Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were arraigned Wednesday on murder charges for the killing of their transgender son-in-law, the outlet technology executive.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s office filed special circumstance allegations against the elderly couple, including murder by “lying in wait,” which prosecutors say indicates they may have deliberately timed their attack on Jonathan McKinsey, 38, in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds last Saturday. The pair also face allegations of violence or bodily harm, use of a weapon, inflicting great bodily injury, and multiple firearm-related charges.
Zhang and Chen allegedly took turns shooting McKinsey before local police found and arrested them on suspicion of murder. A spokesman for the Times confirmed Wednesday that McKinsey had worked for the newspaper since 2023 as head of engineering for games player experience.
McKinsey had been locked in a bitter divorce and custody battle with his wife, Candice Jang, since at least last year. The couple, married since 2011, shared three children under 10. Both had accused each other of abuse and secured restraining orders against one another.
Court documents reveal a history of alleged violence between McKinsey and Jang stretching back more than a decade. McKinsey claimed Jang beat him with a frying pan in 2013 and verbally abused their children. He also alleged she tried to push him to suicide.
“She told me I should kill myself because ‘no one would want to be with someone as f–ked up and transgender like you,'” McKinsey wrote in court filings.
McKinsey, who transitioned from female to male in 2010, also documented repeated confrontations with Jang’s parents. During a 2023 visit, Chen allegedly berated the couple’s young son for wearing dresses, calling the child a “disgusting queer” and a “pervert.” When the boy asked her to stop, she allegedly hit him in the back of the head.
“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 restraining order request.
In a separate incident, Zhang allegedly punched McKinsey in the chest after he underwent a double mastectomy.
Jang had also made allegations against McKinsey, reporting to police that he struck their six-year-old son in the face with an open hand. McKinsey was charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse and released on condition that he complete parenting classes.
A family member told The California Post they would “lay a lot of money” that Zhang and Chen killed McKinsey to bolster Jang’s custody bid. The motive theory has not been confirmed by prosecutors, who have not yet announced whether additional arrests are expected.
The “lying in wait” special circumstance, if proven, could make the defendants eligible for life without parole or the death penalty under California law. The charge requires showing that the killers concealed their purpose and waited for an opportunity to strike.
Zhang and Chen are being held without bail. Their next court appearance has not been scheduled.