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

A woman accused of killing her partner before cutting her body in half is claiming she was acting in self-defence.

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

PEOPLE previously reported that Podedworna denied murdering Zablocka, who was 30 when she disappeared in 2010 after moving from Poland to the U.K., per the BBC. After moving in together in 2009, prosecutors alleged that Podedworna, who previously worked as a butcher, buried Zablocka’s body in the back garden before covering it with concrete.

During Tuesday’s court appearance, defense attorney Clive Stockwell asked Podedworna about her relationship with Zablocka, according to the BBC.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

She replied that they had “frequent” arguments about finances, work and “jealousy,” per the outlet. Podedworna also alleges that her late partner had threatened to kill her and strangled her just two weeks before her death, the BBC and The Independent reported.

On the day of Zablocka’s death in August or September 2010, Podedworna said in court that she came home from work to her partner shouting about how she was 10 minutes late, per the BBC. She added that Zablocka grabbed her neck before pinning her to the 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.

Podedworna then reached for a horse figurine before using it to hit Zablocka’s head, the court heard.

Related Stories

‘Star Wars,’ ‘Harry Potter’ Fan Was Murdered While Setting Up a Garage Sale 7 Years Ago. But Who Killed Her?

Grandma Who Orchestrated Murders of 2 Kansas Moms Found Buried in Freezer Learns Fate

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

“I wanted her to leave me alone, for her to let me go,” she continued in court on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

After being hit with the figurine for a second time, Zablocka fell to the ground and Podedworna claimed in court that she tried to resuscitate Zablocka after checking for a pulse.

After realizing her partner was dead, she contemplated calling emergency services but decided against it, fearing they wouldn’t believe she had been acting in self-defence.

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

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

Podedworna said she undressed Zablocka before cutting her in two and putting her body into garbage bags, before burying the bags in the garden the next day, according to the BBC.

Podedworna said she felt “like some kind of monster,” the outlet and DerbyshireLive reported.

Asked in court if she accepted that she killed Zablocka, Podedworna replied, “I was only defending myself,” per the BBC.

 Stockwell added, “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.

PEOPLE has contacted the Derby Crown Court for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.