An American student has been found guilty of murdering a Chinese woman after she accused him of passing on a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
Appearing at the Old Bailey, Joshua Michals, 26, was found to have fatally stabbed Zhe Wang, 31, at her flat in Manor Park, Lewisham, south-east London, on 20 March last year.
The two were both students at Goldsmiths University, where Michals was pursuing a master’s degree and Ms Wang studied creative writing, and had begun a casual relationship in 2023.
Michals told jurors that Ms Wang was “germophobic” and became “stressed” after she incorrectly thought she had contracted an STD after they had sex.
Prosecutor Henrietta Paget KC added that the 26-year-old, originally from Chicago, Illinois, had “flown into a rage” and killed Ms Wang after meeting her at her flat.
A post-mortem examination found Ms Wang died from stab wounds to the head and compression to the neck.
During the trial, jurors heard that Ms Wang found a “red dot” on her skin, prompting her to demand Michals get an STD test and vow to find him on campus and “drag” him to see a GP.
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Michals told the court he went to Ms Wang’s on the day of the incident to bring some “normalcy” to the “bizarre situation,” and claimed that on arrival, he found her “cold” and monosyllabic.
He claimed Ms Wang attacked him with a knife as he came out of the bathroom, that he did not intend to strike her with the knife, and that he pressed his forearm to her neck to restrain her.
Earlier in the trial, Brian St Louis KC, defending, told the court Ms Wang messaged Michals “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you” the day before the incident, and that “he had split seconds to do whatever he could to make sure that he was not stabbed”.
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Victim’s phone thrown away
The court later heard that after the incident, Michals called his father and got the details for a solicitor before returning to his own apartment in Deals Gateway, Deptford, and calling 999.
Ms Wang was then found dead at the scene by emergency services.
The court previously heard that Michals took Ms Wang’s phone from her kitchen and put it in a bin outside on the night of the incident. It was recovered days later at a refuse area in Newham, east London.
Jurors returned a guilty verdict after 16-and-a-half hours of deliberations. Michals will be sentenced at a later date.
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Goldsmiths: Works of ‘remarkable writer’ will be published
In a statement paying tribute to Ms Wang, Goldsmiths University said she was a “remarkable writer” and vowed to publish her works posthumously in an upcoming anthology.
Dr Francis Gilbert, senior lecturer in the School of Mind, Body and Society at Goldsmiths, added: “Zhe was joyful, mindful and generous. She was deeply loved by her peers, who continue to speak of her gentleness, her humour and her thoughtful presence. She made our community kinder and more attentive.
“Her classmates continue to mourn her loss and remember her with profound love, recalling the warmth of her presence and the inspiration she offered so generously to others. We will miss Zhe always.”
