DUBLIN, CA — The elderly couple accused of killing their son-in-law last month in the East Bay had feared for their lives, their attorney said Monday, telling reporters that their daughter's embattled husband at one point had hired a hit man, KRON reported.
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, are accused of fatally shooting Jonathan McKinsey, 40, at the Dublin Sports Grounds on Sept. 26.
McKinsey was embroiled in a contentious divorce and custody battle with their daughter, Candice Jang at the time of his death. Both Jang and McKinsey had filed petitions for restraining orders against one another, with each accusing the other of abuse involving themselves or their children. McKinsey was also facing misdemeanor child-abuse charges, which he had denied.
Attorney Curtis Briggs, who is representing Chen, told reporters Monday — the same day his client and Zhang pleaded not guilty — that McKinsey had threatened Chen's life three times, in one case hiring a hit man, according to KRON. The couple did not plan to kill McKinsey, but they were afraid, Briggs said, KRON reported.
"Mr. McKinsey had an extremely violent record," he said, according to KRON.
Zhang and Chen were charged with murder, along with several enhancements and special circumstance allegations. Prosecutors allege that both Zhang and Chen intentionally killed McKinsey by lying in wait and personally firing guns during the attack.
In a petition for a restraining order, McKinsey, a transgender man, also alleged that Chen had directed anti-LGBTQ slurs at him and his children, and that Zhang had punched him in the chest when he was recovering from a double mastectomy surgery.
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