Trudi Burgess, 57, was paralysed after her ex-boyfriend Robert Easom, 56, broke her neck when she tried to leave him.
A controlling bully turned into ‘the Incredible Hulk’ and broke his girlfriend’s neck, leaving her paralysed, when she told him she was leaving.
Robert Easom, 56, is facing life behind bars after he flew into an ‘uncontrollable’ rage and attacked ex-girlfriend Trudi Burgess, 57.
The landscape gardener was described as being like a ‘monster’ after he pinned the mum of two face down on his bed and slammed his whole body weight onto her neck until it snapped, reports the Mirror.
Trudi, a former secondary school teacher who taught French and Spanish, was left a tetraplegic and needs round the clock care following the attack on February 17 this year which severed her spinal cord.
She gave disturbing testimony about her harrowing ordeal from her hospital bed in intensive care during a trial which saw Easom was found guilty of Section 18 Assault.
Trudi described hearing her spine crack and her body gradually becoming numb immediately afterwards. She was later told she would never walk again.
Her deranged lover told police later: “I love Trudi more than life itself.”
He admitted two counts of assault and previously admitted engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour between July 2017 and February 2025.
Lancashire Police said that over the course of eight years “he subjected the woman he claimed to love to a relentless campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour”.
During their relationship, Trudi kept a record of the abuse she suffered at his hands in the notes section of her phone.
She gave examples including being forced to clean up spilled food, pushing her against furniture, shouting at her, driving dangerously to frighten her and headbutting her.
Around seven months into the relationship, during a trip to York, Easom “switched” into a rage, dragged her around a bathroom, and threatened her, quoting a line from Rambo: “Don’t push or I’ll give you a war.”
She had tried to leave him before but Easom would beg her to stay and act remorseful when she did.
In another incident in 2019, Easom violently grabbed her wine, slammed a fridge door and shouted before dragging her upstairs by the head, banging her 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, the victim became trapped in a cycle of abuse” and whenever she tried to leave, Easom would belittle her, saying she was “useless” and couldn’t cope without him.
“Over time, her self-esteem was eroded, leaving her confused and broken down, though she continued to record notes as a way to make sense of what was happening,” they said.
“Everything came to a horrific climax on February 17, 2025, when the victim told Easom she was leaving. His refusal to accept this led to a brutal assault that severed her spinal cord, leaving her paralysed and requiring specialist care ever since.”
DC Bethanie Kirk, from the Burnley Vulnerable Adults Team, said: “Robert Easom is a manipulative and controlling individual with a warped sense of entitlement and repulsive views towards women. He poses a significant risk due to his violent and abusive behaviour. I welcome these convictions, which expose his abhorrent conduct for all to see.
“I want to commend the victim for her incredible bravery in coming forward and trusting Lancashire Police to protect her and bring Easom to justice. His cowardly and sustained abuse has had a profound and lasting impact on her life and her loved ones. I hope she can now begin rebuilding her life, free from his control.
“Finally, if you or anyone you know is in a relationship and something doesn’t feel right, I would encourage you to contact the police and we will take the appropriate action.”
Easom, now of no fixed address but formerly of Chipping, will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on February 27, 2026.
