'Jekyll and Hyde monster' paralysed his partner

A "Jekyll and Hyde monster" who severed his partner's spinal cord in a brutal attack which left her paralysed after she said she was leaving him, has been jailed for 16 years.

Following the attack Robert Easom called 999 and said Trudi Burgess had "fallen out of bed" and "landed in a bad way with her neck" on 17 February 2025.

But Lancashire Police said the 57-year-old, of Chipping near Preston, had subjected her to a "relentless eight-year campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour", as well as verbal and physical abuse.

Trudi said the attack had left her "trapped in a broken body", needing continuous care. Easom was convicted of wounding with intent after a trial in November.

This story contains details of physical and emotional abuse. A range of advice and support can be found on the BBC Action Line

Police said the attack was the "horrific climax" of their relationship.

Easom had previously admitted engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025, as well as two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Throughout the relationship police said Trudi had documented the abuse in the notes section of her mobile phone.

As well as the serious physical assaults, she described what she called "low-level events" that became normalised - living in a cycle in which Easom would be verbally or physically abusive then apologetic and affectionate.

Examples included forcing her to clean up spilled food, pushing her against furniture, shouting at her, driving dangerously to frighten her, and headbutting her.

About seven months into their relationship, during a trip to York, police said Easom "switched" into a rage.

He dragged her around a bathroom and threatened her, quoting a line from the film Rambo: "Don't push or I'll give you a war."

When she tried to leave, police said he begged her to stay and appeared to show remorse.

In another incident in 2019, the force said Easom violently grabbed her glass of wine and shouted before dragging 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 the attack, claiming he was "just trying to teach her a lesson".

Police said despite knowing she needed to leave, Trudi became trapped in a cycle of abuse.

Whenever she tried to leave, Easom would belittle her, saying she was "useless" and could not cope without him.

Over time, police said her self-esteem was eroded, leaving her confused and broken.

She continued to record her notes as a way of making sense of what was happening.

Police said the abuse culminated in February 2025 when she told Easom their relationship was over.

In a statement read to the court, Trudi said on the night of the attack she underwent an 11-hour surgery before being admitted to critical care "where I remained for the next three months".

"I was and still am paralysed, and I couldn't breathe on my own," she said.

"I was fed through a tube, and I couldn't speak or communicate properly.

"I was trapped in a broken body.

"He has a true Jekyll and Hyde personality, and he can be a loving partner and switch into a monster," she said.

Det Con Bethanie Kirk said Easom is "a manipulative, controlling and cowardly individual with a warped sense of entitlement and repulsive views towards women".

"It is clear that Easom's repulsive actions have had a profound and long-term impact on Trudi and her family as a whole, and he has never shown any remorse for that.

"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."

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