The trans New York Times executive allegedly killed in broad daylight at a Bay Area parking lot by his in-laws had previously threatened to kill his wife and her parents, court records show. Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, are accused of killing Jonathan McKinsey, 40, in a parking lot at Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, on Saturday, local police said.

McKinsey, who had served as NYT's head of engineering for games player experience since 2023, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. Witnesses said two masked gunmen approached him in the parking lot and took turns firing a barrage of bullets before "calmly" walking away.

Chilling Revelations

"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," McKinsey's wife, Candice Jang, wrote in an August custody filing obtained by the California Post. The filing was first reported by The Mercury News.

Jang and McKinsey married in 2010. She sought a divorce in 2025 after accusing him of becoming abusive toward her and one of their young sons.

Jang also said McKinsey had recently given their three children a book about a mother's death.

"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 wrote in the filing.

The 40-year-old newspaper executive allegedly gave the children a book about a young girl "mourning the death of her mother, as a birthday present." Jang said the gift was particularly disturbing because of his alleged past threats.

"However, given his prior threats against my life, I found the choice deeply disturbing and frightening," she added.

Weird Behavior

Jang also alleged that her husband regularly blamed others for problems instead of accepting responsibility for his own actions. McKinsey filed for divorce last year and was embroiled in a contentious custody dispute with Jang.

He had been accused of abusing his wife and their three children, who were 3, 5 and 7 years old.

In 2025, Jang sought a restraining order against McKinsey. He later responded by seeking a restraining order against her that same year.

McKinsey was later charged with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse in connection with the incident. He was eventually released from custody on the condition that he complete parenting classes.

Jang subsequently filed another document with the court, providing an update on the custody dispute and addressing what she alleged was false testimony from her husband.

The former executive transitioned from female to male in 2010 and married Jang the next year. The estranged couple had been due to appear in court on Friday for a custody hearing before McKinsey was shot.

McKinsey joined the New York Times in early 2023 as a senior engineering manager overseeing the games platform. He was promoted to director of engineering for games player experience in late 2025.

Investigators are examining the family dispute as a possible motive in the shooting, in which both members of the elderly couple are accused of opening fire on McKinsey.