Transgender NYT Executive Allegedly Murdered by In-Laws
A lawyer representing the elderly couple accused of murdering a transgender executive from the New York Times claims that the victim exhibited “extreme rage” toward her family before her death.
The case revolves around Jonathan McKinsey, the victim, and her in-laws, Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, as reported by a local news outlet.
During court proceedings on Thursday, attorney Curtis Briggs stated that McKinsey had been “raining hell” on her family for years. He described her as “extremely rageful” and said she had a history of abusive behavior, which included severe mistreatment of her wife and children. At one point, her aggression reportedly resulted in her wife’s spinal fracture. Due to McKinsey’s violent conduct, a court mandated her to attend parenting classes.
McKinsey was found dead in Dublin, California, on a Saturday, with multiple gunshot wounds. As reported, she worked as the director of engineering for the games department at the New York Times.
The couple accused of the crime are parents to McKinsey’s wife, Candice Jang. According to previous reports, both McKinsey and Jang had sought restraining orders against each other. McKinsey alleged that Jang and her parents had abused her because of her identity, and also claimed that Jang’s mother referred to some family members in a derogatory manner for their behavior.
Chen and Zhang are facing murder charges, and their lawyer indicated that they intend to plead not guilty.
Reports suggest that the alleged murder was a calculated ambush, with both grandparents reportedly taking turns shooting McKinsey. A family source expressed a belief that the motive was to enable Jang to gain sole custody of their three children.
Witnesses have stated that they observed the couple shooting McKinsey, as reported by local authorities.
In 2025, McKinsey faced charges of misdemeanor child abuse, including accusations that she struck her young son and left her toddler alone for over an hour. She pleaded not guilty and was expected to continue legal proceedings in the following week.
