Gardener Guilty of Brutal Attack on Teacher Partner

Published: 25 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A landscape gardener who left his partner paralysed in a violent assault was found guilty yesterday of inflicting grievous bodily harm after years of coercive control. Robert Easom attacked Trudi Burgess, 56, severing her spinal cord in February 2025 when she threatened to leave him, leaving her tetraplegic.

Preston Crown Court heard that Easom subjected Ms Burgess, a teacher, to eight years of coercive and controlling behaviour, including physical assaults, intimidation, and threats. Evidence showed a pattern of abuse beginning in July 2017, escalating over time, and including two earlier offences of actual bodily harm.

Ms Burgess documented the abuse in her phone, detailing how Easom systematically eroded her self-esteem and trapped her in a cycle of fear. He forced her to clean up spilt food, pushed her against furniture, drove dangerously, shouted at her, and even headbutted her.

Seven months into the relationship, Easom dragged her around a bathroom during a trip to York, warning her, “Don’t push or I’ll give you a war,” quoting the film Rambo. Despite these attacks, he often acted remorseful to manipulate her into staying.

In 2019, Easom grabbed her wine, slammed a fridge door, and dragged her upstairs by the head, banging her against the steps. Two years later, he placed a sheet over her head and strangled her, dismissing the attack as “just trying to teach her a lesson.”

The final assault on 17 February 2025 left Ms Burgess paralysed. She described the attack in court, saying: “I tried to say ‘you are killing me’ but he kept pushing down and I felt like my head was being folded into my body. I heard a crack and all feeling went out of my body.”

Now requiring specialist care, Ms Burgess said her body constantly aches, describing it as feeling “like a suit of armour that is two sizes too small.” She told the court that she feared for her life during the assault.

DC Bethanie Kirk, from the Burnley Vulnerable Adults Team, praised Ms Burgess’s bravery in reporting the abuse, calling Easom “a manipulative and controlling individual with a warped sense of entitlement and repulsive views towards women.” She added that his actions posed a significant ongoing risk.

Easom is due to be sentenced in February 2026. Authorities and campaigners hope the conviction brings some closure to Ms Burgess, allowing her to rebuild her life away from years of violence and manipulation.