New York Times exec faced child abuse charges before fatal shooting

New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey was facing child-abuse charges and an acrimonious custody dispute before being allegedly shot dead by his parents-in-law in California over the weekend.

McKinsey, 40, a transgender man and director of engineering for NYT Games, was killed on Saturday at a sports complex east of San Francisco, with police subsequently arresting his parents-in-law, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, on suspicion of murder.

Authorities have described the shooting as targeted but have not established a connection between the killing and the family dispute. McKinsey’s death occurred shortly before a scheduled hearing in his divorce and custody proceedings with estranged wife Candice Jang, in which both sides had made allegations of violence and abuse.

Jang alleged McKinsey had been violent towards her and their children, while McKinsey had pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor child-abuse charges involving allegations that he struck his six-year-old son and left another child, then two, unattended while shopping.

McKinsey, who transitioned from female to male in 2010, had also sought a restraining order against Jang, alleging she assaulted him following transition-related medical treatment, while claiming his father-in-law had previously punched him and his mother-in-law had directed anti-LGBTQ slurs at him and one of the children. Zhang and Chen remain in custody without bail pending their court appearance.

40-year-old Jonathan McKinsey was fatally shot over the weekend in a parking lot near the Dublin Sports Grounds, and police arrested his parents-in-law at the scene, according to city officials. https://t.co/e9denPzy74 pic.twitter.com/7yc1g2aFLm

— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) September 28, 2026