Woman Missing for 15 Years Was Killed, Cut in Half and Buried Under Concrete by Partner, Prosecutors Say

Anna Podedworna, 40, has gone on trial at Derby Crown Court, denying the murder of Izabela Zablocka — a Polish woman who vanished in 2010 after moving to the U.K., according to the BBC.

Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC told jurors that Zablocka and Podedworna relocated to the U.K. together in 2009, hoping to find work and a new start. The pair later settled at a house on Princes Street in Normanton, where Zablocka was last known to be alive, the BBC reported.

The court heard Zablocka last spoke to her family in Poland on Aug. 28, 2010, and that “nothing was amiss” during the call. After that, prosecutors say, she disappeared entirely — and her family never heard from her again.

The Crown alleges Zablocka was killed shortly after that final conversation. Prosecutors claim her body was later dismembered, with Aspden telling jurors it was cut in half using a large knife. The prosecution pointed to Podedworna’s past work as a butcher — experience they say would have involved deboning and portioning animal carcasses — and argued that the alleged dismemberment would have required “considerable force” to cut through the spine, according to the BBC.

Jurors were told Zablocka’s remains were then buried in the back garden of the Princes Street property, and that concrete was later laid over the burial site. Prosecutors described those steps as deliberate actions meant to conceal the killing, the BBC reported.

When the remains were recovered on June 1, 2025, prosecutors said only a skeleton and fragments of human tissue were left. A post-mortem examination carried out days later could not determine a cause of death because of the time that had passed and the condition of the remains, according to the BBC.

Aspden told jurors that while the Crown could not state definitively why Zablocka was killed, there was evidence of sexual jealousy in what he described as a turbulent relationship, the BBC reported.

The court also heard Zablocka’s daughter — who stayed in Poland when her mother moved to the U.K. — told police she believed Zablocka had wanted gender reassignment surgery but could not afford it, according to the BBC.

Prosecutors said Zablocka’s family reported her missing to U.K. police in November 2010 and later contacted authorities in Poland. When questioned, Podedworna allegedly claimed she had not seen Zablocka since August 2010 — statements the Crown described as lies and part of a long-running cover-up, per the BBC.

The BBC reported that Podedworna contacted police in May 2025, initially saying she wanted to provide evidence, before later directing officers to where Zablocka’s body was buried. Prosecutors said she has since claimed Zablocka died accidentally during a violent confrontation and that she acted in self-defense — a version of events the Crown told jurors was untrue.

According to the BBC, Podedworna was charged on June 5, 2025, with murder, preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice. She denies the charges. The trial is expected to last about four weeks.