Woman Missing Since 2010 Allegedly Dismembered and Buried Under Concrete by Partner, Prosecutors Say

Derby, U.K. — Prosecutors at Derby Crown Court say Izabela Zablocka, who vanished in 2010 after moving from Poland to the U.K., was murdered, dismembered and buried beneath concrete in the back garden of the Normanton home she shared with her partner.

The defendant, Anna Podedworna, 40, who formerly worked as a butcher, denies murder. Her trial opened this week, where prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC set out the Crown's account of events.

Allegations Presented by the Prosecution

Prosecutors say Zablocka and Podedworna arrived in Britain together in 2009 and later lived at a Princes Street address in Normanton, Derby, where Zablocka was last known to be alive. The court heard that Zablocka, then 30, made a final telephone call to family in Poland on 28 August 2010; after that call her family had no further contact with her.

Aspden told the jury that Zablocka was allegedly killed shortly after that call. The prosecution says the body was cut in half with a large knife and that severing the spine would have required "considerable force." They highlighted Podedworna's former occupation as a butcher as relevant background to the allegation that the remains were deliberately dismembered.

Discovery And Forensic Findings

Police recovered human remains from the garden of the Princes Street property on 1 June 2025. By that time, investigators found largely a skeleton and only small fragments of tissue. A post-mortem examination was unable to determine a definitive cause of death because of advanced decomposition and the passage of time.

Defence Account And Other Evidence

Podedworna has told police she initially had not seen Zablocka since August 2010 and later contacted officers in May 2025 offering evidence and indicating where the body was buried. She now maintains that Zablocka died accidentally during a violent confrontation and that she acted in self-defence. The Crown says that account is false and describes earlier statements as part of a cover-up.

Prosecutors also pointed to evidence they say indicates sexual jealousy in what they described as a turbulent relationship. The court heard that Zablocka's daughter, who remained in Poland after her mother's disappearance, believed her mother wanted gender reassignment surgery but could not afford it — a detail raised during the hearing but not presented by the Crown as a motive.

Charges And Next Steps

Derbyshire Police confirmed the recovery of remains in June 2025 and said they had only recently become aware of Zablocka's disappearance before opening a homicide investigation. On 5 June 2025, Podedworna was charged with murder, preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice. She denies all charges. The trial is expected to last about four weeks as the jury considers the evidence and competing accounts.

Note: The allegations described above are those presented in court by the prosecution. The defendant has pleaded not guilty and the jury will determine the facts based on evidence heard at trial.