‘Jekyll and Hyde monster’ jailed for 16 years after attack that paralysed Trudi Burgess
trudi burgess, a 57-year-old schoolteacher and former singer from Chorley, was left paralysed after her partner severed her spinal cord when she told him she was leaving him; the attacker, Robert Easom, 57, has been jailed for 16 years.
Court heard of a sustained campaign of coercive control
At Preston Crown Court, jurors concluded that Easom had waged a relentless eight-year campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour against trudi burgess. The court heard that Easom, a landscape gardener from Chipping near Preston, regularly verbally abused and at times physically assaulted her, and that Burgess had documented the abuse in the notes section of her phone.
Violent episodes across several years
Prosecutors and police described a pattern of incidents spanning the relationship. About seven months in, during a trip to York, Easom "switched" into a rage, dragged Burgess around a bathroom and threatened her, quoting a line from the film Rambo: "Don't push or I'll give you a war. " In 2019, he grabbed her wine and dragged her upstairs by the head, banging her against each step. In 2021, again in York, he placed a sheet over her head and strangled her; the next day he dismissed it as "just trying to teach her a lesson. " Other examples included forcing her to clean up spilled food, pushing her against furniture, shouting at her, driving dangerously to frighten her, and head-butting her.
On the day she tried to leave: a brutal assault
When trudi burgess told Easom she was leaving on 17 February 2025, she said he flew into an uncontrollable rage. Police say the attack that day severed her spinal cord and left her paralysed. Easom called 999 and said Burgess had "fallen out of bed" and had "landed in a bad way with her neck" on 17 February 2025. Burgess heard her neck crack in the assault, unclear in the provided context.
Trial, verdict and sentence
Easom was tried at Preston Crown Court in November; jurors deliberated for 27 minutes before returning a guilty verdict. He had denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent but was found guilty and was convicted of wounding with intent. He had previously admitted to engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025 and to two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Altham told Easom that no sentence could equal the harm he had caused. Easom was jailed for 16 years and will serve a further four-year extended licence period after release. The judge said an extended determinate sentence was required to protect the public.
Victim impact and current condition
trudi burgess, 57, remains in a spinal injuries rehabilitation unit and attended the sentencing hearing in person to deliver a victim impact statement. She told the court her life had been destroyed and described being "emotionally shattered, " suffering depression, daily anxiety, symptoms of PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares. Burgess has a complete spinal cord injury and is tetraplegic: she will never walk again, requires continuous care, is in constant pain, cannot cough without help, has no use of her hands and has no control over her bladder and bowel functions.
A statement was also read outside court by her brother, Charlie. Police called the attack the "horrific climax" of the relationship, and Detective Constable Bethanie Kirk described Easom as a "manipulative, controlling and cowardly individual. " Prosecutors said Burgess had lived in a cycle in which Easom would be loving one moment and violent the next.
Easom was found guilty of wounding with intent and other offences at trial and has been given a 16-year custodial term followed by a four-year extended licence; he will serve that sentence beginning immediately following the court’s ruling. trudi burgess remains in specialist hospital care as rehabilitation continues.
