The 77-year-old parents-in-law accused in the killing of transgender New York Times technology executive Jonathan McKinsey are facing murder charges, including an allegation that they waited for him before carrying out the attack.
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen were each charged with murder Wednesday morning, along with several special allegations tied to the fatal shooting.
Among those claims is a “lying in wait” enhancement, which prosecutors use when they allege a defendant deliberately positioned themselves or timed an assault to surprise the victim.
The case also includes allegations involving violence or bodily injury, weapon use, violent conduct, great bodily harm, and the personal and intentional discharge of a firearm. Prosecutors further allege that firearms were used and that the defendants were armed during the incident.
Authorities allege that Zhang and Chen took turns firing at McKinsey in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds on Saturday. Police later located and arrested both suspects on suspicion of murder.
The New York Times confirmed that McKinsey was the victim. He joined the newspaper in 2023 and served as head of engineering for games player experience.
The shooting came amid a bitter divorce and child-custody dispute between McKinsey and his wife, Candice Jang. The couple, who married in 2011, had three children under age 10. Both had accused the other of abuse and sought restraining orders, according to court documents.
MORE ON THIS: Alabama Sen. Katie Britt’s Reaction Goes Viral as GOP Perjury Claim Is Challenged at Jack Smith Hearing
Jang previously reported that McKinsey had struck their six-year-old son in the face with an open hand. He was charged with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse and later released from jail under an agreement that required him to attend parenting classes.
McKinsey, in turn, accused Jang of hitting him with a frying pan in 2013 and verbally mistreating their children. He also alleged that she encouraged him to take his own life, claiming she told him that nobody would want to be with someone who was “as f–ked up and transgender” as he was.
Court filings also describe a strained relationship between McKinsey and Jang’s parents. During a 2023 visit, Chen allegedly berated the couple’s young son for wearing dresses, calling him a “disgusting queer” and a “pervert.” She also allegedly struck the boy on the back of the head when he questioned her, according to the documents.
When McKinsey reportedly pleaded with Chen to stop, the filings say she redirected the insults toward him. The documents identify McKinsey as transgender and state that he transitioned from female to male in 2010.
The restraining-order filing alleges that Chen then directed the same derogatory terms at McKinsey.
“She blamed me for Wyatt wanting to wear his sister’s dresses and told me to get out of ‘her house,’ even though we were in the home owned by Candice and me,” McKinsey wrote in the filing.
In another alleged confrontation, McKinsey claimed that Zhang punched him in the chest after he underwent a double mastectomy.
A relative told The California Post that he would “lay a lot of money” on the theory that McKinsey’s in-laws killed him in an effort to bolster Jang’s bid for custody of the children.
