Candice Jang, the wife of slain New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey and the daughter of the two people accused in his killing, was seen walking through their Bay Area neighborhood with her three young children Wednesday.
The appearance came roughly an hour after Jang’s parents, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, appeared in court for the first time. The couple faces murder charges and 11 additional counts in connection with the alleged shooting death of McKinsey in a local park parking lot Saturday afternoon.
One of the charges alleges that the pair were “lying in wait,” a designation that indicates premeditation and can result in a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Jang, 46, was believed to have remained inside the Dublin townhome she once shared with McKinsey, along with their two sons and daughter, since Saturday. Dublin police searched the home Tuesday evening. The community is located about 30 miles east of San Francisco.
Approached by Our News Outlet on a sidewalk Wednesday, Jang declined to discuss her estranged husband’s death or what her parents may have told her before they allegedly shot him.
A female friend walking with the family after a visit to a nearby cellphone store asked for privacy, pointing to the presence of the three children, who are believed to be 7, 5 and 3 years old.
McKinsey, 40, served as director of engineering for The New York Times’ games department. He transitioned from female to male in 2010, one year before marrying Jang, who is six years older.
Zhang and Chen were arrested shortly after McKinsey was killed Saturday.
The wife of slain New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey, who is also the daughter of his accused killers, was seen walking through her Bay Area neighborhood with her three young children.
Jang, 46, was believed to have stayed inside the townhome with her two sons and daughter since Saturday. She once shared the Dublin residence with McKinsey.
Jang declined to comment Wednesday when approached on a sidewalk about her estranged husband’s killing.
The couple is believed to have been living in Dublin after spending several years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Jang, a stay-at-home wife and mother, spent part of her childhood.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the couple appeared behind a thick window beside the courtroom. Chen wore a green shirt and face mask, while Zhang was dressed in the orange uniform commonly worn by defendants held in Alameda County custody. They spoke quietly through a Mandarin interpreter.
Chen told the judge through the interpreter, “I do not have the financial means,” when asked about paying for a lawyer. She agreed to return to court Thursday morning for the appointment of a defense attorney.
Zhang was represented at the hearing by Jennie Otis of the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office.
McKinsey was killed while he and Jang were living apart. The couple had each obtained restraining orders against the other amid a contentious divorce and custody dispute.
Court records obtained by Our News Outlet indicate that McKinsey pleaded not guilty last year to two misdemeanor child-abuse charges.
Jonathan McKinsey, 40, had worked in games technology at The New York Times since 2023. He was shot and killed Saturday in the parking lot of a Dublin Sports Grounds store in Dublin, California.
McKinsey’s in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were arrested on suspicion of murder after the fatal shooting.
The alleged daylight attack unfolded Saturday afternoon, when prosecutors say the couple took turns firing at their son-in-law in the parking lot.
A police sergeant happened to be driving nearby and saw the victim lying on the ground just as witnesses began frantically calling 911, authorities said.
Within minutes, the couple were taken into custody after witnesses were able to point them out in a nearby car, according to police.
The slaying came as McKinsey and his estranged wife were embroiled in a contentious divorce and a custody battle over their three young children.
In petitions for restraining orders filed last year, the couple – who wed in July 2011 – had both accused each other of physical, emotional and psychological abuse stretching back well over a decade.
McKinsey alleged that Jang and her parents had been verbally and physically abusive regarding a gender transition he underwent years ago.
According to a restraining order McKinsey filed against Jang in 2023, a visit Chen made to their home to watch their children led to a hostile interaction between the father and his in-laws.
McKinsey claimed in the filing that Chen had become upset when she saw McKinsey’s son asked to wear his sister’s dresses.
McKinsey, a transgender New York Times games executive, had previously angered them by letting his son wear girls dresses, according to court documents
Zhang is pictured being taken into custody on Saturday after he and his wife allegedly took turns gunning down their son-in-law in the brazen, broad daylight attack
Witnesses described seeing the elderly couple walking calmly away from the scene in the aftermath. They were arrested after being tracked to a black sedan (pictured above) at a nearby intersection
After telling his mother-in-law it was just a ‘phase’ his son was going through, McKinsey alleged that Chen responded by berating him and his son.
He alleged Chen called the young child a ‘disgusting queer’ and a ‘pervert’ before calling him the same names as she admonished him for being transgender, the filing said.
McKinsey alleged that when he begged Chen to stop berating his son, his mother-in-law then turned her anger toward him, according to the filing.
‘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 I,’ McKinsey wrote in the filing.
He added that he attempted to make his wife hire outside help to prevent Chen from ever watching their children again but claimed Jang refused.
McKinsey also filed allegations of abuse from Jang in their relationship, including claiming that she tried to push him into suicide, according to his court filings.
According to McKinsey, his wife told him he should take his own life because ‘no one would want to be with someone as f***ed up and transgender like me.’
McKinsey had also claimed in 2013 that his wife beat him with a frying pan – and claimed Jang denigrated their children.
Jang, for her part, went on to file her own restraining order against McKinsey last year, alleging he had ‘threatened to kill me and my parents.’
McKinsey had previously faced two counts of misdemeanor child abuse, but had claimed in court filings that his wife – who he was divorcing – had been abusive to him
Meanwhile, McKinsey was arrested last October and charged with misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly hitting their oldest son and leaving a ‘large bruise in the shape of a handprint’ on his face, court documents state.
He was also charged with endangering their youngest child after deputies responded to the family’s home to talk with him and found their 2-year-old had been left home alone, according to court papers.
McKinsey, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was ultimately freed on a $50,000 bail on the condition that he complete 12 parenting classes.
Jang had obtained a domestic violence protection order against McKinsey in October – the same month of his arrest.
She alleged in her filing that McKinsey had grabbed her by the forearms during one argument in 2010 – causing her to hit the corner of a coffee table and fracture a vertebra in her upper back.
McKinsey responded to the court filing by requesting his own domestic violence protection order and filing for divorce.
He had also sought more time with his three kids, noting in court documents that he had been limited to two hours of supervised visits per week since last fall.
In late August, McKinsey was granted unsupervised visits in public twice a week, records show.
McKinsey died a week shy of a scheduled hearing in the bitter divorce case.
