DUBLIN, Calif. (KRON) -- A defense attorney said a new possible motive has been uncovered behind a homicide that left a gaming software engineer dead in a Dublin sports park during a mandatory child visitation meet-up.
Jonathan McKinsey’s mother-in-law, 77-year-old Shili Chen, and father-in-law, 77-year-old Shouyong Zhang, are charged with murdering McKinsey in Dublin Sports Grounds park on the afternoon of Sept. 26. The victim went to the park that day for a court-ordered visit with his children.
Chen's defense attorney, Curtis Briggs, told reporters gathered at an Alameda County courthouse Monday that McKinsey once hired a "hit-man" to "get rid of" his mother-in-law.
Jonathan McKinsey is seen in his LinkedIn profile photo. (Photo via LinkedIn)
The bombshell allegations dropped on the same morning that Zhang and Chen appeared in court with their defense attorneys and a Mandarin language interpreter. The accused killers pleaded not guilty. Chen was shaking while clutching court papers during the arraignment.
McKinsey, 40, of Dublin, was a transgender man and father-of-three who worked as a software engineer for the New York Times' gaming platforms. He was in an intense child custody battle with his estranged wife, 46-year-old Candice Jang, and bitter divorce.
After the deadly park shooting, prosecutors charged the septuagenarians with premeditated first-degree murder.
Outside a courthouse in Dublin on Monday, Briggs told reporters that his client and Zhang bought guns in March of 2026 because they were scared of their son-in-law. Briggs said they did not plot or plan to murder McKinsey, but they feared for their lives.
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen are seen in mugshots released by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.
McKinsey repeatedly threatened Chen's life and hired a hit-man, so she armed herself in self-defense, according to Briggs.
"Mr. McKinsey had an extremely violent record. What we found out, through investigation, is there's been at least three occasions, where there are witnesses, that Mr. McKinsey actually threatened my client's life: Once through a hit man, and two more recently by making comments that he was going to get rid of her," Briggs told reporters.
Defense attorney Curtis Briggs walks out of an Alameda County courthouse in Dublin on Oct. 19, 2026. (KRON4 Photo)
"(Chen) was essentially a live-in nanny for the family, and Mr. McKinsey was extremely hostile, violent. The divorce continued to deteriorate the dynamics of the family," Briggs said.
Jang and McKinsey both accused each other of child abuse and domestic violence, court records obtained by KRON4 show. McKinsey filed for divorce in December of 2025 and sought to re-gain custody of his children, who are between ages 2-6.
Surveillance cameras at the park recorded Zhang and Chen "shoot the victim in concert" on Sept. 26, a police report from the Dublin Police Department states. Officers found two guns when they arrested the murder suspects. "During a later interview of the Zhang, he admitted to shooting the victim," the police report states.
Just one week before McKinsey's death, he was slated to appear at a child custody court hearing to ask a judge for more child visitation rights.
Jonathan McKinsey was found shot to death in this Dublin sports park on Sept. 26, 2026. (KRON4 Photo)
Jang described herself as a "stay-at-home mom" who relied on McKinsey for financial support. Jang claimed she slept with a pair of scissors near her bed for self-protection. "I and the children have all experienced physical, verbal, emotional abuse from Jonathan. My mother, who helps me watch the children, has also experienced emotional abuse from Jonathan," Jang wrote in a 2025 request for a restraining order against her husband.
Court records show McKinsey accused his in-laws of transphobia, and he allegedly feared that his children would be hurt by their mother.
Jang has not been charged with any crimes, however, detectives served a search warrant at her house on Sept. 29, Dublin police officials confirmed.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and Dublin Police Department did not release a suspected motive behind the homicide.
Chen and Zhang remain in custody without bail. They will return to the courtroom in November for a bail hearing.
