A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after stabbing his wife 21 times to death.

Yi Xing Song, 54, of Mangolia Close in Leyton, pleaded guilty to the murder of 35-year-old Li-Qing Wang at the Old Bailey, and was sentenced with a minimum term of 19 years.

Li-Qing was found with multiple stab injuries at the address on February 25, with Song lying next to the body pretending to be unconscious before he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Song was charged with murder the next day.

On the day of the murder, Song had posted an image of Li-Qing’s body on a family social media group chat which was seen by her sister in China, who immediately contacted friends in the UK asking them to check on her sister’s welfare.

Two friends came to check on her, and Song directed them to the bedroom where Li-Qing was on the floor, motionless, and covered by a duvet.

The friends spotted the bloodied knife by her feet and fled the house before calling police.

Officers and London Ambulance Service arrived 12 minutes later, but despite their efforts Li-Qing was pronounced dead at the scene.

Song was lying next to the body during this time and was refusing to move and pretending to be unconscious.

Officers moved him to a chair, but he refused to open his eyes and only opened them briefly when he was escorted downstairs to the police car.

At the custody centre, he was asked by the custody sergeant how he was feeling, and he replied he was upset as he had killed his wife.

In interview, with eyes remaining mostly closed, he then said that he did not know if he had killed his wife, but had had an argument with her.

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Li-Qing Wang was stabbed to death (Photo: Met Police)

Further enquiries found Li-Qing attempted to leave Song in October 2018, due to his drinking, jealousy and controlling behaviour.

During the time, police were called to Song holding a knife in the street, holding a half empty bottle of whisky and a piece of paper with the name Li Wang and a mobile number written on it.

He had superficial cuts to his left wrist, but despite this Li-Qing remained with him.

Li-Qing was found to be a widow and mother of two children, aged 22 and 12, at the time of her death.

After his arrest, Song was remanded in custody and was referred for psychiatric assessment at a number of court hearings.

Having been found competent, he appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, 1 September where he pleaded guilty to the murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine, who led the investigation, said: “This incident has left a large number of victims in its wake, Li-Qing’s children have lost their mother, and her family in China are left with the most horrific final image of her due to the callous actions of Yi Xing Song in sending a picture of her body to her family chat group, which included her father.

“Song stabbed Li-Qing 21 times in a frenzied and overwhelming attack. Such was his own disgust at what he had done he could not bring himself to open his eyes.

“This has been a long and traumatic investigation, with much evidence in Chinese Mandarin being provided by devastated family members through an interpreter.

“The sentence handed down clearly demonstrates that suffering from alcohol addiction is not a defence for causing harm to others, particularly, as in this case, the most grievous harm possible.

“My thoughts are with Li-Qing’s loved ones, her children and her extended family, and I thank them for their selfless efforts to assist the investigation despite the language barrier and their distance from the UK.

“I sincerely hope that they find some peace in knowing that the man who took her life will now pay for that callous act with his own freedom.”

Bridget Fitzpatrick, from the CPS, said: “This was a violent attack on a woman in her own home by someone who had been dear to her.

“Song showed complete disregard for his victim and her loved ones by inflicting such horrific injuries on his partner, and then by cruelly posting the photos he had taken of Ms Wang’s body on the bedroom floor.

“What’s more, when police arrived Song strangely pretended to be unconscious himself.

“I hope this conviction and the significant sentence provides some comfort to Ms Wang’s family and friends.

“The CPS takes domestic violence extremely seriously and will continue to work with criminal justice partners to bring offenders to justice.”