela Zablocka, whose decomposed body was dug up 15 years after she went missing.
Asked by court clerk Aisha Shabir if they had reached unanimous verdicts on all three charges the defendant faced, the foreman replied: “Yes.”
She said: “On count one, murder, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?”
He replied: “Guilty.”
He then confirmed the guilty pleas to counts two and three, for preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice.
Podedworna showed no emotion as the verdicts were delivered.
Justice Mrs Heather Williams KC said: “I am not going to sentence today, I am going to need sentencing notes.
“I am going to pass sentence tomorrow.”
Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC said: “There is a victim impact statement from Izabela’s daughter, Katryzyna.”
The defendant had claimed she was acting in self-defence when she struck Izabela with a horse figurine which killed her in the living room at the address they were then sharing in Princes Street in August 2010.
She then told the court in evidence she “felt like some kind of monster” for then cutting the 30-year-old mother-of-one in two at the waist, placing her in bin bags and digging a hole for the body, rather than contacting the emergency services.
But having heard all of the evidence, the jury saw through her lies and convicted her of charges of murder, preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice.
Izabela’s family in Poland lost contact with her in August 2010
Detective Inspector Kane Martin, who led the investigation, said: “This investigation from the outset has been particularly challenging and distressing.
“After being killed in her own home in August of 2010 Izabela was brutally and horrifically dismembered by the woman she loved – Anna Podedworna, a highly skilled butcher.
“Behind all of this was a very dark secret which was kept for many years.
“Anna Podedworna gave us nothing to say where she had buried Izabela in the back garden.
“She was interviewed 14 times and answered ‘no comment’ to all that was put to her.
“This was a very complex case in which we relied on a lot of support including the army, search dogs and search teams and when Izabela was found the discovery was truly horrifying.
“Because of the state of the body a cause of death has never been determined and that anguish will remain with her family forever.”
The trial heard how Izabela and Podedworna moved to Derby in 2009 from their native Poland.
The victim left behind her then nine-year-old daughter, known as Kasia, and both women moved into the Princes Street address finding work at Cranberry Foods, a turkey processing factory in Scropton.
Following an argument at their address in August 2010, the defendant struck Izabela with the figurine claiming she was being strangled and then told the jury how she attempted mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions to try, in vain, to save her life.
Then, instead of calling 999, she instead chose to use her butchering skills to cut Izabela in half just above the waist, put the two halves of her body into bin bags, dig a hole in the garden and bury her.
Giving evidence, she was asked by her barrister, Clive Stockwell KC: “What were your thoughts when you realised she was dead?” She replied: “To call the police and call the ambulance.”
He asked her: “Did you call the police?” She replied: “I did not.”
Mr Stockwell said: “Did you call an ambulance?” Podedworna replied: ““No, I did not.”
He asked her: “Why did you not?” The defendant said: “If I called and there were no witnesses, no one would believe me that I was defending myself.”
The barrister said: “What did you think would happen if no one believed you?” She replied: “That I would go to prison for the rest of my life.”
Podedworna, who is facing a life sentence, will find out her fate tomorrow.