Teacher's Life Destroyed: Bully Gets 16 Years

Robert Easom, 57, has been sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for a brutal assault that left his partner, Trudi Burgess, paralysed. The landscape gardener pinned Burgess down and pushed her head into her body, snapping her neck when she threatened to leave him after eight years of abuse. Burgess, 57, a schoolteacher from Chorley, Lancashire, suffered a complete spinal cord injury and is now tetraplegic, requiring constant care.

During the sentencing at Preston crown court, Burgess bravely delivered a victim impact statement, describing her life as "destroyed" and herself as "emotionally shattered." The court heard that Easom exhibited a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour, including verbal abuse and physical assaults, which eroded Burgess's self-esteem. Easom, however, could also be loving, exhibiting a "Jekyll and Hyde personality."

Easom pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, along with charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour. Judge Altham stated that no sentence could adequately compensate for the harm caused, with Easom eligible for parole after 16 years. A GoFundMe has been established by Burgess's children to support her lifelong care needs, having already raised over £188,000.