Man who tried to kill British Army officer needed to ‘lower his head off like Lee Rigby’
Anthony Esan, 25, was sentenced to life in prison at Maidstone Crown Court after pleading guilty to attacking Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton near Brompton Barracks in Kent
Anthony Esan has been sentenced to life imprisonment
A man who carried out a brutal knife assault on an army soldier will remain locked up “for as long as necessary”. Anthony Esan, 25, received a life sentence at Maidstone Crown Court today, and will remain in hospital detention for as long as authorities deem required, after the court heard how he repeatedly knifed Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton with two blades near a barracks in Kent.
Lt Col Teeton sustained a massive wound to the right side of his neck and additional stab injuries to the front and back of his chest, front and back of his abdomen, left side of his lower abdomen, right groin, right upper arm and left thigh.
The court was told Esan had researched attacks online, including that of murdered soldier Lee Rigby, and bought a knife set from Argos days before the assault.
During the sentencing hearing, he sat in the dock surrounded by five Broadmoor staff alongside a custody officer.
Father-of-two Lt Col Teeton described to the court how doctors called it a “miracle” he survived the vicious knife attack at Sally Port Gardens, near Brompton Barracks, Chatham, on July 23 2024.
When asked what his attacker was attempting to do, he replied: “Cut off my head. Like Lee Rigby.”
The army engineer was wearing uniform during the attack.
The court heard how his wife Eileen raced to the scene outside their family home after seeing a soldier on the ground, before discovering it was her husband who had been targeted. Lt Col Teeton emotionally informed the court that he remains “forever in gratitude” to the “heroes”, including his wife, who rushed to his assistance that day, revealing how medical professionals described his survival as a “miracle”.
A senior instructor at the British Army’s Royal School of Military Engineering, Lt Col Teeton was singled out in the “vicious and deliberate” assault due to his military appearance, prosecutors stated.
The officer has dedicated 26 years to the British Army and completed two deployments in Iraq and two in Afghanistan.
“I still relive the incident in my mind; I actually think it is a blessing that I was unconscious for much of it as it means that I am unable to remember a large part of being attacked,” he informed the court.
“I don’t think I will truly appreciate the courage shown by my wife and strangers to thwart the attack and then the quick thinking of an array of people that helped save my life. They are all heroes, and I am forever in gratitude to them.”
Medical experts confirmed Esan suffered from schizophrenia during the assault.
Forensic psychiatrists informed the court that whilst Esan likely intended to stab a soldier, his behaviour was primarily driven by psychosis.
He has been undergoing treatment at Broadmoor Hospital, though the court learnt Esan continues to experience psychotic episodes and will require lifelong care.
Esan, from Mooring Road, Rochester, admitted to the assault and possession of two bladed weapons in January. Mrs Teeton revealed that during a hospital visit, her husband told her: “Do the people at work know what he tried to do to me?” When she enquired what he meant, he responded: “Cut my head off! Like Lee Rigby.”
Off-duty soldier Rigby, aged 25, was murdered in daylight by extremists close to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, south-east London.
Esan was born in Nigeria and relocated to the UK in 2009, residing in the Southwark area of London, the court was told. He had made multiple failed bids to enlist in the British Army in the years leading up to his attack, beginning in 2000.
During that same year, he had been referred to mental health services after appearing to be mentally unwell and claiming to hear voices. The court heard that in January 2023, Esan’s mother had contacted an out-of-hours service with concerns that he was carrying knives in his bag.
