Cousin of Murdered New York Times Executive Shares Theory About His Death

The cousin of a transgender New York Times executive who was murdered has offered his theory about a possible motive after the man was allegedly shot by his in-laws.

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was killed after being shot multiple times in a parking lot at Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, on Saturday.

Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were arrested on several charges, including murder. Police allege the pair took turns firing at McKinsey.

McKinsey had served as the New York Times’ head of engineering for games player experience since 2023. He was also involved in a bitter custody dispute with his estranged wife, Candice Jang, who is Zhang and Chen’s daughter.

Lovell Garner, McKinsey’s cousin, was asked by the California Post whether he believed the in-laws may have acted to support Jang’s custody case.

“I’d lay a lot of money on that,” Garner told the outlet. “It’s unbelievable that they would put themselves on the line like that for her.”

Garner said he was still struggling to process the news of his cousin’s death when he spoke with the outlet.

“Well, it’s all still pretty fresh for me, still. So far, everyone in my immediate family is completely shocked,” Garner said.

“It seems obvious that they were done with him since they killed him. Not sure what would make them do something that extreme.”

Garner said he had been out of contact with McKinsey for several years before reaching out about a year ago, after learning that his cousin was experiencing a difficult period.

He remembered McKinsey as “very smart” and “outgoing,” though he said his strongest memories were from before his cousin’s transition.

According to the Post, the executive was previously known as Dawn Finney before transitioning in 2010.

McKinsey married Jang in 2011, and the couple remained together until December 2025, when Jang filed for divorce.

Jang also sought a domestic violence prevention order against her spouse that year.

In the protection order filed in Alameda County Court in October 2025 and obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, she accused McKinsey of physically, verbally and emotionally abusing her and their three young children.

Jang alleged that she had endured abuse at McKinsey’s hands over 17 years, including more than a dozen incidents between November 2020 and July 2025.

Court records show that a judge granted the protection order.

McKinsey was charged with cruelty to a child by endangering health and corporal injury to a child, both misdemeanors, and was freed on $50,000 bail.

At the time of his murder, he had also been trying to enter a mental health diversion program, which would have resulted in the charges being dropped upon completion, according to the Mercury News.

But McKinsey claimed in his own court filings that Jang was the one who had been abusive for more than 15 years.

In 2013, he claimed she beat him with a frying pan, according to the court documents. He also accused Jang of verbally denigrating the children.

He alleged that Chen, Jang’s mother, was verbally abusive to one of the couple’s young children, raising objections over the child’s clothing.

McKinsey further accused his in-laws of making derogatory remarks about his gender transition.

He claimed Chen directed anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at him and the child, referring first to the child and then to McKinsey as a ‘disgusting queer’ and a ‘pervert.’

The executive further accused Jang of being abusive during medical procedures related to his transition, claiming that at one point she tried to pull medical tubes from his body shortly after he had his breasts removed, according to the Mercury News.

He also alleged that Jang’s father, who was not named in the filing, punched him in the chest while he was recovering from the double mastectomy.

On the day of McKinsey’s death, witnesses reported seeing two masked shooters approach McKinsey in the parking lot and take turns unloading a barrage of shots into him before they ‘calmly’ walked away.

Images showed the suspects being taken into custody by the side of the road after they were reportedly flagged down by stunned witnesses to a nearby police sergeant.

Zhang and Chen have since been booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail and are being held without bail on charges including murder, felony conspiracy, child endangerment and dangerously firing a gun.

Zhang and Chen’s arraignment has been scheduled for Wednesday.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Garner, The New York Times, Dublin Police and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for comment.