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First pictures of elderly couple accused of taking turns fatally shooting their son-in-law

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Cite

Scott, O. (2026, September 29). First pictures of elderly couple accused of taking turns fatally shooting their son-in-law. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/jonathan-mckinsey-shooting-shouyong-zhang-shili-chen-b3058231.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-29 · by Owen Scott

Quick Summary

Police have released the first pictures of Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77 years old, who are accused of fatally shooting their son-in-law Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old director at New York Times Games. The body was found in Dublin, approximately 35 miles from San Francisco. The couple has been charged with murder and booked into Santa Rita Jail following the incident on September 26. The case involves conflicting claims of abuse between McKinsey and his wife Candice Jang, who were married around 2012 and have three children but had been living separately at the time. McKinsey was killed a week before a scheduled divorce hearing and had previously accused his in-laws of transphobic abuse, including physical assaults and derogatory language.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, the head of engineering for games player experience at New York Times, was shot dead in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds on Saturday around 3pm. Eyewitnesses reported seeing two masked assailants, identified as his elderly Chinese in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, take turns shooting McKinsey. The couple were arrested shortly after by a passing police officer.

McKinsey had been working at the New York Times since 2023. Police are investigating potential motives including allegations of child abuse and domestic violence against his wife, Candice Jang. Court documents revealed conflicts over being transgender and McKinsey's alleged mistreatment of their children. The elderly couple faces charges of murder, felony conspiracy, child endangerment, and dangerously firing a gun.

The incident shocked the local community due to its brutality in broad daylight near families with children. McKinsey’s body was found lying in the parking lot, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. An arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday.

Written for “NYT Exec Shot By In-Laws” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 29 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NYT Exec Shot By In-Laws
Crime & Law · 30 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Parents accused of taking turns fatally shooting their son-in-law months after his child abuse arrest Same event
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
In-laws arrested on suspicion of murder after New York Times engineer shot dead in California Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 4 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
Married couple allegedly shot and killed their son-in-law near San Francisco, police say Same event
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Daily Mail
⚖️ Centre Hedges 8 of 28 claims Outlet record 69/100
Elderly in-laws arrested in California shooting death of New York Times employee Same event
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 63/100
Police arrest California couple in public shooting death of their son-in-law Same event
The Hindu
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 60/100
In-laws charged with murder of New York Times games engineer in California Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
Accused ‘killer grandma’ in NYT exec slaying appears in court with husband Same event
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
Father-in-law of murder victim attacks killer in middle of sentencing hearing Different event
The Independent
Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe two separate incidents involving different victims and perpetrators.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
2 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
30
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

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Who wrote this

Owen Scott
86 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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2026-10-30 · The Independent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 86 articles by Owen Scott →

Topics

Dublin Independent New York Times Games San Francisco The Mercury News

Subjects

McKinsey PERSON · 9× Jang PERSON · 4× Dublin GPE · 2× The Mercury News ORG · 2× Independent ORG · 1× Jonathan McKinsey PERSON · 1× New York Times Games ORG · 1× San Francisco GPE · 1× Shili Chen PERSON · 1× Shouyong Zhang PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Authorities confirmed McKinsey’s in-laws were arrested near the scene, shortly after a Dublin Police Services sergeant found his body at the Dublin Sports Grounds just after 3 p.m. on September 26.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29
🔮 McKinsey tried to enter a mental health diversion scheme around the time of his killing, which would have resulted in the charges being dropped if he finished the scheme.
2026-09-29 · The Independent
First pictures of elderly couple accused of taking turns fatally shooting their son-in-law · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 2 hedged)

The first pictures of an elderly couple accused of taking turns to shoot their son-in-law to death have been released. asserted
pictures → accuse → death
The body of Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old director of engineering for New York Times Games, was discovered by police in Dublin - a city around 35 miles from San Francisco. asserted
body → discover → Francisco
McKinsey’s father-in-law, Shouyong Zhang, and mother-in-law, Shili Chen, both 77, have been charged with murder and booked into the Santa Rita Jail, Dublin police said. asserted
police → charge → Jail
New details have also emerged on the background to the case, which involves competing claims of abuse involving McKinsey and his wife Candice Jang. uncertain
which → emerge → McKinsey
Court records obtained by CNN said the couple married around 2012 and shared three children but had been living separately. asserted
couple → obtain → children
McKinsey, who was a transgender man, was killed a week before a hearing was scheduled in their divorce case. asserted
hearing → kill → case
In a filing for a restraining order obtained by The New York Times, McKinsey had accused his wife and her family of transphobic abuse. asserted
McKinsey → obtain → abuse
The 40-year-old alleged that, back in 2010, Zhang punched him in the chest after he underwent a double mastectomy. asserted
he → allege → mastectomy
McKinsey also claimed that Chen dubbed both him and his son as a “pervert” and a “monster” after the youngster tried on dresses. asserted
youngster → claim → dresses
He further alleged that his wife had hit him in the head with a frying pan during one altercation and forced him to eat a cockroach, The Times added. asserted
Times → allege → cockroach
Conversely, in a restraining order obtained by The Mercury News, Jang alleged her estranged partner hit one of their sons during an argument over Legos, among other accusations. asserted
partner → obtain → accusations
Jang alleged he left a “very large bruise the shape of a handprint” on his son’s face after striking the boy. asserted
he → allege → boy
Jang later told authorities McKinsey had grabbed her wrist back in 2018, leaving bruises, the documents say. asserted
documents → tell → bruises
“Due to his violent and negligent history, our children are simply not safe when left unsupervised and in his care,” Jang wrote in one court filing, reviewed by the outlet. asserted
Jang → leave → outlet
Documents viewed by The San Francisco Chronicle revealed that McKinsey pleaded not guilty to two counts of misdemeanor child abuse last year. asserted
McKinsey → view → abuse
The two charges included one count of cruelty to a child by endangering health and another count of corporal injury to a child, according to court records obtained by The Mercury News. uncertain
charges → include → News
McKinsey tried to enter a mental health diversion scheme around the time of his killing, which would have resulted in the charges being dropped if he finished the scheme. asserted
he → try → scheme
Authorities confirmed McKinsey’s in-laws were arrested near the scene, shortly after a Dublin Police Services sergeant found his body at the Dublin Sports Grounds just after 3 p.m. on September 26. asserted
sergeant → confirm → September
Witnesses told CBS News Bay Area that a masked man shot the victim before handing the gun to a masked woman, who also opened fire. asserted
who → tell → fire
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