Turkey butcher, Anna Podedworna, 40 has been found guilty of murdering her partner Izabela Zablocka before dismembering her and burying her in the garden 15 years ago
A Polish turkey butcher has been convicted of murder after she brutally killed her girlfriend, dismembered her body with a kitchen knife and buried her in a garden over 15 years ago.
Anna Podedworna, 40, horrifically ended the life of Izabela Zablocka, then proceeded to bind her “like a chicken” using electrical tape and interred her remains in bin bags within a crudely dug grave.
Derby Crown Court was informed that Ms Zablocka, a 30-year-old mother, lost touch with her family in August 2010 and was subsequently reported missing to the police.
Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC revealed that due to “mounting pressure”, Podedworna finally “cracked” and contacted the police last year when a Polish television journalist travelled to the UK to interview her.
In June, officers discovered Ms Zablocka’s remains concealed under concrete hardstanding in the garden of a terraced house on Princes Street, Normanton, Derby. This was the residence she shared with Podedworna after they relocated from Poland to the UK together.
Podedworna, residing at Boyer Street, Derby, will face sentencing at the same court on Wednesday.
The jury unanimously found Podedworna guilty of murder, preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice.
Mr Aspden previously informed the jury that Podedworna attempted to conceal the murder through a series of “deliberate, calculated, gruesome and time-consuming acts” spanning several days.
The court heard that “considerable force” would have been required to sever Ms Zablocka’s body in half, and her legs were bound together before she was laid to rest.
The court heard that Podedworna, a skilled butcher at Cranberry Foods, a poultry factory in Scropton, Derbyshire, was employed at the time of Ms Zablocka’s murder. The prosecutor, Mr Aspden, informed the court: “Her work had involved skinning, deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife.”
Employment records from Cranberry Foods revealed that Podedworna took a two-week leave following the last contact Ms Zablocka had with her mother.
Testifying with the assistance of a Polish interpreter, Podedworna claimed that Ms Zablocka was “angry” on the day of her death and began strangling her. She told the jury that she acted in self-defence, hitting Ms Zablocka with a horse figurine, believing her partner intended to kill her.
Instead of calling an ambulance when she couldn’t find a pulse, Podedworna decided to dismember Ms Zablocka with a knife and bury her in the garden. She explained to the jurors: “I was just terrified, I felt fear. I thought I will bury her. I took the decision I would bury her in the garden.”
She added, “I wanted to pick her up whole. I just did not have the strength to pick her up. I had an idea to cut her down. It seemed the only way… to cut her into two.”
Samantha Shallow from the Crown Prosecution Service commented: “Izabela Zablocka came to Derby in search of a new life with her partner, but instead met her death.
“Anna Podedworna not only brutally murdered her partner, but she subjected Izabela’s loved ones to 15 years of uncertainty and anguish, not knowing if she was alive or dead.
“Podedworna hid the truth for years, but justice has caught up with her. Her callous actions took a mother and daughter away from her family and denied them the opportunity to grieve her passing and lay her to rest. I would like to offer them my sincere sympathies.”