A transgender former New York Times executive was killed Saturday by his mother-in-law and father-in-law in a parking lot near Dublin, California, according to court documents.
Jonathan McKinsey, who served as the paper’s head of engineering for games player experience, was shot multiple times by Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77 years old. The incident occurred at a Dublin park parking lot.
The couple allegedly took turns shooting McKinsey. Court records indicate that Chen, McKinsey’s mother-in-law, blamed him for her grandson wanting to wear dresses belonging to his sister Alexis — a “phase” the boy was going through. Chen reportedly called him a “disgusting queer” and a “pervert,” and struck him in the back of his head when he asked to wear the dresses.
McKinsey had transitioned from female to male in 2010 and married Candice Jang in 2011. The couple had been estranged, with their children ages three, five, and seven involved in the incident. A prior court filing stated: “During our marriage, the children and I learned to avoid provoking Jonathan lest he became angry.”
McKinsey accused Jang of abuse during their relationship, including pushing him toward suicide because he wrote that “no one would want to be with someone as fked up and transgender like me.” Jang had filed a restraining order against McKinsey in 2025, alleging that McKinsey threatened to kill her and her parents.
Alameda County prosecutors charged McKinsey with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse after he allegedly hit their six-year-old son in the face. McKinsey pleaded not guilty and was released on probation requiring parenting classes.
Chen and Zhang were arrested shortly after McKinsey’s death and booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail, facing charges including first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, dangerously firing a gun, and child endangerment that could have caused major injury or death. They remain jailed without bond.
The shooting occurred amid ongoing legal disputes between the couple over custody of their children, with both filing for divorce in 2025 after years of estrangement.
