Butcher found guilty of killing ex-girlfriend and cutting her in half before burying her in garden
a turkey butcher He cut his girlfriend in half with a kitchen knife and was found guilty of burying it in a garden murder.
Anna Podedworna, 40, killed Izabela Zablocka before tying her “like a chicken” with electrical tape. In that case He buried their bodies in garbage bags “in a dirty, makeshift grave”.
derby The Crown Court heard that Zablocka, a 30-year-old mother of one, lost contact with her family in August 2010 and was reported missing to police.
Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC said “mounting pressure” caused Podedworna to “crack” and email police when a Polish TV journalist flew to the UK to interview him in 2025.
In June, officers found Zablocka’s remains Beneath the reinforced concrete slab in the garden of a terraced house on Princes Street, Normanton. derbyShared with Podedworna after moving to the UK Poland together.
The defendant will be sentenced in the same court on Wednesday. Jurors unanimously found Podedworna guilty of murder, obstructing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice.
Mr Aspden had previously told the jury that Podedworna tried to cover up the murder with a series of “deliberate, calculated, horrific and time-consuming acts” over several days.
The jury was told it would have taken “considerable force” to split Zablocka’s body in half and that his legs were tied together before he was buried.
The prosecutor said Podedworna was a skilled butcher at Cranberry Foods, a poultry factory in Scropton, Derbyshire, when he killed Zablocka.
Jurors unanimously found Podedworna guilty of murder, obstructing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice (PA)
Mr Aspden told the court: “His job was to skin, debone and portion out turkey carcasses using a large knife.”
Employment records at the Cranberry Foods plant show Podedworna took two weeks off work after Zablocka last had contact with his mother.
Giving evidence with the help of a Polish translator, the defendant said he was “angry” on the day Zablocka died before grabbing Podedworna and starting to strangle him.
Podedworna told jurors he was acting in self-defense when he hit Zablocka with the horse figurine and believed his partner was going to kill him.
The court heard that when Podedworna could not find a pulse, he decided to cut Zablocka in half with a knife and bury him in the garden rather than calling an ambulance.
He told jurors: “I was so scared, I felt fear. I thought I was going to bury him. I decided to bury him in the garden. I wanted to lift him whole. I didn’t have the strength to lift him. I had an idea of cutting him open. Cutting him in half seemed like the only way.”
Samantha Shallow, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Izabela Zablocka has arrived derby He was looking for a new life with his partner but instead met his death.
“Anna Podedworna not only brutally murdered her partner, but also subjected Izabela’s loved ones to 15 years of uncertainty and pain, not knowing whether she was alive or dead.
“Podedworna hid the truth for years but justice caught up with her. Her callous actions alienated a mother and daughter from her family and deprived them of the opportunity to grieve her passing and bring her to rest. I would like to offer them my sincere condolences.”
