A Chicago man studying in London has been found guilty of murdering his on-and-off girlfriend after prosecutors said he stabbed and choked her, then called his father to secure a lawyer before alerting police.
Joshua Michals, 26, started a casual relationship with 31-year-old Zhe Wang shortly after he began attending Goldsmiths University in 2023, the Metropolitan Police said Monday.
In March 2024, Michals phoned police to report a "serious incident" at Wang’s home, saying he had already left the property. Officers arrived to find Wang with two stab wounds to her face, and a post-mortem later determined she had suffered sustained neck compression.
Michals was arrested that night but refused to answer questions about their relationship or what happened.
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Investigators examining his phone found months of messages in which Wang repeatedly asked Michals to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases — a "growing source of tension" between them, police said. Michals later claimed he acted in self-defense during an argument about STDs.
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Prosecutors countered that Michals "flew into a rage" after meeting Wang at her home and killed her. They told the court that Michals called his father after the slaying, obtained details for a lawyer, and returned to his own home before contacting authorities nearly four hours later.
During Michals' arrest, police said, officers found bloodstained clothes on his property. The DNA was later confirmed to match Wang.
"Michals carried out a brutal and savage attack on Zhe, who was described by her friends as a quiet and gentle woman enjoying her studies in London," Detective Inspector Claire Guiver said. "We are pleased the jury has seen through his claims that he killed Zhe by accident when she tried to attack him with a knife."
