A 77-year-old Dublin couple accused of shooting their son-in-law to death in a public park last month pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges at a plea hearing on Monday.
Shili Chen and her husband Shouyong Zhang entered the pleas in the September 26 killing of 40-year-old Jonathan McKinsey, a senior engineering executive with The New York Times. Prosecutors have added a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, KTVU reported.
McKinsey was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California. Prosecutors allege the couple arrived during a scheduled supervised visit between McKinsey and his children and took turns firing at him. Police arrested the couple nearby soon after the shooting.
Investigators said they recovered two handguns and obtained surveillance video showing the couple killing McKinsey. Although McKinsey’s supervised visits were required to take place with a social worker present, it remains unclear whether one was at the park during the shooting.
The new details surfaced after a judge unsealed the criminal complaints, court minutes and affidavits in the high-profile case. The documents had been prematurely sealed despite requests from news outlets, including KTVU, for the reason behind the move.
Defense attorney Curtis Briggs, who represents Chen, maintained that his clients are not guilty. Briggs said the couple went to the park because they believed McKinsey was abusive and feared he would harm the children. He said Chen and Zhang began carrying firearms in March out of fear of their son-in-law.
Briggs alleged McKinsey had threatened to kill the couple on three separate occasions, including one incident in which he allegedly threatened to hire a hit man to kill them. The killing happened amid a bitter divorce and custody dispute between McKinsey and his estranged wife, the couple’s daughter. McKinsey had pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor child abuse charges, and his wife had previously obtained a temporary restraining order against him, KABC reported.
Both defendants remain in custody as the case moves forward. Zhang’s public defender is expected to ask a judge to release him, citing concerns about his health. A bail hearing is set for November 4, followed by a pre-trial hearing on November 23.
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