Remains of woman found in bin bags in garden, jury told

The skeletal remains of a woman who had been missing for 15 years were found in bin bags, a court heard.

Anna Podedworna, 40, of Boyer Street, Derby, denies the murder of her partner Izabela Zablocka, who was reported missing in 2010 after moving from Poland to the city.

Zablocka’s body was discovered on 1 June 2025, buried in the garden of a house in Princes Street, where the pair had been living, after Podedworna emailed Derbyshire Police to tell them her body could be found there.

Derby Crown Court heard on Monday the upper body was found in three plastic bin bags which had been knotted together, with the lower body located in two knotted bags.

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing

Prosecutors previously told the murder trial that Podedworna had killed Zablocka, cut her in half with a large knife and buried her.

Gaille MacKinnon, a forensic anthropologist, told the court in the bags containing the lower body, the legs were “bent very tightly” at the knee and positioned towards the buttocks.

MacKinnon said in a laboratory examination of the body, all debris in bags were subjected to a sieving process to recover further bones.

Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC told the court there were a “number of missing bones” that had not been found in the grave or sieving process.

MacKinnon explained to jurors the burial environment could be “very damaging” to bones.

Derby Crown Court also heard examination of Zablocka’s body found a number of injuries to the skeleton which Aspden said was “clear” were inflicted a “substantial time” before death.

The jury was told there were four distinct areas – the spine, the left hip, left lower leg and nose – that showed signs of injuries caused at or around the time of death.

Jurors were shown CT (computed topography) images of parts of Zablocka’s lumbar vertebrae – which are parts of the spine located in the lower back – alongside images of a healthy spine.

The court was told that one segment of a lumbar vertebrate was found in a bag with the upper body while another segment was found with the lower body.

“That vertebrate had been cut in half,” Aspden said.

The court heard there were 11 or 12 cut marks delivered from different directions on this part of bone – which MacKinnon said was a “conservative” number as there was a lot of missing bone.

The trial continues.