🔴 LIVE: BROMPTON KNIFEMAN FACES JUSTICE FOR ARMY OFFICER ATTACK
🔴 LIVE: BROMPTON KNIFEMAN FACES JUSTICE FOR ARMY OFFICER ATTACK
Live from Maidstone Crown Court
We are providing live coverage as the sentencing of Anthony Esan, 25, is set to begin. Esan has admitted to the attempted murder of Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton, a serving officer with the Royal School of Military Engineering, following a daylight attack near Brompton Barracks in July 2024.
The proceedings are expected to take place over the next three days, concluding a case that has seen significant delays due to the defendant's psychiatric status. The court will ultimately determine the appropriate level of culpability and the necessary measures for public protection, balancing the severity of the "frenzied" assault against the defendant's mental health history.
Lieutenant Colonel Teeton and his wife, Eileen, are expected to be present as the sentencing exercise commences. The High Court must now decide whether a custodial sentence or a specialized hospital order is the most appropriate disposal for the 25-year-old.
Key Events
- Esan became an immigrant to London from Nigeria in 2009 at the age of nine along with his mother and his two elder siblings.
- The daylight stabbing of Lt Col Mark Teeton near Sally Port Gardens in Gillingham.
- The defendant’s departure from the scene on a moped and the subsequent police response.
- Emergency medical intervention and the airlift of the victim to a major trauma centre.
- Anthony Esan’s arrest in the Rochester area shortly after the incident.
- The recovery of bladed articles linked to the attack and the defendant’s moped.
- Legal proceedings and the defendant's detention at Broadmoor high-security hospital.
- The anticipated presentation of expert psychiatric evidence from multiple consultants.
- Submissions regarding the final sentencing disposal and the potential for a life sentence.
Live from court reporting by Ben Freeman and editing by Jason King at Maidstone Crown Court ⬇️
4:30
🔴 COURT ADJOURNS AFTER HARROWING DAY OF EVIDENCE
Proceedings at Maidstone Crown Court have concluded for the day following emotional victim impact statements & expert psychiatric testimony.
The case resumes tomorrow morning as the sentencing process continues …
4:20 🔴 MOTHER RAISED ALARM OVER KNIVES
Maidstone Crown Court heard Esan's mother contacted out-of-hours services a year before the incident after discovering weapons.
Experts say this marked the beginning of his descent into violent ideation ⬇️
4:15
🔴 EXPERTS AGREE SCHIZOPHRENIA DIAGNOSIS
Medical experts have reached a consensus that Anthony Esan was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the stabbing.
The court heard he gives an "impoverished account" for his behaviour ⬇️
4:05 🔴 MURDEROUS FANTASIES HELD FOR 18 MONTHS
Expert witness Professor Nigel Blackwood tells the court Esan began entertaining "murderous fantasies" 18 months before the attack, after his mother found knives in his bag in January 2023 ⬇️
4:00
🔴 “VICIOUS AND DELIBERATE” ATTACK
The prosecution has described the assault on the Lieutenant Colonel as a “vicious and deliberate” act.
The case continued as the court examined the motivation behind the stabbing ⬇️
3:50
🔴 SOLDIER TARGETED FOR HIS UNIFORM
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court the victim was targeted specifically because of his appearance as a soldier.
Lt Col Teeton serves as a chief instructor at the school of military engineering ⬇️
3:45
🔴 “CUT MY HEAD OFF! LIKE LEE RIGBY”
Maidstone Crown Court heard the harrowing moment Lt Col Teeton spoke to his wife in hospital, asking if colleagues knew what happened. He told her:
“Cut my head off! Like Lee Rigby”
⬇️
3:40
🔴 “BRAVERY OF HEROES SAVED HIS LIFE”
Mrs Teeton told the court that Mark is a husband, father and friend who was almost lost:
“But for the bravery and dedication of so many heroes who saved his life.”
She said the attack will never be erased ⬇️
3:35
🔴 ATTACK CONTINUED AS SOLDIER WAS PURSUED
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC says the intervention happened during the “second part” of the assault.
Footage shown to the court shows Esan pursuing Lt Col Teeton into the road after the initial stabbing ⬇️
🔴 “CONFIRMING MY NIGHTMARE IS REALITY”
The court heard Mrs Teeton only saw the blood on her flip-flops while in the hospital waiting room.
She described trying to shield her eldest daughter from seeing her father’s “DEVASTATING” condition ⬇️
3:25
🔴 ATTACK WAS “DELIBERATE & NOT FRENZIED”
Eileen Teeton described the movements of the defendant as he bent over her husband as:
“Short, pushing motions.”
She stated that the stabbing appeared very deliberate rather than a frenzied assault ⬇️
3:20
🔴 “HE WAS CARVING AT HIS FACE”
Mrs Teeton’s victim impact statement described her horror as she watched the attack continue.
She told Maidstone Crown
“He was carving at his face and neck... as if he was trying to get the blade in the exact place he wanted it” ⬇️
3:10
🔴 WIFE PUSHED ATTACKER OFF SOLDIER
In what the prosecution described as “remarkable” bravery, Mrs Teeton pushed Esan away from her husband before realising he was armed with a knife.
She told the court she then “felt a wave of terror” ⬇️
2:50
🔴 “I REALISED IT WAS MY HUSBAND”
Eileen Teeton tells court she rushed from her garden after hearing cries for help, only to find a soldier lying on the ground was her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton, being attacked by Anthony Esan ⬇️
2:20
🔴 PROSECUTION QUESTIONS STATE OF DISORDER
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC says the key question for the Judge is what these medical interactions reveal about the true state & nature of Esan’s mental disorder at the time of the attack ⬇️
1:55
🔴 TRANSFERRED TO LOW INTENSITY SUPPORT
The court is examining Esan's medical history, including his June discharge from specialist services & his subsequent move to the Medway Low Intensity Support CMHT prior to the events in question ⬇️
1:40
🔴 MEDICATION SWITCH REQUEST REFUSED
During his July appointment, Esan asked to switch from a depot anti-psychotic injection to oral medication.
The court heard this request was refused & the injection was administered as planned anyway ⬇️
1:35
🔴 "NO OBVIOUS PSYCHOSIS" DAYS BEFORE INCIDENT
Esan attended a mental health appointment on 19 July 2024—just four days before the attack took place.
Medical professionals noted there were no obvious signs of psychosis during that final assessment ⬇️
1:30
🔴 ESAN’S MENTAL HEALTH TIMELINE REVEALED
Court hears Esan was discharged from the Medway Early Intervention Service on 21 June 2024, before being transferred to a Low Intensity Support team just weeks before the incident ⬇️
1:15
🔴 ATTACK CONTINUED EVEN WHILE VICTIM TRIED TO CRAWL AWAY
Esan stabbed Lt Col Teeton multiple times with two different knives – including after he tried to move away on the ground ⬇️
1:10
🔴 WIFE’S GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE ATTACK
Eileen Teeton told police she saw Esan “pushing his knife towards Mark’s face & neck” – she described it as:
“Like he was trying to carve Mark’s face.” ⬇️
12:55
🔴 ESAN PLAYED FOOTBALL WITH CALLUM WHEELER
During the same period, Anthony Esan played in the same local football group as Callum Wheeler, who lived just a street away.
Wheeler was later sentenced to life for murdering PCSO Julia James ⬇️
12:45
🔴 MOTHER RAISED CONCERNS IN 2021
Esan’s mother, described as a strict Christian who always did her best to keep him on the straight and narrow, raised concerns about his behaviour to the authorities as early as 2021 ⬇️
12:38
🔴 CASE DELAYED OVER MENTAL HEALTH
This trial has been delayed several times due to concerns over Esan’s mental health & fitness to plead.
However last month he admitted the charge via video link from Broadmoor Hospital ⬇️
12:35
🔴 EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE TO HEROES
Becoming emotional, Teeton paid tribute to the “heroes” who came to his aid, including his wife, saying he would be “forever in gratitude” ⬇️
12:30
🔴 “MIRACLE” SURVIVAL, COURT HEARS
Teeton said medical staff described his survival as a miracle.
He added he still relives the incident & believes it was a blessing he was unconscious for much of it ⬇️
12:25
🔴 ESAN’S EARLY LIFE REVEALED IN COURT
Esan was born in Nigeria but came to the UK in 2009 as an immigrant at the age of 9 along with his mother & his two older siblings, the court heard.
They originally lived in the Southwark area of London ⬇️
12:10
🔴 ESAN’S FAILED ARMY APPLICATIONS
Esan applied to join the Army in 2020 and 2021 but was rejected due to eczema, nut allergy, & later a psychotic disorder; the case was delayed over mental health concerns ⬇️
12:06
🔴 PROSECUTION: TARGETED FOR BEING A SOLDIER
The prosecution’s case is that the chief instructor at the British Army’s school of military engineering was attacked because of his appearance as a soldier ⬇️
12:05
🔴 VICTIM IN ARMY UNIFORM AT TIME
Teeton was dressed in full Army uniform, with boots and beret, when he was stabbed & later required emergency surgery ⬇️
12.03
🔴 “MIRACULOUS” SURVIVAL OF VICTIM
Morgan said the fact that Teeton’s wounds were not fatal was nothing short of miraculous ⬇️
11:59
🔴 WITNESSES CALL ATTACK “HARROWING”
Witnesses described the attack as one of the worst things they had ever seen, the court heard ⬇️
11:55
🔴 LEE RIGBY MURDER SEARCH REVEALED
On 16 July, Esan searched for “Woolwich soldier murdered”, which Morgan said referred to the attack on Lee Rigby ⬇️
11:53 🔴 ONLINE SEARCHES FOR KNIVES AND TERROR
Before the attack, Esan searched online for knives, a terrorist attack in West Africa, & TikTok videos of knife attacks in other countries ⬇️
11:50
🔴 DEFENDANT HAD INTEREST IN KNIVES
Morgan said Esan had an interest in knives; packaging for two “Rambo” knives was recovered from his bedroom after the attack ⬇️
11:44
🔴 SOLDIER TARGETED IN VICIOUS KNIFE ATTACK
Alison Morgan KC, prosecuting, told Maidstone Crown Court that the victim, Teeton, was deliberately attacked because of his obvious appearance as a soldier ⬇️
11:40
🔴 VICTIMS PRESENT
Lt Col Teeton & his wife are in attendance today.
The sentencing is scheduled to last three days, as the court weighs the defendant's mental health history against the severe level of public risk ⬇️
11:35am
🔴 THE EVIDENCE
The court is revisiting the events of July 2024. Lt Col Teeton was targeted while in uniform, sustaining life-threatening injuries before the attacker fled on a moped.
Expert psychiatric evidence will be the pivot for today's hearing ⬇️
11:15am
🔴 PRIVATE LEGAL DISCUSSION UNDERWAY
The Judge is currently holding a private legal preamble concerning court reporting restrictions related to mental health privacy issues
Proceedings are expected to resume shortly once resolved ⬇️
10:10 am
🔴 STANDING BY FOR OPENING OF PROCEEDINGS
The courtroom is currently assembling ahead of the scheduled 10:30 am start. The press gallery and legal representatives are taking their places for the first day of this three-day sentencing hearing. We will provide immediate updates as soon as the case is called on and the High Court judge begins the session.
