Trudi Burgess left paralysed after ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ attack — partner jailed for 16 years
trudi burgess was left paralysed when her partner severed her spinal cord after she told him she was leaving; the attacker, 57-year-old Robert Easom, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. The case laid bare an eight-year pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour that police described as relentless.
The assault on 17 February 2025 and the emergency call
On 17 February 2025, police say Easom launched a brutal assault that severed Burgess’s spinal cord and left her paralysed. After the attack Easom called 999 and said Burgess had "fallen out of bed" and had "landed in a bad way with her neck. " The injury was later described as a complete spinal cord injury, leaving her tetraplegic.
Conviction at Preston Crown Court and the 16-year term
Easom was convicted of wounding with intent following a trial at Preston Crown Court in November; a jury reached its verdict after 27 minutes of deliberation. He denied a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent but was found guilty, and he had also admitted causing the injury while denying he intended to cause serious harm. At sentencing the judge, Robert Altham, said: "No sentence I can pass upon you could begin to equal the harm that you have caused. I must pass the sentence which I consider to be just and lawful. But the fact remains that even with the lengthy sentence I am about to impose, you will have a prospect of a future which you have denied to your victim. This is not a case where a life sentence is called for, however I am satisfied that an extended determinate sentence is required in order to protect the public from you. " Easom was given 16 years in prison followed by a four-year extended licence period for wounding with intent, two charges of actual bodily harm, and coercive and controlling behaviour.
Eight years of coercive and controlling behaviour, police and court descriptions
Lancashire Police described a "relentless eight-year campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour" stretching between July 2017 and February 2025. Detecting officer Det Con Bethanie Kirk called Easom a "manipulative, controlling and cowardly individual. " Prosecutor Sarah Magill told the court that the behaviour alternated between affection and abuse, saying the next minute he would "hurt her, humiliate her and make her feel small. " Easom, 57 and described as a landscape gardener, has admitted offences related to coercive and controlling behaviour and two counts of actual bodily harm.
Recurring violent incidents in York, on stairs and in the home
Throughout the relationship Burgess, 57 and from Chorley, Lancashire, kept detailed notes of abuse in the notes section of her phone. Police and court records list repeated episodes: about seven months into the relationship, 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" or, in other accounts, "Don't push or I'll give you a war you don't need. " 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; the next day he dismissed that attack as him "just trying to teach her a lesson. " Other examples Burgess recorded include being forced to clean up spilled food, being pushed against furniture, being headbutted, shouted at, berated and subjected to dangerous driving intended to frighten her.
Physical and emotional toll, victim statements and family response
Burgess remains in a spinal injuries rehabilitation unit and requires continuous specialist care. Her injuries mean she will never walk again, she has no use of her hands, no control over bladder and bowel functions, cannot cough without help and lives in constant pain. In court she described being "emotionally shattered, " suffering bouts of depression, daily anxiety, symptoms of PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares, and feeling "trapped and powerless. " She said the attack had left her "trapped in a broken body. " Burgess attended the sentencing hearing in person to give a victim impact statement. Outside court, a statement read by her brother Charlie said: "I believe today's sentence reflects the seriousness of the harm done and the lasting impact of this abuse. While it can't change what I've been through, it sends an important message that this kind of violence will be taken seriously. " Police described the 17 February assault as the "horrific climax" of the relationship; officers say Burgess became trapped in a cycle of abuse despite knowing she needed to leave, and that when she tried to leave Easom would belittle her, call her "useless" and tell her she could not cope without him. On the day she attempted to leave he asked if she was making their customary cottage pie; when she said no and that she was leaving, he flew into an uncontrollable rage and Burgess heard her neck crack in the assault.
