Woman Accused of Murdering Girlfriend with Horse Figurine and Cutting Her Body in Half Says She Was ‘Only Defending Myself’

A woman accused of killing her partner and later cutting her body in half has told a court she acted in self-defence.

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, Anna Podedworna, 40, gave evidence at Derby Crown Court, about 130 miles north of London, saying she never wanted to harm her girlfriend, Izabela Zablocka, according to the BBC, U.K. newspaper Independent, and DerbyshireLive.

Podedworna has denied murdering Zablocka, who was 30 when she disappeared in 2010 after moving from Poland to the U.K., per the BBC. Prosecutors allege the pair moved in together in 2009, and that Podedworna — who previously worked as a butcher — buried Zablocka’s body in the back garden before covering it with concrete.

During Tuesday’s appearance, defense attorney Clive Stockwell questioned Podedworna about the couple’s relationship, according to the BBC. She said they argued “frequently” about finances, work, and “jealousy,” per the outlet. She also alleged Zablocka had threatened to kill her and had strangled her just two weeks before her death, the BBC and The Independent reported.

Podedworna told the court that on the day Zablocka died — in August or September 2010 — she returned home from work to Zablocka shouting that she was 10 minutes late, per the BBC. She said Zablocka then grabbed her by the neck and pinned her to a wall.

“Initially I was trying to push her away, but it wasn’t working so I started to strangle her,” she said, as noted by the BBC.

The court heard that Podedworna then reached for a horse figurine and struck Zablocka in the head. Podedworna said she was terrified after what she described as a previous attack two weeks earlier.

“After the situation which occurred two weeks prior. I was terrified she wasn’t joking, she was trying to kill me,” she told the court, adding that she did not want to hurt her partner.

“I wanted her to leave me alone, for her to let me go,” she continued.

After Zablocka was hit with the figurine a second time, she fell to the ground, Podedworna said. She told the court she checked for a pulse and tried to resuscitate Zablocka.

Podedworna said she considered calling emergency services but decided against it because she feared she would not be believed.

“If I called, I had no witnesses, nobody would have believed me that I was defending myself,” she said, adding, “I was just terrified — I felt fear.”

She told the court that she then decided to bury Zablocka in the garden.

“At that address, there was a garden [and] I thought I could bury her there.”

Podedworna said she undressed Zablocka, cut her body in two, and placed the remains into garbage bags before burying them in the garden the next day, according to the BBC. She said she later felt “like some kind of monster,” the outlet and DerbyshireLive reported.

When asked whether she accepted that she had killed Zablocka, Podedworna replied, “I was only defending myself,” per the BBC.

Stockwell then asked, “But do you accept that as a result of what happened with you, she died?”

“Yes. Despite that, I didn’t want all this. I feel guilty,” she said.

The trial remains ongoing.

A spokesperson for the Derby Crown Court was contacted for comment but did not immediately respond.