A man who broke his partner's neck during a violent assault, leaving her paralysed from the neck down, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. Robert Easom, 57, a landscape gardener from Chipping, Lancashire, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after attacking Trudi Burgess, a 57-year-old former teacher and singer from Chorley.
The attack occurred when Burgess threatened to leave Easom after enduring eight years of coercive and controlling behaviour. The court heard that Easom pinned her down in a rage and pushed her head into her body until her neck snapped. Burgess suffered a complete spinal cord injury and is now tetraplegic, requiring continuous care and unable to walk, use her hands, or control her bladder and bowel functions.
In a victim impact statement delivered in person at Preston Crown Court, Burgess said her life had been destroyed. 'I have been emotionally shattered. I suffer from bouts of depression, daily anxiety, symptoms of PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares that wake me up,' she said. 'I feel trapped and powerless. Everything that once gave me joy now feels out of reach. My future has been rewritten and not by choice.'
The court heard that Easom's abuse included verbal attacks, physical assaults, and psychological manipulation. He would call Burgess 'a fucking teacher bitch', force her to clean up spilled food, push her against furniture, drive dangerously to frighten her, and head-butt her. In one incident in 2018, he dragged her around a bathroom and threatened her with a quote from Rambo. In 2021, he placed a sheet over her head and strangled her, later dismissing it as 'just trying to teach her a lesson'.
On the day of the attack, Burgess told Easom she was leaving him. He flew into an 'uncontrollable rage' and assaulted her, causing her neck to crack. Judge Altham, the recorder of Preston, said no sentence could 'begin to equal the harm you caused'. Easom will be eligible for parole after 16 years.
Burgess's children, Gina and Jackson, also delivered victim impact statements and set up a GoFundMe page to cover the family's future costs. They wrote: 'Our goal is to make sure the rest of her life is as safe, dignified, and stable as possible after a catastrophic spinal injury inflicted on her by her partner.'
