New York Times employee shot dead in California. His wifeʼs 76-year-old parents are suspected of the murder

In California, a 76-year-old man and woman are suspected of murdering their 40-year-old son-in-law — Jonathan McKinsey, an employee of the American newspaper New York Times.

This is reported by the NYT, citing police data.

McKinseyʼs body with multiple gunshot wounds was found on September 26 near a sports complex in Dublin, a city near San Francisco. A witness told law enforcement that he heard about five or six shots. After that, he saw the man fall to the ground, while another man and woman calmly left the scene.

Police have arrested Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, a couple who live in Dublin. They are the parents of McKinseyʼs wife. Both are suspected of murder. They are also charged with illegal possession of a weapon, conspiracy and endangering children.

McKinsey has served as the CTO of the games department at The New York Times since 2023. Prior to that, he worked at technology companies Splunk, Coursera, and Oracle.

A motive for the killing has not yet been released. However, court documents describe long-standing conflicts in the family. McKinsey and his wife lived separately, and last year both applied for restraining orders due to domestic violence.

Jonathan McKinsey transitioned as a transgender man and accused his wife and her parents of abuse because of it. In particular, he wrote in a court statement that his mother-in-law called him and one of his sons "perverts" and "monsters," and his father-in-law allegedly punched him in the chest while he was recovering from surgery.

Meanwhile, McKinseyʼs wife made her own allegations: she said that during an argument, her husband grabbed her by the arms and threw her over the edge of a table, causing her to break her spine. She also accused him of emotional abuse against her mother.

Separately, McKinsey was charged last year with two counts of child abuse. In one, police said he punched a six-year-old in the face and in another, he left his two-year-old son home alone for more than an hour. He pleaded not guilty and claimed his wife was deliberately trying to frame him.

McKinsey filed for divorce in December 2025. In his statement, he also alleged that his wife beat him with a frying pan and a mirror, and once forced him to swallow a cockroach. His wife denied these allegations.

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