Robert Easom abused partner Trudi Burgess over eight years, culminating in a vicious attack in February last year. Photo / Lancashire Police
A man who paralysed his girlfriend after she threatened to leave him has been jailed for 16 years.
Robert Easom, 56, assaulted Trudi Burgess on February 27 last year, leaving her with a severed spinal cord.
Preston Crown Court in Lancashire, England, heard that Easom subjected his partner to a violent campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour over eight years.
After initially “falling in love”, he became abusive and violent towards her, before inflicting the life-changing injury, which has left her unable to walk and in need of around-the-clock care.
During the trial, the widowed mother of two likened her “monster” partner’s strength to that of “the Hulk” and said she thought she was going to die during the bedroom assault.
In an impact statement read to the court today, Burgess, 56, said Easom had robbed her of everything.
She said: “This crime has taken away everything I built, planned for and enjoyed. It has robbed me of my health, my independence, my ability to care for my family, my career, my freedom and my peace of mind.
“Each day is a physical, emotional and mental battle. This injury is permanent. I will never get back the life I had. I now live with constant pain, with limitations and heartbreak.”
Burgess added: “My children and granddaughter have lost the mother and grandmother they once had. And I am left learning to live a life I didn’t choose – and would not wish on anyone.
“This isn’t just a physical injury, it is the destruction of a life. And the pain doesn’t stop with me – the ripples of pain are felt by everyone who loves me and cares for me.
“I want the court to consider not just the brutality of the attack but the ongoing permanent consequences I now face – every minute of every day – for the rest of my life.”
In pre-recorded evidence which was played to Preston Crown Court during the trial last November, Burgess told how she met Easom – who had been working as her sister’s landscape gardener – after her husband died of cancer.
Throughout the relationship, Burgess was subjected to repeated assaults by Easom which she documented in the notes section of her phone.
These included being forced to clean up spilt food, pushed against furniture, being shouting at and headbutted. After his bouts of violence, Easom would profess his regret and behave affectionately.
His campaign of violence and fear culminated on February 17 last year when Burgess told him at his home in Chipping, Lancashire, that she was leaving him.
The court heard that his refusal to accept this led to an assault that severed her spinal cord, leaving her paralysed and requiring specialist care ever since.
When Easom called for an ambulance, he claimed that Burgess had had “an accident” and “fallen out of bed”.
Following a trial at Preston Crown Court last November, Easom, of no fixed address but formerly of Chipping, was found guilty of Section 18 Assault.
He had previously admitted to engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025, as well as two offences of actual bodily harm.
Easom was today sentenced to 16 years in prison followed by a four-year extended licence period.
Detective Constable Bethanie Kirk, from the Burnley vulnerable adults team, said: “Robert Easom is a manipulative, controlling and cowardly individual with a warped sense of entitlement and repulsive views towards women. His reckless and repulsive actions could have very easily led to Trudi’s death.
“I welcome the sentence handed down to him, which reflects the very real danger he poses to women due to his violent and abhorrent behaviour.
“I hope that Trudi’s story will encourage others who find themselves in an abusive relationship to make contact with the police, knowing that they will be believed and listened to, and that we will do everything in our powers to remand their abuser into custody and put them before the courts.”
Burgess’ daughter told the court in her victim impact statement: “The events of February have changed my life and my family forever. What happened to my mum has caused deep and lasting trauma, not just to her, but to me and my children. The effects of this do not stop – they are with us every day.
“My mum has always been my safe place. When I received the call to say that she had been seriously injured, I went into shock. I knew there was a chance we might lose her, and from that moment life has never been the same again.”
Her son added: “What was done to my mother did not only injure her. It has imposed a permanent harm on everyone around her. It has removed stability, security, and any sense of a predictable future. It has forced us all into lives we did not choose and cannot leave.
“This is not something that ends. This is something we will carry for the rest of our lives.”
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