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Student Jailed for Life After Brutal Murder of Girlfriend
30 Jan
Summary
- Student stabbed and strangled girlfriend after argument.
- Defendant called his father for legal advice instead of emergency services.
- Victim was a 'gentle' fellow student from China.
Joshua Michals, 26, received a life sentence for the murder of his on-off girlfriend, Zhe Wang, a fellow student at Goldsmiths. The crime occurred on March 20, 2024, when Michals stabbed Ms. Wang twice in the face and strangled her. Following the killing, Michals' immediate action was to call his father for legal counsel instead of alerting emergency services.
He was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey last month. The judge described Michals as 'callous and thinking only of yourself' for not attempting to revive Ms. Wang or call for help, suggesting she might have survived if he had acted promptly. Michals, from Chicago, was pursuing a filmmaking MA, while Ms. Wang, originally from China, was studying an MA in Creative Writing and Education with aspirations to become a teacher.
Ms. Wang, 31, was remembered as 'gentle and kindly' and a talented writer. Her cousin described her as positive and passionate about life. The incident reportedly stemmed from a disagreement the day before, related to a mistaken belief that Michals had given Ms. Wang a sexually transmitted infection. Michals maintained a self-defense claim, which the jury rejected, finding him guilty of murder.
