A British Army officer who survived a horrific knife attack outside his barracks has today paid a moving tribute to his 'hero' wife, who fought off the assailant as he tried to 'cut my head off like Lee Rigby'. Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton, 47, fought back tears as he recounted the terrifying ordeal in which a stranger, obsessed with the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby, launched a sudden and brutal assault.
Vicious and Deliberate Assault
The court heard how Anthony Esan, a 24-year-old Nigerian national who had been repeatedly rejected from the Army due to a psychotic disorder and eczema, lay in wait outside Brompton Barracks in Gillingham, Kent. Armed with two kitchen knives purchased from Argos, Esan had reportedly watched TikTok videos about knife attacks, including the 2013 killing of 25-year-old Lee Rigby near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich.
On July 23, 2024, Esan targeted Lieutenant Teeton at random, pouncing on the first soldier in uniform he encountered. The victim was just 100 metres from the barracks, on his way home, when Esan approached him, claiming his moped had broken down and asking to use a phone.
Wife's Heroic Intervention
As Lieutenant Teeton stopped to help, Esan suddenly lunged forward, stabbing him a dozen times in the neck, abdomen, chest, and groin. The attack caused severe internal damage to his voice box, right lung, liver, and abdominal wall. The lieutenant's survival is credited to the swift actions of his wife, Eileen, who was in the back garden of their nearby home and heard shouting.
Mrs Teeton rushed to the scene, initially unaware the victim was her husband. In a wave of terror, she realised she was witnessing a savage attack on Mark, pushing off the knifeman as he carved at his face and neck. A doorbell recording captured her piercing screams: 'Get off him. What are you doing? What the f*** are you doing?'
In a powerful victim impact statement, Mrs Teeton said: 'I watched horrified by his continued savage attack, and realised it was my husband on the ground. 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.'
Mental Health Background and Aftermath
Maidstone Crown Court was told that Esan, a cannabis addict, had a history of mental health issues, including a diagnosis of psychosis with hallucinations. Just days before the attack, he had been discharged from a mental health intervention service to a low-intensity support team. After fleeing the scene on his moped, leaving behind a shoe and the knives, police arrested him at his Rochester home less than an hour later, finding him ranting about the devil with blood-covered hands.
Esan has admitted attempted murder and possession of two bladed weapons on the first day of his trial. When charged, he bizarrely asked: 'Am I free now?' He is due to be sentenced later this week.
Survivor's Emotional Testimony
Lieutenant Teeton, a serving officer with 26 years of service including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, described the lasting impact of the attack. 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.'
He expressed deep gratitude to his wife and strangers who intervened, stating: '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.'
Reflecting on the shock of the assault, he added: 'I did not imagine for a moment that I would be attacked in such a way on the streets of Britain, in a place where I felt safe.' Prosecutor Alison Morgan, KC, remarked that it was a miracle the lieutenant survived, highlighting the severity of the injuries and the random, vicious nature of the attack.
