Man who tried to kill uniformed army officer near barracks learns fate | UK | News

Anthony Esan was sentenced to life in prison and will remain in hospital detention “for as long as necessary” after trying to kill a uniformed Army officer, Lt. Col. Mark Teeton, near Brompton Barracks in Chatham in 2024. Esan was sentenced to a minimum of seven years and 162 days in prison for repeatedly stabbing Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton using two knives at Sally Port Gardens, near Brompton Barracks in Chatham, in July. 23 2024.

The prosecution said it was a “wicked and deliberate” attack targeting a soldier and that in the lead-up to the stabbing, Esan had bought a number of knives from Argos days earlier and searched online for attacks including those of the murdered soldier Lee Rigby. Forensic psychiatrists told Maidstone Crown Court it was more likely Esan attempted to stab a soldier but the real reason for his actions was psychosis. Experts agreed that he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the attack.

Lieutenant Colonel Teeton told the three-day sentencing hearing on Monday that he was grateful to be alive.

As a result of the attack, he suffered a large wound on the right side of his neck, as well as stab wounds on the front and back of his chest and abdomen. He was also injured in his lower abdomen, right groin, right upper arm and left thigh.

Lieutenant Colonel Teeton, who served in the army for 26 years and completed two tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, paid tribute to those who came to his aid. He especially praised his wife, Eileen, for her courage and support during the ordeal.

During the four-day sentencing, the court heard how Lieutenant Colonel Teeton’s wife, Eileen Teeton, rushed at a soldier lying on the ground outside the family home before realizing it was her husband.

Realizing that Esan had a knife in his hand, he pushed Esan away from him and “felt a wave of fear” that he might have to run for his life, but Esan chose not to go after him.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Teeton said: “I watched in horror as he continued his brutal attack and realized it was my husband lying on the ground and he had slashed his face and neck.”

The prosecution described the action of removing Esan as “remarkable”.

Ms Teeton added that while visiting her husband in hospital he said: “Do people at work know what he’s trying to do to me?”

She asked him what he was trying to do and he replied: “Cut off my head! Like Lee Rigby.”

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton welcomed the sentencing of Anthony Esan at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.

Speaking outside court, he said: “We welcome the sentence handed down to the attacker today as it reflects the incredible body of evidence presented by our counsel and gathered by the police about the premeditation and planning of the attack against me, an officer in British military uniform.

“Knife attacks don’t just affect the victim, they also impact the families and communities where the attacks occur.

“We feel the pain of every stabbing we see on the news and our thoughts will always be with those affected.

The footage shown to the court shows the moments when Esan parked his motorcycle and stopped Lieutenant Colonel Teeton as he was walking home from the barracks at 17.53.

The court heard the father-of-two asked if he could use his phone because his moped broke down and he needed to call someone to come and help before he launched the attack.

More footage from a car shows the attack taking place in the middle of the road, where Esan stabs Lieutenant Teeton, who gets up and walks the other way, and Esan follows him and continues his attack.

Esan was born in Nigeria and moved to England in 2009, living in Southwark, London, before the family moved to Kent in 2022.

The court heard Esan had made several unsuccessful attempts to join the British Army in the years before the attack and his first application was made in 2020.

That same year, he was referred to mental health services because he was mentally unstable and reported hearing voices.

The court heard that Esan’s mother contacted a service out of hours in January 2023, concerned that she had a knife in her bag.

Expert forensic psychiatry witness Professor Nigel Blackwood said Esan “began having murderous fantasies 18 months before acting them out” when he brought a knife to the family’s home.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC also said Esan had an “interest” in knives, including the packaging of two “Rambo” knives that were later taken from his bedroom.

The court heard that when Esan was arrested, he made a reference to the “devil’s day” and told officers his name was Esan, meaning “karma”.

Sentencing him on Friday, Mr Justice Picken said: “The attack on Mr Teeton was targeted and deliberate.

“As your search for the murder of Lee Rigby on the Internet indicates, you were looking for a soldier with the intention of killing that soldier.”