A student recounted the tragic incident in which he fatally stabbed his “disturbed” partner after she lunged at him with a knife.

Joshua Michals, 26, testified at the Old Bailey that his fellow Goldsmiths student, Zhe Wang, 31, was feeling “overwhelmed” due to her mistaken belief that she had contracted a sexually transmitted infection following their intimate encounter in February 2024.

In March, he went to her residence in Lewisham, southeast London, in an effort to restore some “normalcy” to what he described as a “strange situation.” However, upon his arrival, jurors were informed that Ms. Wang advanced toward him armed with a knife.

Mr. Michals, an American student, recounted how he engaged in a struggle for the knife and accidentally struck her in the face with it. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Ms. Wang. The trial is ongoing.

Residing in Deals Gateway in southeast London, Mr. Michals reported to the court that when he entered Ms. Wang’s apartment on March 20, 2024, she appeared “frigid” and was responding in monosyllables.

The film studies major stated that after visiting the bathroom, he emerged to find Ms. Wang brandishing a knife.

He shared with jurors that she looked “truly unhinged,” saying: “There was a sinister look in her eyes. She seemed demented; I might even describe it as possessed. It frightened me immensely.”

Mr. Michals described how Ms. Wang approached him with the knife raised, prompting him to seize her wrist and plead with her to “stop.”

During the altercation, the blade was “moving back and forth,” and he noticed her face becoming “red” with blood from an injury, as the court heard.

He managed to shake her arm, causing the knife to drop to the ground, and both parties lunged for it, he recounted.

Mr. Michals said he grabbed the knife’s handle while Ms. Wang clutched the blade until he pulled it from her grip.

In a state of panic, he described turning away when he suddenly found Ms. Wang’s bloodied face approaching him.

“I swung my arm in a backhand motion, turning with it, and accidentally struck her as she staggered backward. It penetrated her cheek,” he explained.

He emphasized that he did not intend to harm Ms. Wang, asserting, “I merely wanted to distance myself from her.”

Brian St. Louis KC, representing him, inquired: “What do you imagine would have happened if the knife had remained with Ms. Wang?”

To which Mr. Michals replied: “She would have stabbed me. She was relentless; she wanted to use that knife.”

Authorities discovered Ms. Wang, a national of China, with two stab wounds to her face after Mr. Michals contacted emergency services.