A man who left his partner paralysed in a brutal attack after she told him she was leaving him has been jailed for 16 years.
Robert Easom, 57, was found guilty of wounding with intent, following a trial at Preston Crown Court.
He had previously admitted to engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour between 2017 and 2025 and two charges of actual bodily harm.
Trudi Burgess. Pic: Family handout
Lancashire Police said Easom waged a “relentless campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour” against his former partner, Trudi Burgess, including physical assault and verbal abuse.
When Ms Burgess told Easom she was leaving him on 17 February 2025, he launched a “brutal assault” on her, severing her spinal cord and leaving her paralysed.
Ms Burgess, who now requires specialist care, documented Easom’s abuse in the notes section of her phone.
Easom assaulted Ms Burgess (L) after she told him she was leaving him. Pic: Family handout
Lancashire Police said Easom would subject his victim to a cycle of verbal and physical abuse followed by apologetic and affectionate behaviour.
In one incident in 2019, Easom dragged Ms Burgess upstairs by the head, banging her against each step.
In 2021, Easom placed a sheet over her head and strangled her, leaving her terrified for her life.
The next day, he claimed he was “just trying to teach her a lesson”, police said.
Sentencing Easom at Preston Crown Court, 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 caused for, however I am satisfied that an extended determinate sentence is required in order to protect the public from you.”
Easom was sentenced to 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.
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