A jury in London has convicted a Chicago man of murder following the stabbing and strangulation of a UK woman he had been dating. Joshua Michals, 26, studying at Goldsmiths University, was found guilty of the 2024 murder of Zhe Wang, a fellow student at the same institution. Prosecutors described a disturbing sequence of events leading to the murder after a dispute over sexually transmitted diseases, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago.
Details of the case emerged, revealing that Michals returned to his own residence and called his father to obtain a lawyer's contact details before contacting the authorities – approximately four hours after the deadly incident occurred. During his arrest, Michals had bloodstained clothes at his property, which were matched to the DNA of the victim. This evidence bolstered the case presented by the prosecution, which depicted an escalation of tensions between Michals and Wang over health concerns. "Michals carried out a brutal and savage attack on Zhe," said Detective Inspector Claire Guiver, as disclosed by the Metropolitan Police in a statement obtained by FOX 32 Chicago.
During the trial, Michals said he felt "so-so" about continuing his relationship with Wang, citing her phobia of germs as a complicating factor, according to the BBC. The confrontation that led to Wang's death occurred when Michals visited her flat in Lewisham to discuss the matter further. In what turned into a fatal altercation, Michals claimed he used a knife and applied pressure to Wang's neck in self-defense. He later discarded Wang's phone in a bin outside, which was found in a Newham refuse area.
Despite his claims, the jury found Michals guilty, dismissing his assertions of self-defense. In the aftermath of the verdict, Goldsmiths University paid tribute to Wang, with Dr. Francis Gilbert, senior lecturer in the School of Mind, Body and Society, praising her as "a wonderful student, a remarkable writer" and someone who "approached writing as a mindful practice." Michals, who had studied filmmaking before pursuing a master's degree in London, was born and raised in Chicago, as noted by the BBC. His sentence for the murder of Zhe Wang will be pronounced at a later date.
