Man pleads guilty to attempted murder after stabbing army officer outside barracks

Esan was wearing a blue and white jumper as he appeared by video link from the high-security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor in Berkshire.

The 25-year-old, who moved to London from Nigeria in 2009 at the age of nine, also entered guilty pleas to two counts of possession of a bladed weapon.

Esan will be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on February 9.

The sentencing is expected to last three days.

Lt-Col Teeton, who spent 25 years in the British Army, was attacked just yards from his home near Brompton Barracks.

He was taken to a nearby hospital after sustaining serious injuries during the attack.

The father-of-two, who appeared in court alongside his wife Eileen, was discharged a few weeks later.

At a previous hearing at Medway Magistrates’ Court in 2024, prosecutor Rajni Prashar said: “A member of the public called 999 to report a male had been stabbed.

“It was then reported that the victim was a soldier in uniform.”

Ms Prashar told the court a man was seen “running up behind” the army officer before he “pulled the soldier to the ground”.

She added that the man stabbed the officer “repeatedly” before driving away on a moped.

Two knives were dropped at the scene, with another three being found stored on the bike.

Esan was arrested near his home in nearby Rochester just 25 minutes after the attack.

The case had been repeatedly delayed due to concerns about the 25-year-old's mental health and fitness to plead.

However, Esan's leading barrister Richard Barraclough KC this morning that the defence was "satisfied he has the capacity to plead to the indictment and we expect he will plead guilty to the entire indictment when it is put to him”.

Lt-Col Teeton previously thanked the "overwhelming" generosity of strangers who had donated towards his recovery.

A GoFundMe page has so far raised almost £50,000 to support him and his family.

"We took strength and comfort from all the messages when we had just been through the most horrific experience," he said.

"Our family cannot thank those people enough."

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC added: “This is plainly a sentencing exercise with some measure of complexity given the sentencing tribunal will have to consider the issues of culpability and disposal.”

She also said that the options were a discretionary life sentence, a determinate prison term or a mental health disposal.

Lt-Col Teeton and his wife are also likely to provide victim impact statements.