Slain NYT exec threatened to hire someone to kill mother-in-law, lawyer alleges

The attorney for slain New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey’s mother-in-law said she was terrified of McKinsey and feared for her life.

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McKinsey’s in-laws, Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, are facing murder charges after prosecutors alleged they gunned down McKinsey in the parking lot of the Dublin Sports Ground on Sept. 26. Before he was killed, McKinsey, the New York Times Games engineering director, was embroiled in a heated custody battle and divorce with his estranged wife, Candice Jang.

The couple appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to McKinsey’s killing, Curtis Briggs, Chen’s defense attorney, confirmed to SFGATE. Briggs said Chen was terrified of McKinsey, describing the shooting as “spontaneous” rather than premeditated. Briggs said the shooting occurred during one of McKinsey’s supervised visits with his children, but he couldn’t yet share specific details about what happened on the day McKinsey was killed. 

Chen and Zhang were arrested minutes after the shooting.

Briggs said Chen “didn’t have any intention of hurting Mr. McKinsey.”

Briggs added that there were “three occasions” when McKinsey allegedly threatened Chen’s life in recent years. Though he didn’t reveal specific details, Briggs alleged that McKinsey at one point threatened to have a third party kill Chen and said he wanted to “get rid of” Chen. 

The couple purchased guns earlier this year as tensions began “heating up with Mr. McKinsey’s violence,” according to Briggs.

“My client trembles in fear when she hears Mr. McKinsey’s name,” he said. 

Family court records reviewed by SFGATE show that McKinsey and Jang had accused each other of abuse during their marriage. Jang alleged that McKinsey struck their 6-year-old son and left their 2-year-old alone while he went shopping. Before his death, McKinsey had appeared in court over the allegations and was seeking more time with his three children. 

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Court records also show tension surrounding McKinsey’s transition. In the filings McKinsey, a transgender man, alleged that Jang pulled medical tubes from his body. He also accused Chen of using anti-LGBTQ+ slurs against him and Zhang of punching him in the chest after a surgery. 

Briggs disputed those allegations, saying McKinsey’s in-laws were “very accepting” after his transition in 2010 and that his transgender identity had “nothing to do” with his death.

Another hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4, when Briggs will request that Chen be released from jail while the case proceeds. He said that the 77-year-old should be released because of health concerns and her lack of criminal record. The Dublin couple are being held at Santa Rita Jail without bail.

“She’s a 5-foot-2 grandmother, not a criminal. She’s just really been terrified,” he said. 

SFGATE editor-at-large Andrew Chamings contributed to this report.