An Army reject who launched a frenzied knife attack on a high-ranking soldier outside his barracks has been handed a life sentence.
Drug addict Anthony Esan, 25, came close to killing Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton after ambushing him with kitchen knives, and carving at his face and neck.
The ‘vicious and deliberate’ onslaught was only stopped when Lt Col Teeton’s wife Eileen heard screaming and rushed to his rescue to fight off the attacker – realising the victim was her husband.
The court heard Nigerian-born Esan tried to recreate the brutal murder of Lee Rigby, the Fusilier set upon by two Islamist extremists outside Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich in 2013, after watching videos about the attack.
He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of seven years but told he will be detained in hospital ‘for as long as necessary’ at his sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court today.
Sentencing him, Mr Justice Simon Picken said: ‘The attack on Mr Teeton was targeted and deliberate.
‘You were looking for a soldier with the intention that that soldier should die, as underlined by the fact you had looked up the killing of Lee Rigby on the internet.’
Speaking outside court, Lt Col Teeton said: ‘We welcome the sentence that has been handed to my attacker today as it reflects an incredible bank of evidence gathered by the police and presented by our barrister of the premeditation and planning involved in the attack against myself, an officer wearing British military uniform.
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton arrived at court with wife Eileen today, to see his would-be killer sentenced
Mrs Teeton was credited with saving her husband’s life after she heard his screaming and came to his aid
‘Knife attacks do not just impact the victim, they impact the families and communities where attacks occur.
‘We feel the pain caused by every knife attack that we see on the news, and our thoughts will always be with those affected.’
Esan had previously been rejected from the Army several times due to his ‘psychotic disorder’ and eczema.
The court heard how the cannabis addict was discharged from the care of a mental health intervention service to a ‘low intensity support team’ just days after he bought a pack of knives from Argos in preparation for the attack.
He targeted Lt Col Teeton at random days later on July 23, 2024, pouncing on the first soldier in uniform he encountered in a ‘vicious and deliberate’ attack.
The victim was just 100 metres from the barracks in Gillingham, Kent, on his way home when Esan asked if he could use his phone after his moped broke down.
As the soldier stopped to help, Esan suddenly lunged forward stabbing the victim a dozen times in the neck, abdomen, chest and groin, causing internal damage to his voice box, right lung, liver and abdominal wall.
The 47-year-old only survived after his wife, who happened to be in the back garden of their home just yards away, heard shouting and ran to her husband’s aid.
Anthony Esan admitted attempted murder
She previously told the court how she rushed to help a soldier lying on the ground, pushing off the knifeman only to realise in ‘a wave of terror’ that it was her husband.
In a victim impact statement, Mrs Teeton said: ‘I watched horrified by his continued savage attack, and realised it was my husband on the ground and he was carving at his face and neck.’
She added: ‘That wasn’t a soldier, that was Mark, my husband, a father, a brother, an uncle, a work colleague, a friend to so many people that almost lost him but for the bravery and dedication of so many heroes who saved his life.
‘We will live with this forever, the scars will fade but your attack will never be erased.’
A doorbell recording captured her piercing screams as she fought with the knifeman crying: ‘Get off him. What are you doing? What the f*** are you doing?’
Esan locked eyes with Mrs Teeton before running off, the court heard.
As her husband lay bleeding, Mrs Teeton tried to shield her eldest daughter when she arrived at the scene a short time later.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan, KC, said it was a miracle that the Lieutenant Colonel survived.
Army reject Esan lay in wait outside Brompton Barracks, armed with a couple of kitchen blades after watching TikTok videos about knife attacks including Lee Rigby’s murder
Maidstone Crown Court was told Esan bought a pack of knives from Argos in preparation for the attack
Fusilier Lee Rigby was killed near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich in 2013 aged 25
Lieutenant Colonel Teeton only survived after his wife Eileen, who happened to be in the back garden of their home just yards away, heard shouting and ran to her husband’s aid
The victim, a serving officer in the British Army for 26 years who had been on tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, later asked his wife in hospital: ‘Do the people at work know what he tried to do to me – cut my head off! Like Lee Rigby.’
Fighting back tears, he said: ‘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.’
Since the middle of last year Esan said he felt he was in the film Kingsman, which Ms Morgan described as ‘profoundly violent’ and a video game called Cyberpunk.
He believed his role was to ‘deliver and shoot’, the court heard.
Esan has been receiving treatment in Broadmoor Hospital, but experts said he remains psychotic and will have to be treated for the rest of his life.
Esan, of Mooring Road, Rochester, was due to stand trial for the attack and possession of two bladed weapons this month, but instead pleaded guilty to the crimes in January.
He was flanked by six staff from Broadmoor alongside a custody guard in the dock today.