“New York Times” Executive Was Facing Child Cruelty Charges When In-Laws Allegedly Killed Him: Court Docs

Jonathan McKinsey had filed for divorce in December, according to court records

NEED TO KNOW

• Jonathan McKinsey pleaded not guilty in October to charges of child cruelty and corporal injuries to a child, online court records show
• His wife had sought an order of protection against him last year, and he sought one against her months later, SF Gate reported, citing court records
• McKinsey’s in-laws Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen have been charged with murder

The New York Times executive allegedly slain by his in-laws over the weekend was facing child cruelty charges and was going through divorce proceedings, according to court records.

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was fatally shot in a parking lot in Dublin, Calif. in the middle of the day on Saturday, Sept. 26, the Dublin Police Services said.

Shortly afterwards, McKinsey’s in-laws Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were arrested on murder charges.

Online court records reviewed by PEOPLE show McKinsey had been charged with cruelty to child by endangering health and corporal injury to a child. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last October.

According to court documents obtained by SFGate, McKinsey was embroiled in a series of legal disputes with his wife Candice Jang and had filed for divorce in December.

Prior to that, in October, Jang had sought a protection order against McKinsey, who then sought one against Jang in December, according to court records cited by the outlet.

When contacted by PEOPLE on Monday, Dublin police declined to provide any information on previous cases that “may be pertinent to our investigation.”

A spokesperson for The New York Times confirms to PEOPLE that McKinsey was the Head of Engineering for New York Times Games at the company, but declined to comment when asked about assault charges against him.

On his Linkedin, McKinsey wrote his reflections on leadership and being a parent.

“As a people leader, I believe it is my job to create an environment where my team can bring their whole selves to work and thrive,” he wrote on his Linkedin. “I coach each member of my team to lead and we take turns leading each other to learn from experience.”

In 2021, in the aftermath of the Atlanta spa attacks amid a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes, McKinsey wrote about his Asian-American newborn.

“We have the capacity as a country for so much more. Just 2 weeks after the shootings, my wife and I bought a new little mixed Asian girl into the world,” he wrote in a post. “My daughter wasn’t breathing and I saw people of all colors rushing to help her.”

“America is just like my little girl,” he wrote. “I’m calling on all of you to save America.”

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Zhang and Chen have both been charged with murder, Dublin police said.

Online court records for neither Zhang nor Chen were available as of Monday afternoon.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.