Jonathan McKinsey was a 40-year-old tech executive who helped build the games that millions of New York Times readers play every day. On Saturday afternoon, he was shot to death in a California parking lot, allegedly by his own in-laws, in a killing that has exposed a devastating web of family conflict, custody battles, and identity struggles.
The victim has been identified as the director of engineering for New York Times Games, the division behind popular puzzles like Connections and Wordle. His alleged killers, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 76 or 77, are the parents of his estranged wife, Candice Jang.
The shooting has stunned the tech and media communities, but court records reveal a years-long war that preceded the violence: dueling restraining orders, child abuse charges, bitter custody disputes, and allegations of abuse tied to McKinsey’s identity as a transgender man.
Here’s what we know about who Jonathan McKinsey was, and the conflict that ended his life.
A Rising Star in Tech and Media
Jonathan McKinsey built a career that spanned nearly two decades in some of the most respected technology organizations in the country.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s in computer science from UC Berkeley in 2015. Early in his career, he worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, then moved through roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle, and Coursera before becoming an engineering manager at Splunk.
In January 2023, McKinsey joined The New York Times as a senior engineering manager for the games platform. By late 2025, he had been promoted to director of engineering for games player experience, leading a 25-member team focused on features and monetization for the newspaper’s puzzle games.
His work directly touched millions of people. The New York Times Games division, which includes Connections and other popular puzzles, has become a cultural phenomenon. McKinsey was one of the people responsible for making that experience seamless for users.
A former Berkeley colleague, Nathan Wu, posted a brief tribute on LinkedIn: “Rip buddy.”
The Family Conflict That Preceded the Shooting
McKinsey’s personal life was in turmoil long before Saturday’s shooting.
He married Candice Jang around 2010 or 2011. McKinsey transitioned from female to male in 2010, a year before their marriage, and the couple had three young children together, ages 3, 5, and 7.
Court records describe a marriage that deteriorated into mutual accusations of abuse.
Jang’s allegations: In 2023, she reported McKinsey to police, accusing him of shoving one of their children and using rough physical discipline. In October 2025, she obtained a domestic violence protection order after McKinsey was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse. She alleged he had slapped their six-year-old son in the face with an open hand. She also described a 2018 incident in which McKinsey allegedly bruised her arm and left a two-year-old unattended at home while he went shopping.
McKinsey’s allegations: He fired back with his own restraining order request and filed for divorce. In his petition, he claimed Jang tried to pull medical tubes out of his body during his transition, that she beat him with a frying pan in 2013, and that his mother-in-law called him a “disgusting queer” and a “pervert” because of one of their children’s clothing choices. He also alleged his father-in-law punched him in the chest while he was recovering from double mastectomy surgery.
McKinsey pleaded not guilty to the child abuse charges and was released on bail, ordered to complete parenting classes.
The couple was scheduled to appear in court this Friday for a custody hearing. That hearing will never happen.
The Day of the Shooting
On Saturday afternoon, McKinsey was in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds, a popular athletic complex and playground in Dublin, California, east of San Francisco.
Witnesses told investigators they saw two masked individuals approach McKinsey and open fire. One witness, Assad Razawi, described the scene: “I saw the guy drop to the floor: head bloody and chest bloody.”
Other witnesses said the two suspects, a man and a woman, were seen “walking together and casually walk away from the shooting.”
A police sergeant driving nearby spotted McKinsey on the ground as emergency calls flooded in. First responders attempted life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Zhang and Chen were arrested shortly afterward at a nearby intersection. They were booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail and are being held without bail.
The charges against them include first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, unlawfully firing a gun, and child endangerment involving conduct that could cause serious injury or death.
The Trans Identity at the Center of the Conflict
McKinsey’s identity as a transgender man was a significant point of tension in the family conflict, according to court documents.
He transitioned in 2010 and married Jang the following year. In his restraining order petition, he alleged that his wife and in-laws abused him because of his trans identity. He claimed his mother-in-law used anti-LGBTQ+ slurs against him and one of their children. He also accused Jang of being abusive during medical procedures related to his transition.
These allegations were part of a bitter tit-for-tat legal battle that played out in Alameda County court documents over the past year. Neither side’s claims have been adjudicated. The criminal case against Zhang and Chen is just beginning.
What Happens Next
Zhang and Chen are due to appear in court Wednesday morning. It was not immediately clear whether either had obtained legal representation. Phone numbers listed for their daughter, Candice Jang, were disconnected.
Police have not disclosed a possible motive for the shooting, though investigators are reviewing the family conflict as a likely factor. The child endangerment charge added to the suspects’ booking records suggests authorities believe the violence may have put others at risk.
McKinsey’s three children, ages 3, 5, and 7, are now at the center of a custody battle that has lost one of its parties. Their father is dead. Their mother’s parents are in jail, accused of killing him.
The Bottom Line
Jonathan McKinsey was a 40-year-old engineer who helped build the games millions of people play every day. He was a transgender man who transitioned in 2010 and built a career at some of the most respected tech organizations in the country. He was a father of three young children.
He was also at the center of a family conflict that had spiraled into dueling abuse allegations, restraining orders, and a custody battle. On Saturday afternoon, that conflict turned deadly.
The shooting has left three children without a father and with grandparents facing murder charges. It has also raised uncomfortable questions about how a domestic dispute can escalate into public violence, and whether the warning signs were visible long before the gunfire.
Leave a Reply