'Trans' New York Times Executive Killed By In-Laws. They Called Him 'Monster'

Washington: A New York Times tech executive was allegedly shot dead by his elderly in-laws at a sports park in California. Jonathan McKinsey, the Times' head of engineering for games player experience, was reportedly engaged in a vicious war with his estranged wife and in-laws over being transgender. Cops have arrested his in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 76, for the deadly shooting at a parking lot at Dublin Sports Grounds, an athletic complex and playground in Dublin, California. Police have not released the motive behind the crime yet.But, citing court records, The New York Times reported that the 40-year-old executive and his wife, Candice Jang, were living separately, with each having filed requests for domestic violence restraining orders against the other last year in Alameda County.His restraining order records showed that McKinsey had accused his wife and his in-laws of abusing him because of his trans identity. He had claimed that his mother-in-law once called him and one of his sons a "disgusting queer", a "pervert", and a "monster" because of the child's choice of clothing. He also claimed his father-in-law punched him in the chest while he was recovering from double mastectomy surgery in 2010, the NYT report said.McKinsey also had a violent history with his wife Jang. The Mercury News, also citing restraining order records, reported that McKinsey had claimed that Jang had tried to pull medical tubes out of his body when he was transitioning from a woman to a man in 2010. The couple got married in 2011.He also claimed that in 2013, in another altercation, his wife beat him with a frying pan. McKinsey also accused Jang of abusing their children verbally.In her October 2025 filing, Jang had accused her husband of grabbing her by the forearms during one argument and dropping her onto the corner of a table, fracturing a vertebra in her upper back. She also accused McKinsey of emotionally abusing her mother, the NYT report said.McKinsey was also reportedly charged with two counts of misdemeanour child abuse in 2025 after Jang called Dublin police to report he had hit her six-year-old son in the face with an open hand. She also accused him of bruising her arm in a 2018 altercation, the documents showed.McKinsey later pleaded not guilty to both crimes and was released from jail on the condition that he would take parenting classes, the New York Post reported. A Times spokesman has confirmed that McKinsey, who had worked for the newspaper since 2023, was the victim of the Saturday afternoon shooting. His LinkedIn profile showed McKinsey had nearly two decades of a tech career and had worked for several tech companies, including Splunk, Coursera and Oracle.