The courthouse in Dublin, where Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang appeared on Wednesday. Photograph: Fred Greaves/ReutersView image in fullscreenThe courthouse in Dublin, where Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang appeared on Wednesday. Photograph: Fred Greaves/ReutersIn-laws charged with murder of New York Times games engineer in CaliforniaShili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, both 77, charged days before Jonathan McKinsey and wife were set for hearing in divorce case
A California couple have been charged with murder after authorities say they shot their son-in-law to death Saturday in a public park, days before he and the couple’s daughter were set for a hearing in a bitter divorce case.
Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, both 77, were due in court Wednesday for an arraignment on the charges. The Associated Press was not able to reach an attorney for the couple prior to the court appearance. Their daughter, Candice Jang, could not be reached, though she appeared virtually at Wednesday’s hearing.
Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old gaming engineer for the New York Times, was shot dead in the parking lot of a sports complex in Dublin, east of San Francisco. A police sergeant was driving nearby and saw him on the ground as witnesses began calling 911 and pointing out the couple in their vehicle, who were still near the scene, Dublin police said in a news release.
Police detained the couple as they were driving away in the parking lot. Prosecutors said Zhang admitted to shooting McKinsey during a later interview, and a firearm was found in his car that he admitted to using during the crime.
Prosecutors also said surveillance video was recovered showing Chen and Zhang shooting the victim “in concert”.
Chen and Zhang’s murder charges included additional allegations of lying in wait and using a firearm.
Court records show McKinsey’s killing came during a contentious divorce with Jang and a custody battle over the couple’s three young children. In petitions for restraining orders filed last year, the couple accused each other of physical, emotional and psychological abuse going back more than a decade. McKinsey, who is transgender, alleged that both Jang and her parents were verbally and physically abusive regarding a gender transition he underwent years ago.
The killing occurred a week before a hearing was scheduled in McKinsey and Jang’s divorce case. The couple had been married since July 2011.
McKinsey joined the New York Times in January 2023. He was director of engineering for New York Times Games and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the paper said. A spokesperson declined to comment further.
