A New York Times technology executive who was allegedly shot and killed by his elderly in-laws in California had been embroiled in a bitter dispute with them and his estranged wife over his gender transition, according to court records.
Jonathan McKinsey’s wife, Candice Jang, sought a restraining order against him in 2025. McKinsey responded by filing a restraining-order petition of his own.
In his filing, obtained by The Mercury News, McKinsey alleged that Jang had attempted to remove medical tubes from his body in 2010 as he transitioned from a woman to a man. The couple married the following year.
McKinsey also alleged that his mother-in-law called him a “disgusting queer” and a “pervert” after a dispute over one of the couple’s children’s clothing choices.
The 40-year-old, who served as The Times’ head of engineering for games player experience, was shot in a sports-complex parking lot in Dublin, California, at about 3 p.m. Saturday.
Police arrested his in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77. The pair are accused of murder.
CHECK THIS OUT: Justice Alito Recuses From Supreme Court Climate Change Case
Court records also describe a history of violence between Jang and McKinsey. In his restraining-order request, McKinsey alleged that Jang struck him with a frying pan in 2013 and verbally abused their children.
He further alleged that Chen, Jang’s mother, verbally mistreated the couple’s children, including during disputes over what they wore.
McKinsey was separately charged by Alameda County prosecutors in 2025 with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse. The charges followed a report to Dublin police in which Jang alleged that McKinsey had struck her six-year-old son in the face with an open hand.
Jang also told investigators about a 2018 domestic-violence incident in which, according to the documents, McKinsey bruised her left arm.
McKinsey pleaded not guilty to both charges. He was released from jail on the condition that he attend parenting classes.
A Times spokesperson confirmed that McKinsey was the victim of Saturday afternoon’s shooting and said he had worked for the newspaper since 2023.
MUST READ: Dolly Parton’s Secret Last Days Leave Miley Cyrus Stunned
