Goldsmiths student jailed for life for murdering girlfriend who thought he had given her an STI

An American film student has been jailed for life after stabbing his girlfriend inside her London flat and trying shift the blame to her.

Chinese student Zhe Wang, 31, was killed by her on-and-off boyfriend and fellow Goldsmiths student, Joshua Michals, 26, after the pair had an argument after she believed he had given her an STI.

During the trial at the Old Bailey, the jury was told by the prosecution Michals had ‘flown into a rage’ and killed Ms Wang after meeting her at her flat. She was later found dead inside with two stab wounds.

Michals claimed Ms Wang was ‘germophobic’ and became ‘stressed’ after developing a rash after they had sex – falsely believing it was due to an STI – and she had attacked him with a knife.

But this was rejected by the Judge, who said Michals’ decision to not call the emergency services immediately after attacking her was ‘callous’ and showed he was ‘thinking only of yourself.’

The trial heard if help had been called sooner, Ms Wang could have survived.

Judge Richard Marks KC said today as he sentenced Michals: ‘My conclusion is that you became enraged by the whole situation. In a fury you lost complete control of your temper and your senses.’

He said that the film student inflicted two serious wounds on Ms Wang’s face using one of her kitchen knives, and that the second wound involved ‘a use of force.’

In her victim impact statement, Ms Wang’s cousin, Xiao Li Wang, said today it was difficult express ‘the emotions and heartbreak of losing a close family member.’

The cousin, who joined via a video link in China, said the family thought they were being scammed when they first received a call about her death in the UK.

She said: ‘Nobody wanted to believe what we had been told, it felt like something you see in the movies.

‘Zhe was so positive, hardworking, passionate about life and yet something so cruel had happened to her.’

The judge said that the evidence showed that Ms Wang was ‘a hugely talented writer, a gentle and kindly young woman, private and sensitive and it would seem to me someone emotionally fragile.’

During his trial last year, it was heard they had first met on the Goldsmiths campus and began an on-and-off casual relationship in 2023.

Michals told jurors he had felt ‘so-so’ about pursuing a relationship with Ms Wang because she had a phobia of germs.

After finding a ‘red dot’ on her skin after the pair had sex, she demanded he get an STD test, even vowing to find him on campus to ‘drag’ him to see a GP, the court previously heard.

But he refused, and sent her results of an old test instead.

Jurors were told Michals, of Deals Gateway, south-east London, never had a sexually transmitted disease.

The student said he went to her flat on March 20 2024 with a charcuterie selection to bring some ‘normalcy’ to the ‘bizarre situation’.

He claimed that when he arrived at the flat in Lewisham, he found Ms Wang ‘cold’ and monosyllabic, and that she attacked him with a knife as he came out of the bathroom.

A post-mortem examination found Ms Wang died from stab wounds to the head and compression to the neck, the trial heard.

It was later discovered that Michals had called his father and his solicitor before calling 999 and alerting the emergency services.

He took Ms Wang’s phone and threw it into a bin. Detectives found her phone days later at a waste site in Newham, east London.

Ms Wang, described as a ‘remarkable writer and thinker’ by colleagues, had suffered stab wounds to the head and compression to the neck.

Michals said previously he had pressed his forearm on her neck to try to restrain her, and that he did not intend to kill her.

The jury, however, found him guilty during the trial at the Old Bailey last month.

udge Richard Marks, KC, the Common Serjeant of London, said: ‘Zhe was 31 years of age at time of her death and the evidence adduced at trial showed her to have been a hugely talented writer, a gentle and kindly young woman, private, hypersensitive and it would seem to me somewhat emotionally fragile.

‘It was clear she was greatly loved by her family and friends and by her fellow students.

‘This case is a terrible tragedy for her and her family.

‘I acknowledge it is also a terrible tragedy for you and your family and I noted your parents were in court throughout the entirety of the trial.’

The judge said that Michals unwillingness to take an STI test when Ms Wang asked him to showed ‘a real lack of sensitivity and selfishness on your part’.

He said that sending Ms Wang an old STI test with the date removed was ‘an unkind and cynical act of deception’.

The judge said: ‘I am in no doubt the scratches to your neck were whilst she was fighting a desperate and unsuccessful fight for her life.

‘When she was no longer moving you were to say you believed her to be dead and yet callously and thinking only of yourself you took absolutely no steps to check her pulse or breathing or to attempt to revive her and nor did you call emergency services.

‘On the medical evidence is is extremely likely she was still alive and had you called for help she may well be so today.

‘It is clear to me on the character evidence it is in my judgement hard to credit that she would have attacked you with a knife as you said in the course of your evidence.

‘I find myself quite unable to accept your account.’

Brian St Louis, KC, defending said Michals said: ‘He deeply regrets what happened to Ms Wang’.

The judge said this was difficult to accept as it was not expressed at trial.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Comments Add as preferred source