Elderly California couple charged with murder of son-in-law in Dublin park shooting

A couple in their 70s was charged with murder on Wednesday after allegedly gunning down their son-in-law at a bustling California park.

Authorities allege Shuoyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, took turns firing at Jonathan McKinsey, who was in the middle of an acrimonious divorce from their daughter, Candice Jang.

The burst of gunfire during broad daylight at a high-trafficked area prompted several 911 calls from witnesses on Saturday afternoon.

A police sergeant driving near the area found the 40-year-old New York Times gaming engineer shot dead on the ground of a parking lot in Dublin, a Bay Area suburb located about 34 miles east of San Francisco. Zhang and Chen were detained as they were driving away from the scene.

Prosecutors said Zhang admitted to shooting McKinsey during a later interview, and a firearm was found in his car that he admitted to using during the crime.

Their murder charges are enhanced by a special circumstance of lying in wait, an allegation that the deadly shooting was premeditated.

If convicted, the couple could face life in prison without parole.

Court records show McKinsey’s killing came during a contentious divorce with Jang and a custody battle over the couple’s three young children. In petitions for restraining orders filed last year, the couple accused each other of physical, emotional and psychological abuse going back more than a decade. McKinsey, who is transgender, alleged that both Jang and her parents were verbally and physically abusive regarding a gender transition he underwent years ago.

The killing occurred a week before a hearing was scheduled in McKinsey and Jang’s divorce case. The couple had been married since July 2011.

McKinsey joined the New York Times in January 2023. He was director of engineering for New York Times Games and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the paper said. A spokesperson declined to comment further.