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

Anna Podedworna, 40, denies murdering Izabela Zablocka, who was 30 when she disappeared in 2010 after moving from Poland to the U.K., the BBC reported.

Podedworna’s trial began this week at Derby Crown Court, where prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC told jurors that Zablocka and Podedworna moved to the U.K. together in 2009 in search of work and a fresh start, eventually settling into a house on Princes Street in Normanton, where Zablocka was last known to be alive, according to the BBC.

Zablocka last spoke with her family in Poland on Aug. 28, 2010, when “nothing was amiss,” the court heard, per the BBC. After that call, she vanished completely. Her family never heard from her again.

Prosecutors allege Zablocka was murdered shortly after that final conversation and that her body was later dismembered, with Aspden telling jurors it was cut in half with a large knife, the BBC reported. The prosecution highlighted that Podedworna had previously worked as a butcher, whose job involved deboning and portioning animal carcasses, telling the court that the dismemberment would have required “considerable force” to cut through Zablocka’s spine, according to the outlet.

The court heard Zablocka’s body was then buried in the back garden of the Princes Street property, before concrete was laid over the remains, the BBC reported. Prosecutors described the alleged actions that followed as deliberate and calculated steps taken to conceal the killing.

According to the BBC, when Zablocka’s remains were recovered on June 1, 2025, all that remained was a skeleton and some fragments of human tissue. A post-mortem examination carried out days later was unable to determine a cause of death due to the passage of time and the condition of the remains, prosecutors told the court.

Aspden told jurors that while the Crown could not definitively say 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 that Zablocka’s daughter — who remained in Poland when her mother disappeared — told police she believed Zablocka had wanted to undergo gender reassignment surgery but could not afford to, the BBC reported.

Prosecutors said Zablocka’s family reported her missing to U.K. police in November 2010 and later to authorities in Poland, but that when Podedworna was questioned, she claimed she had not seen Zablocka since August 2010 — statements the Crown described as lies and part of an ongoing cover-up, according to the BBC.

The BBC reported that Podedworna contacted police in May 2025, initially saying she wished to provide evidence, before later telling officers 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 claim the Crown told jurors was false.

As previously reported by PEOPLE, Derbyshire Police confirmed in June 2025 that human remains believed to be Zablocka’s were found in the garden of a Princes Street address, where she had been living at the time of her disappearance. Police said they had only recently learned of her disappearance before launching a murder investigation and making multiple arrests.

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.