A 57-year-old mother has been left permanently paralysed after her abusive partner broke her neck when she attempted to end their relationship, in what police described as the act of a 'violent and controlling bully'.
The Final Attack
Trudi Burgess suffered catastrophic injuries when her former partner Robert Easom, 56, pushed her with such force that she heard a crack in her neck and immediately believed she was going to die. The attack occurred on February 17th after Trudi told Easom she was leaving him.
Doctors performed an emergency 11-hour operation, but the damage to her spinal cord was so severe that she now requires a wheelchair and extensive home adaptations to regain any independence. Jurors took just 27 minutes to convict Easom of deliberately causing grievous bodily harm following a trial this week.
Cycle of Abuse
Trudi revealed she had tried to leave Easom 'at least 30 times' before the final attack, feeling trapped in what she described as a 'cycle of abuse'. She characterised her former partner as having multiple personas, comparing him to Jekyll and Hyde and The Incredible Hulk.
'He just had this monster side to him,' Trudi told the Daily Mail. 'He was very, very, very frightening when he was in a rage, but I would always know he'd soon come out of it and then he'd be back to normal.'
Recalling the incident that left her paralysed, she said: 'I was screaming, "Don't hurt me, don't hurt me". I was saying, "I'm coming back tonight. I promise, I love you. There are no problems. It's all good." I was just trying to calm it but I couldn't calm him down.'
History of Violence
The couple's relationship began in November 2016, shortly after Trudi lost her husband Craig to a brain tumour. She described being 'immediately attracted' to Easom, who had worked as her sister's gardener.
However, the abuse began just seven months into their relationship. In February 2018, during a trip to York, Easom attacked Trudi after she woke him up, dragging her into the bathroom and threatening her while quoting a line from Rambo: 'Don't push or I'll give you a war.'
A year later, Easom shouted at the mother-of-two and violently grabbed her before dragging her upstairs by the head and banging it on each step. In 2021, Trudi thought she might die when Easom put a sheet over her head and attempted to strangle her during another York trip.
Trudi documented these incidents in the notes section of her phone, writing about her abuse to make sense of what was happening. Her injuries from the final attack were so severe she may never walk again.
Rebuilding a Life
Trudi's children, Gina, now 28, and Jackson, 27, have established a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for transforming her home into an accessible living space, purchasing a specialist wheelchair and covering ongoing care costs.
The family have raised £127,817 of their £200,000 target - funds they hope will help Trudi regain some independence following the life-changing assault.
Easom will be sentenced in February next year for his crimes, which have left a formerly independent woman facing a completely different future than she ever imagined.
