---
title: "A New York Times Engineer’s In-Laws, Both 77, Are Charged in His Killing at a Park"
description: "Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was days from a custody hearing when police found him shot dead; his estranged wife’s parents were arrested nearby"
author: "Tomasz Idle"
published: 2026-09-29T02:40:59.405Z
modified: 2026-09-29T05:27:05Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/a-new-york-times-engineer-s-in-laws-both-77-are-charged-in-h-084524
language: en
tags: ["murder", "divorce", "domestic-violence", "transgender", "mental-health", "us"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# A New York Times Engineer’s In-Laws, Both 77, Are Charged in His Killing at a Park

*Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was days from a custody hearing when police found him shot dead; his estranged wife’s parents were arrested nearby*

By Tomasz Idle · September 29, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/a-new-york-times-engineer-s-in-laws-both-77-are-charged-in-h-084524

## In brief

- Jonathan McKinsey, 40, an engineering director for New York Times Games, was shot dead Saturday at a Dublin, California, sports complex
- Police arrested his in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, on suspicion of murder; they are held at Santa Rita Jail
- McKinsey and Candice Jang, married since about 2012 with three children, divorced amid competing abuse claims and a custody fight
- Jang held a protection order against McKinsey, who faced misdemeanor child abuse charges and was out on bail
- McKinsey, who was transgender, alleged Chen used anti-LGBTQ+ slurs; a custody hearing had been scheduled for next month

On Saturday afternoon, in the parking lot of a busy sports complex in Dublin, California, a 40-year-old man was shot and left on the ground while families were arriving to play. A police sergeant happened to be driving nearby and saw him there; 911 calls were coming in at the same time, with witnesses pointing out two people still standing close to the scene. Jonathan McKinsey was pronounced dead where he lay.

McKinsey was director of engineering for New York Times Games, based in the Bay Area. He had joined the paper in January 2023, after a bachelor’s degree at Georgia Tech and a master’s in computer science at Berkeley. The company confirmed his role and declined to comment further. By every professional account he was in the middle of a career; by every court record he was in the middle of something else.

Police arrested Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, both of Dublin — a married couple, and McKinsey’s in-laws. They were booked into Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder and other charges and were due in court Wednesday morning. It was not immediately clear whether either had a lawyer. Police said they believe there are no other suspects and no ongoing threat to the public. The sports grounds were closed for the investigation and have since reopened.

Court records describe a family disintegrating in public. McKinsey and Candice Jang had been married since about 2012 and had three young children. In 2023, Jang reported him to police, accusing him of shoving one of the children and of rough physical discipline generally. Last October she obtained a domestic-violence protection order against him after he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor child abuse; police said he acknowledged slapping one child. At the time of his death he was out on bail and had been trying to enter a mental health diversion program, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

McKinsey answered her court filings with one of his own, seeking a protection order against Jang, and filed for divorce in December 2025. Since last fall his contact with his children had been limited to two hours of supervised visits a week; he had petitioned for more time, and in August the court approved the hiring of a private custody evaluator. A hearing in the divorce case was scheduled for next month. McKinsey was killed a week before he was due back in court.

McKinsey, who was transgender, alleged in his own petition that Chen had directed anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at him and at one of the children, the Mercury News reported, and that Jang had been abusive during medical procedures related to his transition. Phone numbers listed for Jang were disconnected. None of these claims had been tested by the court before the dispute moved, permanently, out of it.

‘This place is busy on a Saturday,’ a witness, Kevin Stein of Dublin, told KTVU-TV. ‘It’s incredible that they’d just do that right in front of everybody.’ It is the ordinary Saturday-ness of it that lingers: a custody calendar, a bail schedule, a supervised two hours a week, and then a parking lot full of children and their parents, and two 77-year-olds standing over the body waiting to be arrested. The courts were a week away from taking up the question of this family’s future. It has now been settled in the worst available forum.

## Sources

- [New York Times executive killed by his elderly in-laws, police say](https://cnn.com/2026/09/28/us/jonathan-mckinsey-new-york-times-executive-killed) — cnn.com
- [New York Times executive fatally shot by his in-laws in Bay Area park, police say](https://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-executive-shot-killed-laws-bay-area-park-police-say-rcna600300) — nbcnews.com
- [New York Times executive fatally shot in California, officials say - Los Angeles Times](https://latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-28/california-man-fatally-shot-by-in-laws-in-parking-lot-police-say) — latimes.com