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A Dublin couple accused of fatally shooting their son-in-law at a sports complex last month are set for a bail hearing Nov. 4, according to recently unsealed court documents that shed more light on the high-profile murder case.
Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, who have been in custody at Santa Rita Jail since their Sept. 26 arrest, are set to appear Nov. 4 at 9:15 a.m. at the East County Hall of Justice. They have been charged with shooting Jonathan McKinsey at Dublin Sports Grounds. Chen and Zhang both pleaded not guilty on Oct. 19, according to court records that were unsealed that day after a request from the New Yorker, whose attorney in a letter argued that such records are “presumptively” part of the public record.
“The exceptional newsworthiness of this case is evident in the significant public interest and reporting that it has already generated locally, nationally and abroad,” attorney Benjamin Murray wrote on behalf of the magazine.
“More specifically, this matter is in the public interest, and is of interest to readers of The New Yorker, because it concerns a rare and alarming crime: the fatal shooting of a father, in broad daylight, allegedly by his wife’s elderly parents,” he continued.
The order by Judge Diane Meier voids a previous order to seal the documents, which was issued by another judge whose identity has not been disclosed. The order to unseal the case excluded warrants and affidavits.
The Sept. 26 midday shooting, which authorities have said took place while families and children played nearby, has drawn international attention. McKinsey, a 40-year-old gaming engineer for the New York Times, was embroiled in a bitter divorce with his wife, Candice Jang, which included competing allegations of abuse. Jang accused McKinsey of abusing their children, while McKinsey, who was transgender, alleged that Jang and her parents had abused him and directed anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at one of the couple’s children.
McKinsey and Jang had each obtained restraining orders against the other, court records show.
Speaking to reporters outside the Alameda County Courthouse after the Oct. 19 hearing, attorney Curtis Briggs, who represents Chen, said she and her husband were frightened of McKinsey because he had threatened to hire a hitman to have them both killed.
Both Briggs and the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Zhang, have said they will seek release for their respective clients pending a trial.
