Dublin couple charged with murder in fatal shooting of New York Times engineer son-in-law
DUBLIN, Calif. — Alameda County prosecutors on Wednesday formally charged a 77-year-old Dublin couple with murder in the fatal shooting of their son-in-law, a New York Times staffer who was gunned down near a public park.
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, are accused in the Sept. 26 killing of Jonathan McKinsey, 40, the head of engineering for the Times’ games section. The district attorney’s office charged each with murder, along with sentencing enhancements for personal use of a firearm causing death and lying in wait, according to prosecutors and court records.
The couple is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 30 at Alameda County Superior Court, East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.
Dublin police said McKinsey was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the middle of a parking lot near the Dublin Sports Grounds. Emergency medical personnel treated him at the scene, where he was pronounced dead.
Officers quickly detained Zhang and Chen, who remained nearby in a black Honda Civic, police said. According to a police report, surveillance footage showed the couple shooting McKinsey multiple times.
The pair was booked into Santa Rita Jail on preliminary charges of murder and other felonies, jail records show. Prosecutors have not publicly offered a motive.
The criminal case follows a bitter and long-running family dispute that had already been unfolding in court. Before the shooting, McKinsey and his wife, Candice Jang, were expected to appear at a Sept. 25 hearing tied to a custody dispute over their children, the Mercury News reported, citing court records.
The couple had been involved in court proceedings since 2025, according to records. McKinsey alleged that his in-laws and his wife had subjected him to discriminatory abuse because he is a trans man, while Jang accused McKinsey of domestic violence toward their family, the San Francisco Standard reported.
Jang accused McKinsey of multiple forms of abuse, including an allegation that he struck one of her sons in the face during an argument over Legos, according to the Mercury News.
In October 2025, McKinsey was charged with child endangerment and corporal injury to a child. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered to complete parenting classes.
McKinsey also alleged that Chen, Jang’s mother, directed anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at him, calling him a “disgusting queer” and a “pervert,” the Mercury News reported. He further alleged that Jang had been abusive toward him during medical procedures related to his transition.
Court records show hearings in McKinsey and Jang’s cases were postponed and rescheduled multiple times throughout 2026.
The shooting has drawn national attention in part because of McKinsey’s role at the Times, where he helped lead engineering for the company’s widely popular games operation. The charges also underscore how custody battles and domestic abuse allegations can escalate into criminal cases, though prosecutors have not said what led to the shooting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dublin couple charged with murder in the killing of son-in-law