New York Times engineering executive killed in Dublin, California; suspects identified as his in-laws

A New York Times engineering executive was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds at Dublin Sports Grounds in Alameda County, California, shortly after 3 p.m. on Saturday, police said. The victim, identified as Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was the head of engineering and games player experiences for the newspaper and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dublin police arrested two 77-year-old suspects, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, a married couple identified as McKinsey’s in-laws. Both suspects are being held at the Santa Rita jail pending charges, according to a police statement.

Court documents reveal that McKinsey and his wife, Candice Jang, were involved in a child custody dispute. A judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order against McKinsey in a domestic-violence case, and McKinsey filed for divorce in December 2025, with a hearing scheduled for the following month. The court had also approved a private child-custody evaluator in August.

McKinsey held a bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He had been employed by The New York Times since 2023.