Murder accused says lover attacked him with knife

Joshua Michals, 25, denies murdering Zhe Wang, 31, in south-east London

A student has described how he fatally stabbed his "demented" lover after she came at him with a knife.

Joshua Michals, 26, told the Old Bailey that fellow Goldsmiths student Zhe Wang, 31, was "stressed" because she incorrectly believed she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease after they had sex in February 2024.

He visited her flat in Lewisham, south-east London, the following month to bring some "normalcy" to the "bizarre situation", however after he arrived, Ms Wang came at him with a knife, jurors were told.

American student Mr Michals said he grabbed the knife in a struggle and struck her in the face with it. He denies murdering Ms Wang. The trial continues.

Mr Michals, of Deals Gateway, south-east London, told the court that when he arrived at Ms Wang's flat on 20 March 2024, he found her "cold" and monosyllabic.

The film-making studies student said he went to the bathroom and came out to find Ms Wang holding a knife.

He told jurors she looked "completely crazy", adding: "She had this wicked look in her eye. Demented. I would be tempted to say possessed as well. It scared the hell out of me."

'I panicked'

Mr Michals said creative writing student Ms Wang came at him with the knife raised and he grabbed her wrist and told her to "stop".

The blade was "flashing back and forth" during the struggle and he saw her face "go red" with blood from a cut, the court heard.

He shook her arm and the knife fell to the floor, causing both of them to "pounce" for it, the defendant said.

Mr Michals said he grabbed the handle and Ms Wang held the blade before he pulled it out of her grasp.

He said: "I panicked. I was turning away and I just saw this blood red face coming at me.

"I swung my arm around, like a backhand, turning with it, with the knife. She stumbled back. It went into her cheek."

Mr Michals said he did not mean to strike Ms Wang with the knife, saying: "I just wanted to get her away from me."

Brian St Louis KC, defending, asked: "What do you think would have happened to you if that knife had remained in Ms Wang's hands?"

Mr Michals replied: "She would have stabbed me. She wouldn't stop, she wanted to use the knife."

Police found Chinese national Ms Wang with two stab wounds to her face after the defendant called emergency services.