New York Times Executive Dead, Allegedly Shot By In-Laws in California Amid Dark Secret

A New York Times executive was shot and killed in California, and police say his elderly in-laws were arrested in connection with the killing. Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was shot in the parking lot of the Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, according to police.

McKinsey worked for The New York Times as director of engineering for games player experience, a role connected to the newspaper’s popular digital games operation. Authorities identified the suspects as Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77. The two were taken into custody shortly after the shooting. Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen (both 77 years old) face charges of murder and conspiracy:

Witnesses told investigators that two masked people approached McKinsey in the parking lot before gunfire erupted. Emergency crews attempted to help McKinsey, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspects were later booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder, according to booking records cited in the report.

Authorities are also pursuing several other serious allegations connected to the incident, including conspiracy and firearms-related offenses.

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The case has drawn additional attention because Zhang and Chen are the parents of McKinsey’s wife, Candice Jang.

Court records also show that McKinsey had faced separate criminal allegations before his death.

Alameda County prosecutors charged him in 2025 with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse after his wife contacted police and accused him of striking her six-year-old son in the face.

Jang also reportedly told investigators about an earlier domestic violence incident from 2018 in which she said McKinsey bruised her arm.

Authorities responding to the 2025 incident also reported finding a two-year-old child alone inside an upstairs room while McKinsey was away from the home.

McKinsey pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released from custody under conditions that included participation in parenting classes.

The New York Times confirmed that McKinsey was the employee killed in Saturday’s shooting and said he had worked for the organization since 2023.

Before joining the Times, McKinsey built a lengthy career in technology, holding engineering or leadership positions associated with companies and organizations including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle, Coursera, UKG and Splunk.

At The New York Times, he initially worked on the company’s games platform before moving into leadership for the games player experience team.

By late 2025, McKinsey had reportedly become director of engineering for games player experience, overseeing a team responsible for products used by millions of puzzle and game players.

He also earned a master’s degree in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.

News of his death prompted messages from people who knew him professionally. Nathan Wu, who said on LinkedIn that he had worked at UC Berkeley, posted a brief tribute Sunday: “Rip buddy.”

Police have not publicly established a complete motive for the shooting. The investigation remains focused on the circumstances surrounding McKinsey’s death and the allegations against the two suspects.