A woman accused of killing her partner and concealing the body more than a decade ago told a jury she acted in self-defense during a violent confrontation, as a long-running case returned to court this week.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Feb. 3, Anna Podedworna, 40, testified at Derby Crown Court that she never intended to harm her girlfriend, Izabela Zablocka, who was 30 when she disappeared in 2010 after moving from Poland to the United Kingdom. Zablocka’s remains were later found buried in the garden of the home the couple had shared.

Prosecutors allege that after Zablocka’s death in August or September 2010, Podedworna—who previously worked as a butcher—cut her partner’s body in half, placed the remains in garbage bags, and buried them before covering the area with concrete. Podedworna has denied murder, maintaining that the killing occurred while she was defending herself.

Under questioning from defense attorney Clive Stockwell, Podedworna described a relationship marked by frequent arguments over finances, work, and jealousy. She told the court that Zablocka had previously threatened to kill her and had strangled her during an incident two weeks before her death, according to reporting by the BBC and The Independent.

Podedworna testified that on the day of Zablocka’s death, she returned home from work to find her partner angry over her arriving late. She said Zablocka grabbed her by the neck and pinned her against a wall. “Initially I was trying to push her away, but it wasn’t working,” she told the court, adding that she believed her life was in danger.

During the struggle, Podedworna said she reached for a horse figurine and struck Zablocka on the head. After a second blow, Zablocka fell to the ground. Podedworna told jurors she attempted to check for a pulse and tried to resuscitate her partner but realized she had died.

She said she considered calling emergency services but decided against it, fearing authorities would not believe she had acted in self-defense. “I had no witnesses,” she told the court. “Nobody would have believed me.” She said fear drove her subsequent actions, including burying Zablocka’s body in the garden the following day.

Podedworna told the court she felt “like some kind of monster” afterward and acknowledged that her actions resulted in Zablocka’s death. When asked whether she accepted responsibility for causing her partner’s death, she replied, “Yes. Despite that, I didn’t want all this. I feel guilty.”

The trial is ongoing, with jurors tasked with weighing Podedworna’s self-defense claim against the evidence presented by prosecutors regarding the killing and concealment of Zablocka’s body.