A woman accused of brutally dismembering her girlfriend and burying her body in a garden has gone on trial for the murder. Anna Podedworna, 40, is alleged to have killed Izabela Zablocka, 30, in 2010 before concealing the body for over a decade and a half.
The court heard that Podedworna and Zablocka, who were both Polish nationals, had worked together at a poultry factory in Derbyshire prior to the disappearance. Zablocka was last seen in August 2010, after which she stopped contacting her family back in Poland.
Prosecutors allege that Podedworna “dismembered” Zablocka’s body, “tying her up like a chicken you would see in the supermarket,” before placing the remains in bin bags and burying them in the garden of their shared home in Derby. The jury was told that “considerable force” would have been required to cut Zablocka’s body in half.
Employment records show that Podedworna, who worked as a skilled butcher at the factory, took two weeks off work shortly after Zablocka’s final contact with her mother. Prosecutors argue this was part of the defendant’s “deliberate, calculated, gruesome and time-consuming” cover-up of the murder.
The remains of Zablocka were only discovered last year after Podedworna emailed police to inform them that her former girlfriend was buried in the garden. A section of concrete had been laid over the “filthy, makeshift grave,” the court heard.
DNA analysis suggested that a jacket found buried alongside the body may have belonged to Zablocka. Jurors were also told that Podedworna’s relationships with men had caused “suspicion, jealousy, and conflict” with Zablocka, who was believed to have wanted gender reassignment surgery.
Podedworna denies charges of murder, preventing a lawful burial, and perverting the course of justice. The trial continues.
