An elderly Dublin couple accused of shooting their son-in-law to death in the parking lot of the Dublin Sports Grounds pleaded not guilty on Monday, Oct. 19, to first-degree murder charges that include a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait, NBC Bay Area and KTVU reported.
Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, both 77, are charged in the Sept. 26 killing of Jonathan McKinsey, 40, a director of engineering for New York Times Games who lived in the Bay Area. A bail hearing is set for Nov. 4, followed by a pretrial hearing on Nov. 23, according to NBC Bay Area.
What prosecutors say happened
Prosecutors said at Monday's hearing that the couple showed up during McKinsey's scheduled visit with his children and took turns shooting him, KTVU reported. When the killing was first reported, Dublin Police Services said a sergeant driving nearby saw McKinsey on the ground as witnesses called 911 and pointed out the couple, who were detained as they drove out of the parking lot. Police found a gun on Chen and a second one in the car, and prosecutors said Zhang admitted in a later interview to shooting McKinsey, the Associated Press reported. Investigators also recovered surveillance video that prosecutors say shows both of them firing.
Prosecutors described the visit as supervised, and KTVU reported that such visits were supposed to happen with a social worker present. It is not clear whether one was there. Court records reported by the AP earlier this month showed a judge had granted McKinsey unsupervised visits in public places twice a week in late August.
What the defense says
Curtis Briggs, Chen's attorney, said his client is not guilty and did not plan the killing. He said Chen saw something at the park that made the couple fear for their grandchildren's safety, but he did not say what it was. Briggs also said McKinsey had threatened to kill Chen at least three times, once by hiring a hit man, and that the couple bought the guns in March to protect themselves from him. Those claims have not been tested in court.
A bitter divorce
The killing came about a week before a scheduled hearing in the divorce between McKinsey and his wife, Candice Jang, who had been married since 2011 and have three young children. In restraining-order filings, each accused the other of years of physical and emotional abuse. McKinsey, who was transgender, alleged that his wife and her parents abused him over his gender transition. McKinsey had also been charged last year with misdemeanor child abuse, which he denied, and was out on bail at the time of his death, the AP reported. Chen had lived with the family as a live-in nanny before the couple separated, KTVU reported.
Records unsealed
Monday's details came out after a judge unsealed the criminal complaint, affidavits and court minutes, which had been closed to the public. KTVU said news outlets had asked the court to explain why the records were sealed in the first place.
Police have said there is no ongoing threat to the public. For more from the Tri-Valley, see our explainer on Dublin's Measure I parcel tax and Pleasanton's emergency-prep push.