Defense hints at strategy for in-laws charged in killing of NYT engineer

DUBLIN, Calif. - An attorney representing a 77-year-old woman accused alongside her husband of gunning down their son-in-law at a crowded Dublin park offered the first glimpse of her defense, portraying his client as a devoted grandmother while pointing to court records alleging that the slain man had abused his wife and children.

Curtis Briggs represents Shili Chen. 

Chen and her husband, Shouyong Zhang, 77, are charged with murder in the death of their son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, 40. The murder charge includes a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait.

Zhang will have separate counsel.

Briggs spoke outside an Alameda County courthouse in Dublin on Thursday after his client's plea hearing was postponed. He said the delay will allow the defense time to review the case. Briggs said he plans to enter a not-guilty plea on her behalf.

Defense seeks woman's release

What they're saying:

In court, Chen sat alongside Zhang. Briggs described her as a frail woman with no prior legal troubles and said he is working to get her out of jail while the case proceeds.

"My client weighs about 80 pounds," Briggs said. "She's in one of the toughest jails in the county. She's a loving, devoted grandmother. So my concerns are that any person in that kind of situation probably couldn't handle being in custody."

Briggs, an experienced defense attorney, previously represented Max Harris in the high-profile Ghost Ship warehouse trial, in which Harris was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter.

Briggs acknowledged the speculation regarding a motive in the killing, including whether the parents intervened to protect their daughter — who was locked in a bitter divorce and custody battle with McKinsey — or whether the attack was fueled by transphobia, as McKinsey was a transgender man. McKinsey had previously alleged in a restraining order request that his mother-in-law used transphobic slurs against his child and him.

Prosecutors have not revealed a motive and Briggs said he could not comment extensively on the allegations because the case is in its preliminary stages. However, he did speak about the love between Chen and her husband.

"The moment I saw in court right now was two elderly grandparents who love each other very much," Briggs said. "There was a moment when the interpreter went to hand my client an earpiece and she couldn't get it on. And there was this endearing moment where her husband reached over and put it on for her. And I just thought, wow, this is completely inconsistent with what the allegations are."

Defense points to abuse allegations

The backstory:

The defense attorney pointed to court documents where McKinsey's wife was previously granted a temporary restraining order against him.

"If the court documents are true, he was extremely rageful, could not control his temper, abused his wife so badly, at one point he fractured her spine, abused the kids so badly that a court in Alameda County had to send him to parenting classes," Briggs said. "McKinsey had a reputation [of] terrorizing his family, extremely violent, volatile, rageful, and he was a dangerous person."

McKinsey, the head engineer of games player experience for The New York Times, was shot and killed last Saturday at the Dublin Sports Grounds while children were present.

Investigators said surveillance video showed Zhang and Chen acting in concert to kill McKinsey, and witnesses reported the suspects took turns firing at him. Sources told KTVU that Zhang allegedly fired at his son-in-law from a car first, after which Chen began shooting.

The couple was arrested nearby, and police recovered two handguns.

Investigators said Zhang admitted to shooting McKinsey, though police did not detail the extent of the confession. Chen invoked her Miranda rights.

Court filings detail bitter divorce

Dig deeper:

At the time of his death, McKinsey was mired in a bitter divorce and custody battle with his wife involving competing restraining orders.

McKinsey filed for divorce in December after 14 years of marriage and 17 years together. The couple was living apart at the time of the filing, and his wife held sole legal and physical custody of their three children.

Court records show a history of domestic violence allegations between the couple. McKinsey's wife was granted a temporary restraining order in October 2025. McKinsey filed for a protective order two months later, a week before his wife's order was set to expire.

In his filing, McKinsey alleged his wife abused him physically and emotionally on a weekly basis and mistreated their children.

"I truly believe that she would hurt or even kill them if she believed there was any possibility of me having the children in my custody and care," McKinsey wrote in a court declaration.

McKinsey also detailed past conflicts with his in-laws. In 2023, he accused Chen of using slurs against his son and targeting him with similar language when he intervened. He also alleged Zhang punched him in the chest in 2010 while he was recovering from top surgery.

Briggs denied claims that the in-laws targeted McKinsey over his gender identity.

"That's not the case at all," Briggs said. "They seem to have been fairly supportive."

In court filings, McKinsey alleged his wife hit him with a frying pan and once forced him to eat a dead cockroach.

In her protection order request, McKinsey's wife asked the court to keep him away from her, their children, and her parents.

"Jonathan has hurt all of the above listed people physically or emotionally in the past," she wrote. "He can be vindictive, and I worry he will retaliate against me and the people listed above."

She claimed McKinsey abused her throughout their marriage, alleging she suffered a fractured vertebra and that he had previously struck her mother. She added that in 2021, she slept with a pair of scissors near her bed for protection.

In October, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged McKinsey with two misdemeanors for allegedly striking his 6-year-old son in the face and leaving his 2-year-old child unattended in a bedroom for more than an hour while he went shopping.

McKinsey denied intentionally leaving the child, claiming his wife did not inform him the toddler was inside the home.

"I firmly believe she did this on purpose to set me up," he wrote in court filings.

Despite the legal disputes, a judge allowed McKinsey to begin unsupervised public visits with his children last month.

Police continue to investigate

What we know:

Police served a search warrant at the home of McKinsey's wife Tuesday night. 

What we don't know:

Authorities have not disclosed where the children were at the time of the shooting.

Editor's Note: KTVU is not naming Jonathan McKinsey's wife because she has not been charged with a crime.

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