Trudi Burgess: 'Jekyll and Hyde monster' jailed for 16 years after brutal attack severed her spinal cord

In a case that exposed years of hidden abuse, trudi burgess was left tetraplegic after a violent assault by her partner, who has now been sentenced to 16 years in prison. The attack, which severed her spinal cord after she told him she was leaving, closed an eight-year campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour that had left her needing continuous specialist care.

Sentence and court findings

Robert Easom, 57, was jailed for 16 years and handed a four-year extended licence period for wounding with intent, two charges of actual bodily harm and coercive and controlling behaviour. The sentencing judge, Robert Altham, told Easom: "No sentence I can pass upon you could begin to equal the harm that you have caused. " The judge said he must pass what he considered just and lawful, that even a lengthy sentence left Easom a prospect of a future denied to his victim, and that while a life term was not called for, an extended determinate sentence was required to protect the public.

How the assault unfolded and immediate aftermath

On 17 February 2025, following the assault, Easom rang 999 and claimed that Trudi Burgess had "fallen out of bed" and "landed in a bad way with her neck. " The court heard that when Ms Burgess told Easom she was leaving him that day he launched a brutal attack that severed her spinal cord and left her paralysed. The court was told Easom denied a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent but was found guilty after 27 minutes of deliberation by a jury at Preston Crown Court in November. He had admitted causing the injury but denied intending to cause her serious harm.

The extent of Trudi Burgess's injuries and current condition

Ms Burgess, 57, of Chorley, Lancashire, suffered 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 bladder or bowel functions. She remains in hospital in a spinal injuries rehabilitation unit and attended the sentencing hearing in person to deliver a victim impact statement describing how her life has been destroyed.

Pattern of coercion and violence

Police described a "relentless eight-year campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour" stretching from July 2017 to February 2025. Throughout the relationship, Ms Burgess documented the abuse in the notes section of her mobile phone. Examples recorded included being forced to clean up spilled food, being pushed against furniture, shouted at, driven dangerously to be frightened, and being headbutted. The relationship repeatedly moved through a cycle of verbal or physical abuse followed by apology and affection.

• About seven months into the relationship, during a trip to York in 2018, Easom "switched" into a rage: he dragged Ms Burgess around a bathroom and threatened her, quoting a line from the film Rambo.
• In 2019, he violently grabbed her glass of wine, shouted and dragged her upstairs by the head, banging it against each step.
• In 2021, again in York, he placed a sheet over her head and strangled her, leaving her terrified for her life; the next day he dismissed it as "just trying to teach her a lesson. "
• On the day she tried to leave, when Ms Burgess told him she was not making their customary cottage pie and was leaving, Easom flew into an uncontrollable rage; she heard her neck crack during the assault.

Voices from the case and the victim's family

Det Con Bethanie Kirk described Easom as a "manipulative, controlling and cowardly individual. " Prosecutor Sarah Magill told the court that one minute Ms Burgess would feel loved and the next she would be hurt, humiliated and made to feel small. read outside court by her brother Charlie, Ms Burgess said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the harm done and the lasting impact of the abuse; she said while it could not change what she had been through, it sent an important message that this kind of violence will be taken seriously.

Legal admissions and police characterisation

Easom had previously admitted engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025 and admitted two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Police described the attack as the "horrific climax" of the relationship. The case contains detailed accounts of physical and emotional abuse, and readers are reminded that the story details traumatic incidents.

The consequences for Ms Burgess are permanent and severe; her future, family said in court statements, has been rewritten by what happened. Details remain clear in court records and in the victim's own documented notes, which chart years of escalating violence and control.