Parents Accused of Murdering NYT Executive, Daughter Seen with Children
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen appeared in court for the first time, facing murder charges in the death of their transgender son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, as his estranged wife was seen with their children.
The parents of Candice Jang, the estranged wife of slain New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey, made their first court appearance Wednesday, accused of murdering their son-in-law. Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, face murder and 11 other criminal counts, including a charge of "lying in wait," which suggests premeditation and carries a potential life sentence without parole.
McKinsey, 40, the director of engineering for The New York Times' games department, was shot and killed Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of a Dublin, California, park. He had transitioned from female to male in 2010, a year before marrying Jang. His in-laws were arrested shortly after the shooting.
Candice Jang, 46, was seen with her three young children on Wednesday, reportedly in their Bay Area neighborhood. The family is believed to have been at the townhouse they once shared with McKinsey since his death. Police raided the residence Tuesday evening. Jang declined to comment when approached by reporters.
The couple had been living separately and both had filed restraining orders against each other amid a contentious divorce and custody battle over their three children, aged 7, 5, and 3. Court records indicate that McKinsey had pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor child abuse charges filed last year.
According to restraining order petitions filed last year, McKinsey alleged that Jang and her parents had been verbally and physically abusive regarding his gender transition. He claimed in a 2023 filing that his mother-in-law, Shili Chen, had berated him and his son, calling the child a "disgusting queer" and a "pervert" after he let his son wear his sister's dresses. McKinsey also alleged that Jang had been abusive and had told him to take his own life because he was "f
f
cked up and transgender."
Jang, in her own restraining order filing, alleged that McKinsey had threatened to kill her and her parents. McKinsey was arrested in October on charges of misdemeanor child abuse, including allegedly hitting their oldest son and leaving a handprint bruise on his face. He was also charged with endangering their youngest child, who was found home alone. McKinsey pleaded not guilty to these charges.
McKinsey died less than a week before a scheduled hearing in the divorce proceedings. Zhang was represented in court by a public defender, while Chen stated she could not afford legal counsel and will be assigned a defense attorney. They communicated through a Mandarin-language interpreter during their court appearance.