- A landscape gardener received a 16-year prison sentence for severely injuring his partner.
- The victim suffered complete spinal cord paralysis after her partner broke her neck during abuse.
- The assault followed 8 years of coercive control and escalating domestic violence.
Trudi Burgess, a schoolteacher and former singer, endured 8 years of coercive and controlling behaviour from Robert Easom, a landscape gardener. When she decided to leave him, Easom attacked her violently. He pinned her down and forcefully pushed her head into her body, causing her neck to snap. Burgess suffered a complete spinal cord injury and became tetraplegic, losing all feeling and mobility below her neck.
Easom initially admitted causing the injury but denied intending serious harm. A jury at Preston crown court deliberated for 27 minutes before finding him guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The judge sentenced him to 16 years in prison, noting that no sentence could adequately match the devastation caused. He will become eligible for parole after serving 16 years.
The assault occurred when Burgess announced she was leaving. Easom had asked whether she would prepare their customary cottage pie that evening. When she refused and stated she was departing, he erupted into an uncontrollable rage. During the attack, Burgess heard her neck crack, and sensation immediately vanished from her entire body. She now requires constant care, experiences chronic pain, cannot cough independently, and has no control over bodily functions.
Prior to the final assault, Easom engaged in relentless abuse including verbal humiliation and physical violence. He would alternate between affection and cruelty, leaving Burgess confused and emotionally shattered. Documented incidents included forcing her to clean spilled food, pushing her against furniture, driving recklessly to terrify her, and head-butting her. In 2021, he placed a sheet over her head and strangled her, later dismissing it as merely teaching her a lesson.
Burgess attended the sentencing hearing and delivered a victim impact statement from her hospital bed in a spinal injuries rehabilitation unit. She described her life as destroyed, experiencing depression, anxiety, PTSD symptoms, flashbacks, and nightmares. Everything that once brought her joy now feels unreachable, and her future was rewritten against her will. Her adult children, Gina and Jackson, also provided statements and established a fundraising campaign, raising £188,000 to support her ongoing care needs.
Easom pleaded guilty to two additional counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of controlling and coercive behaviour. Court records revealed that Burgess had met Easom while grieving her husband Craig, who died from brain cancer. Though they initially fell in love, Easom’s volatile personality emerged progressively, transforming their relationship into one dominated by fear and control.
