An American student has gone on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of murdering his Chinese partner in her south-east London flat after she incorrectly believed he had given her a sexually transmitted disease.
A Fatal Confrontation
Joshua Michals, a 26-year-old film student, described to Woolwich Crown Court how a visit to his girlfriend's flat in Lewisham on 20 March 2024 ended in her death. He had brought a selection of charcuterie in an attempt to bring "normalcy" to what he called a "bizarre situation". The court heard that the tension stemmed from his partner, 31-year-old creative writing student Zhe Wang, becoming distressed after incorrectly believing she had contracted an STD following sex with Michals.
Upon his arrival, Michals claimed Ms Wang was "cold" and monosyllabic. He told jurors that after he went to the bathroom, he emerged to find her holding a knife. He described her as looking "completely crazy" and "demented", with a "wicked look in her eye" that "scared the hell out of me".
The Struggle for the Knife
Michals, who was studying at Goldsmiths, University of London alongside Ms Wang, stated that she came at him with the knife raised. A physical struggle ensued during which he grabbed her wrist. He recounted that the blade was "flashing back and forth" and he saw her face "go red" with blood from a cut.
He claimed he managed to shake her arm, causing the knife to fall to the floor, at which point they both "pounced" for it. Michals said he grabbed the handle while Ms Wang held the blade, and he pulled it from her grasp. "I panicked," he told the court. "I was turning away and I just saw this blood red face coming at me."
Michals stated that he swung his arm around in a backhand motion with the knife, insisting he only meant to get her away from him. The blade struck her in the cheek. He described a "weird pause" followed by Ms Wang throwing herself back at him. They fell to the floor with the knife still embedded in her face.
The Aftermath and Arrest
Michals told the court he removed the knife and threw it away as Ms Wang tried to "claw" at his eyes. He said he restrained her by putting a forearm on her, repeatedly telling her to "calm down" and "stop" until she ceased struggling. He claimed she made no sound during the entire incident except for a single "grunt" when she was first cut.
When asked by his defence barrister, Brian St Louis KC, what he believed would have happened if Ms Wang had kept the knife, Michals replied, "She would have stabbed me. She wouldn't stop, she wanted to use the knife."
Jurors heard that Michals subsequently called 999. Police discovered Chinese national Ms Wang lying face-up on her bedroom floor in a "pool of blood", having sustained two penetrating stab wounds to the face.
The court was told that the couple had met on Michals's first day at Goldsmiths and had "hung out" around ten times before her death. Michals stated he had felt "so-so" about a relationship with her due to her germ phobia. The dispute began after Ms Wang found a "red dot" on her skin and demanded Michals get an STD test, even vowing to find him on campus to "drag" him to a GP. The court has heard that Michals never had a sexually transmitted disease.
Joshua Michals, of Deals Gateway, south-east London, has pleaded not guilty to murder. The trial at the Old Bailey continues.
