An American student murdered his Chinese partner in a "brutal and savage attack" in their bedroom, a court has heard.

Joshua Michals, 25, stood trial at Woolwich Crown Court for the murder of Zhe Wang, 31, a classmate of Goldsmiths College, University of London, on March 20, 2024.

Police found Wang "face up on the bedroom floor with two stab wounds to his face and in a pool of blood on the carpet," prosecutors said Wednesday.

Henrietta Paget KC told the court, prosecuting: "This case involves the murder of a young woman by a man with whom she had only been dating for a few months. It was a case of "The brutal and savage attack, the evidence of her injuries and the scene make it clear: she was killed in her bedroom."

Paget told the court that Michals, of Deals Gateway, Deptford, south-east London, called the ambulance at 11.08pm on March 20, 2024 and said Wang was in Lewisham. A "very serious incident" occurred at a flat in Manor Park, Lewisham.

Michaels, who denies the murder charge, told the operator that he was not at the scene and that he believed Wang was not breathing.

Prosecutors told the court that when Michaels received the call, he said there had been a "knife incident" and that "it was a very bad situation".

While the ambulance was en route, Michals told a paramedic by phone that he had been attacked by Wang and "made comments to the effect that it was too late to help her."

When asked on the phone if he was injured, Michaels replied: "It's just scratches on me," the court was told.

Paget said Michals had left Ms Wang dead "about three hours earlier", adding that an autopsy showed "she too had been strangled".

The prosecutor added: "When he dialed 999 he knew full well it was too late to save Ms Wang. Emergency services would find her dead, and that was the case."

Paget said Mijas arrived at Wang's address in southeast London in an Uber vehicle at 7:17 p.m. and ordered another Uber home at 7:59 p.m., saying: "So by that time , the attack is definitely over."

After being arrested at his address, Michaels was asked if he understood why he was being detained and he replied: "Yes, but that's not the case," the court was told.

Paget said the evidence showed Michaels "went into a rage and attacked her." The prosecutor told the court: "Over the next few hours, his first instinct - without doing anything at all to help her - was to cover his tracks and try to save himself."

Paget said that in the time between returning home and calling an ambulance, Michals had been "talking to his father and getting details from his solicitor", adding that a gun was found on his kitchen counter. A handwritten note with such details.

The court heard a bin bag containing a blood-stained jacket, hoodie and top was found in his living room and a blood-stained backpack was later found in his kitchen. The knife used by Michaels was never found, Paget said.

Prosecutors said that before Mijas visited her apartment on March 20, Wang, a self-confessed "geraphobe," had been urging him to get sexually transmitted infections "despite his resistance" after he noticed a rash on her body. detection. her body after they had sex.

The court heard WhatsApp chats showed Wang had been "accusing him of ruining her life and threatening to seek help from the university".

The court heard that Wang was studying for an MA in creative writing and education at Goldsmiths and aspired to become a teacher, while Michaels was studying cinematography.

Paget said Wang was "by all accounts a quiet and gentle person," adding that "her mentors and classmates described her as funny, well-organized and a high performer." The court was told she wanted to complete her PhD and return to China.

Prosecutors said much of the evidence about Wang's relationship with Michaels came from WhatsApp chats between the two that police found on his phone.

Paget told the court: "As the information shows, the two met as early as the beginning of the school year; they became very close and began a sexual relationship shortly after. But as we will see from the information, They ended up sleeping together until February, just weeks before he killed her."

The trial continues.