Trans NYT exec charged with child abuse threatened to kill spouse before in-laws shot her to death in California: court docs

A trans-identified female New York Times executive who was allegedly killed by her in-laws had previously threatened to kill her wife and allegedly abused their kids. 

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, which is about 35 miles east of San Francisco. McKinsey was the director of engineering for the NYT's games department. She had also worked at other tech companies before joining the NYT, according to her LinkedIn profile.

McKinsey was allegedly gunned down by Shouyong Zhang, 77, and Shili Chen, 77, her parents-in-law. Witnesses said that the two parents took turns shooting up his body.

McKinsey's wife, Candice Jang, said in an August custody file that McKinsey had threatened to kill her.

“During our marriage, the children and I learned to avoid provoking Jonathan lest he became angry. In my experience, appearing agreeable or happy around him was sometimes a means of avoiding his anger,” Jang said in a custody filing, per the California Post. They were married in 2010, but Jang filed for divorce in 2025 after McKinsey allegedly became abusive to her and their kids, ages three, five, and seven. Jang claimed that McKinsey had presented a book to their children about a mother who dies.

“Jonathan dismisses my concern about a book he provided to the children concerning the death of a mother. He omits the context that makes the conduct frightening to me. Jonathan has previously threatened to kill me and my parents,” she said in court documents.

The book was allegedly given to the children as a "birthday present," Jang alleged in the court filing. “However, given his prior threats against my life, I found the choice deeply disturbing and frightening,” she added.

McKinsey was charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse for the incident, but was later released from jail. McKinsey transitioned in 2010 and then married Jang in 2011. They were set to be in court on the Friday before the shooting.
 

The in-laws are facing charges that include first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, dangerously firing a gun, and child endangerment that could have caused major injury or death.