Trudi Burgess left paralysed after neck broken by 'violent bully' jailed for 16 years
trudi burgess, a 57-year-old schoolteacher and former singer from Chorley, Lancashire, has been left tetraplegic after her partner, Robert Easom, broke her neck in a violent attack. Easom, 57, was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a trial in which jurors returned a guilty verdict.
Attack, charge and verdict
The assault happened after Burgess told Easom she was leaving him; police say he launched a brutal attack on 17 February 2025. Easom called 999 and told operators that Burgess had "fallen out of bed" and "landed in a bad way with her neck. " He was tried at Preston Crown Court in November, and jurors deliberated for 27 minutes before returning a guilty verdict for wounding with intent.
Trudi Burgess: life destroyed and severe injuries
Burgess suffered a complete spinal cord injury and is now tetraplegic; she will never walk again. She remains in a spinal injuries rehabilitation unit, 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. Burgess attended the sentencing hearing in person to give a victim impact statement and said her life had been destroyed by Easom, who she described as having a "true Jekyll and Hyde personality. "
Years of coercive and controlling behaviour
Lancashire Police and the court heard that Easom waged a relentless eight-year campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025. He had previously admitted engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour across that period and admitted two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Throughout the relationship Burgess documented the abuse in the notes section of her phone, listing episodes that she felt too ashamed to tell family about.
Examples of abuse and earlier attacks
The court heard numerous examples. Early in the relationship, on a trip to York, Easom "switched" into a rage, dragged Burgess around a bathroom and threatened her while quoting a line from Rambo: "Don't push or I'll give you a war you don't need. " In 2019 he violently grabbed her glass of wine, dragged her upstairs by the head and banged her against each step. In 2021, again in York, he placed a sheet over her head and strangled her; the next day he dismissed the attack as "just trying to teach her a lesson. " Other recorded incidents included forcing her to clean up spilled food, pushing her against furniture, shouting at her, driving dangerously to frighten her and head-butting her.
Court statements, sentence and next steps
At sentencing the judge, Robert Altham, said no sentence could equal the harm caused but imposed a 16-year prison term followed by a four-year extended licence period for wounding with intent, two charges of actual bodily harm and coercive and controlling behaviour. Easom had denied a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent but was convicted; he had admitted causing the injury while denying he intended to cause serious harm. Detective Constable Bethanie Kirk described him as "manipulative, controlling and cowardly. " Prosecutor Sarah Magill told the court that Burgess would feel loved one minute and hurt the next, describing a pattern of apology and abuse that trapped her in the relationship.
A statement read outside court by Burgess's brother, Charlie, said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the harm and the lasting impact of the abuse. Burgess described being "emotionally shattered, " suffering depression, daily anxiety, symptoms of PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares, and feeling that her future had been rewritten without her choice. Burgess also remembers hearing her neck crack during the assault.
What happens next is unclear in the provided context.
