00:00Shocking details have emerged in the murder of a trans New York Times tech executive who
00:05was allegedly shot to death by his elderly in-laws.
00:08On Saturday, September 26th, Jonathan McKenzie was allegedly gunned down by Sho Young Zhang
00:14and Shi Lee Chen in the parking lot at Dublin Sports Grounds in California, with witnesses
00:19describing how the two 77-year-olds took turns riddling his body with bullets.
00:24News of the bizarre killing quickly spread like wildfire, as cops zeroed in on a family
00:29conflict as a possible motive for the shocking crime.
00:33The 40-year-old, who was the Times Head of Engineering for Games Player Experience, previously
00:38threatened to murder his wife and her parents and chillingly gave his children a book about
00:43a young girl whose mom died, according to court documents.
00:46The former executive, who transitioned from female to male in 2010, married his wife Candace
00:52Zhang in 2011, but she filed for divorce in 2025 after he allegedly became abusive to
00:58her and their young son.
01:00Jonathan dismisses my concern about a book he provided to the children concerning the
01:04death of a mother.
01:05He omits the context that makes the conduct frightening to me.
01:09Jonathan has previously threatened to kill me and my parents, she said in the documents.
01:14Given his prior threats against my life, I found the choice deeply disturbing and frightening,
01:20she added.
01:20Mackenzie was charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse for the incident, but was ultimately
01:26released from jail on the condition that he take parenting classes.
01:29The pair then entered a nasty custody battle, during which Zhang accused Mackenzie of abusing
01:35her and their three kids.
01:36That same year, Zhang filed a restraining order against Mackenzie.
01:40He responded by filing a restraining order of his own, in which he claimed Zhang beat him
01:45with a frying pan in 2013 and accused Zhang of abusing their children verbally.
01:50The estranged couple continued to fight a string of legal battles against each other and were
01:55scheduled to be in court over the issue of custody less than a week after the shooting.
01:59Sources close to the investigation told the Post it's possible Zhang and Chen opened fire
02:04on Mackenzie as retribution for his alleged misdeeds.
02:08Both of the elderly in-laws face charges of murder, conspiracy, willful discharge of a firearm
02:14with gross negligence and child abuse.
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