A Family’s Dispute Ends in a Park, and a Killing That No One Expected

There is a particular kind of anguish that settles into a family when love turns to litigation, when the people who once gathered around the same table find themselves seated on opposite sides of a courtroom. In Dublin, California, that anguish reached its most terrible expression on a Saturday afternoon in late September, when a couple in their late seventies are accused of shooting their son-in-law to death in a public park—a killing that authorities say occurred just days before a scheduled hearing in a bitter divorce and custody dispute.

Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old gaming engineer for The New York Times, was shot multiple times in the parking lot of the Dublin Sports Grounds, a sprawling complex east of San Francisco. A police sergeant driving nearby saw him on the ground as witnesses began calling 911 and pointing out the couple, who were still near the scene in a black Honda Civic . Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were detained and later charged with murder, including allegations of lying in wait and personal use of a firearm causing death .

Prosecutors say surveillance video recovered from the scene shows both Zhang and Chen shooting McKinsey . During a later interview, Zhang admitted to the shooting, according to prosecutors, and a second firearm was found in the car that he admitted using . The couple appeared in Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday for arraignment, where their daughter, Candice Jang, appeared briefly by video .

What brought the family to that parking lot is a story that unfolded in court records over more than a decade. McKinsey and Jang had been married since 2011 and had three young children. In 2025, their relationship collapsed into dueling restraining order petitions and a divorce filing. Jang accused McKinsey of physical and emotional abuse, including an incident in 2023 when she said he pushed their oldest son. McKinsey was arrested last October and charged with misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly slapping the child; he pleaded not guilty and was released on bail with a requirement to complete parenting classes .

McKinsey filed his own protective order request in December, alleging years of abuse that included Jang hitting him in the head with a frying pan. He also alleged that Chen, his mother-in-law, directed anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at him and his oldest child. McKinsey, who was transgender, accused Jang of being physically and emotionally abusive during medical procedures related to his transition, and alleged that Zhang punched him in the chest while he was recovering from double mastectomy surgery . In late August, he had been granted unsupervised visits with his children in public twice a week .

The killing occurred a week before a hearing was scheduled in the divorce case . The couple faces additional charges of conspiracy, negligent discharge of a firearm, and child endangerment, due to the presence of children at the crowded park when the shooting occurred .

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Sources: AP News, USA Today, ABC7 San Francisco, The Canadian Press