Bitter divorce, abuse allegations preceded murder of New York Times editor

On a sunny afternoon in a parking lot in the middle of Dublin, the quiet East Bay suburb, an elderly couple shot and killed their son-in-law, authorities said. A witness said they took turns shooting. The deceased, whose body was seen behind a white SUV with the rear hatch open, was Jonathan McKinsey, 40, the Games technical director of the New York Times.

The killing attracted national attention as details emerged about McKinsey’s bitter divorce proceedings, competing allegations of abuse and a criminal case involving their children. Police have not said what led to the shooting or whether his wife, Candice Jang, was involved.

McKinsey was found shortly after 3pm on Saturday in the car park of the Dublin Sports Grounds. A passing police sergeant spotted him on the ground as dispatchers began receiving 911 calls. McKinsey had been shot several times and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Dublin Police Department.

Witnesses helped officers find Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen nearby within minutes, police said. The video showed police stopping them at Dublin Boulevard and Civic Plaza, just outside the park.

Zhang and Chen, a married couple living in Dublin, were booked into Santa Rita Jail and are being held without bail. They are due in court Wednesday morning and both face charges of first-degree murder, among other crimes.

McKinsey himself faced two unresolved misdemeanor charges involving his children. McKinsey’s wife, Candice Jang, told police in October 2025 that he hit their 6-year-old son in the face with an open hand, according to court records reviewed by SFGATE. When police went to the family home, they reportedly found a 2-year-old child alone upstairs. Investigators said McKinsey left the child unattended for more than an hour while he went shopping.

McKinsey was charged with child endangerment and bodily injury to a child. He pleaded not guilty. Court records show a $50,000 bond was posted and on Oct. 21, 2025, a judge ordered him to enroll in or complete 12 parenting classes as a condition of release. A petition for mental health diversion was still pending at the time of his death.

The criminal case was part of a broader dispute between McKinsey and Jang, who were married in Texas in 2011 and were seeking a divorce. Jang reported McKinsey to police in 2023, alleging he shoved one of their children and disciplined him with physical violence, the Associated Press reported. She obtained a domestic violence protection order against him in October 2025. McKinsey filed for an order against her in December, then filed for divorce a few days later.

The couple continued to plead for custody of their three young children. McKinsey had requested more time with them, saying it had been limited to two hours of supervised visits each week since the previous fall. Another family court hearing was scheduled for Friday. McKinsey was killed six days before his court appearance.

In his request for a restraining order, Jang described years of abuse. She alleged that McKinsey punched one of their sons in the face during an argument over Lego bricks, leaving him with a bruise shaped like his hand, according to records reviewed by Mercury News. In a filing last month, as McKinsey sought to spend more time with their children, Jang argued that they were not safe in his unsupervised care.

In its December petition, McKinsey accused Jang of hitting him with a frying pan years earlier and attempting to remove medical tubes from his body after a procedure related to his transition. McKinsey, who was transgender, also alleged that Chen used anti-LGBTQ+ slurs against him and one of the children, and that Jang’s father punched him in the chest while he was recovering from surgery.

McKinsey was director of engineering for game player experience at the New York Times, which confirmed his employment after his death. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined the Times’ games engineering team in 2023 and took over as director in December 2025. He previously held engineering positions at Splunk and other tech companies, and wrote that he taught computer science courses part-time at UC Berkeley and Georgia Tech. He held computer science degrees from both universities.

Jang’s whereabouts since the shooting have not been made public. Zhang and Chen, both 77, are expected to be arraigned on Wednesday morning in Dublin, when prosecutors’ charges and any decision on bail could become clearer. Anyone with information about the shooting can contact Dublin Police Service Sgt. Ahmad Mateen at 925-786-7989.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 in the United States.