WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Trudi Burgess, 56, could hear her ‘skeleton snapping’ during the vicious attack by Robert Easom in a bedroom earlier this year in Lancashire
A teacher has been left paralysed from the chest down after what was described as a “brutal” and “vicious” assault by her ex-lover, a court has heard.
Robert Easom, 56, is accused of “snapping” the neck of mum-of-two Trudi Burgess, also 56, during a violent row sparked when she told him she was leaving him. Jurors were told Easom later lied to police and her family, claiming: “It was just a frolic which has gone horribly wrong.”
He is standing trial at Preston Crown Court, where he admits causing the injury but denies he did it intentionally or meant to cause her such serious harm.
Ms Burgess now requires constant care and will never walk again, will give her account to the court via video link.
Prosecutor Sarah Magill told the jury that Ms Burgess was grieving the recent death of her husband from a brain tumour and was “emotionally vulnerable” when she met Easom, her sister’s gardener.
Ms Magill said: “He offered his condolences and offered to do little jobs. They fell in love. It was initially everything she wanted – heady, loving and passionate. But you will hear that he became abusive and violent.”
The court heard chilling details of the violence, including an incident in 2021 when Easom “wrapped her head in a bed sheet until she was unable to breathe,” and another in January this year when he “head-butted her in their car after she complained they didn’t have enough crockery for dinner.”
Easom has pleaded guilty to both assaults and admits causing her neck injury but denies he did it deliberately, reports the Daily Mail. The jury must decide whether he intended to cause “really serious harm,” the court was told.
Ms Magill explained that Ms Burgess became “alienated” from her family because of Easom’s alleged abuse but finally decided to leave on February 17 this year.
She had stayed overnight at Easom’s home in Chipping, Lancashire and was drinking tea in bed when he asked if she was making cottage pie for dinner, her usual Monday routine.
When she said no and told him she was returning home, Easom’s “sheer blind rage” erupted. “His reaction to this was sheer blind rage,” Ms Magill said.
The court heard Easom said: ‘Why do you always f*****g do this? Causing an argument. You’re f*****g doing it again.
He started pacing in and out of the bedroom, and fearing for her safety, Ms Burgess pleaded, “Rob I will stay, I will stay Rob, don’t hurt me.”
But Easom’s rage spiraled out of control. “He went over to her and he put his arm up against her chest, pushing her forcefully against the headboard of the bed.
“He grabbed her throat and put his fist to her chin, shouting at her ‘you f*****g stupid b****, what are you doing? Why do you do this?”
He paced in and out of the room, but Ms Burgess had no means of escape before he then pulled her to the end of the bed, face down.
The prosecutor went on: “He started to push down with his entire bodyweight on her head. She started to scream, she tried to tell him that he was killing her but she couldn’t speak.
“She will tell you that she felt it was cracking her skeleton. She was right – he was breaking her neck
“She heard a crack and all feeling left her body. She felt other parts of her body crack and go numb. She thought she was dying. He did not stop. He was shouting, ‘Shut the f*** up. I will shut you up’.”
Ms Burgess, unable to move her limbs, told Easom she could not feel her legs, but he initially didn’t believe her.
Eventually, he called 999, claiming she had “fallen out of bed while they were ‘mollycoddling,’” Ms Magill said.
She was rushed to hospital, where scans confirmed her neck was broken – leaving her paralysed from the chest down and in constant pain.
Experts say the injury could only have been caused by a fall from a height of 15 to 20 feet, not from a bed.
“She is paralysed from the chest down and is in constant pain, “Ms Magill explained.
“She describes it as being as if she is in a suit of armour that is two sizes too small. She can lift her arms using her shoulders but she cannot move her fingers.
“She requires help to drink, she cannot perform simple everyday bodily functions such as coughing, she requires healthcare professionals to assist her. She requires round-the-clock care from a team of specialists.”
Despite her condition, Ms Burgess remains “as articulate and sound of mind as before,” Ms Magill added.
After the attack, Easom told her sister on the phone that it was just “a bit of bloody fun,” the court heard.
“It’s just a horrible frolic that’s gone horribly and accidentally wrong and no one feels worse about it than me,” he claimed.
But police weren’t convinced and Easom was arrested, telling officers that he would never intentionally hurt her. “I love Trudi more than life itself,” he insisted. The trial continues.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
#Emotionally #vulnerable #mum #left #paralysed #partner #snapped #neck #threatened #leave
