New court papers say Jonathan McKinsey's in-laws kept albums of defaced photos of him after the 40-year-old transgender man was shot dead at a Northern California sports complex.

Shouyong Zhang 77 and his wife Shili Chen 77 both face premeditated murder charges. Detectives searching their one-bedroom apartment found four albums with photos of McKinsey that had been marked up according to reports.

A defense brief notes one picture carried black marks and dots across his torso and right eye in places that matched his later wounds.

The shooting

McKinsey led engineering work at The New York Times Games. He showed up at a Dublin California sports complex for a supervised court visit with his three kids.

Chen says she did not know what her husband planned and that she was still in the car when he opened fire. Surveillance video though shows her walking up and firing seven more shots as McKinsey lay on the ground according to filings.

An off-duty Milpitas officer spotted the couple standing over him. Police arrested both within minutes.

Motives claimed in court

Zhang confessed and said his son-in-law was "violent and aggressive all the time with the kids" and that he feared for his grandchildren. McKinsey was also locked in a bitter custody fight and divorce with his estranged wife Candice Jang.

The couple bought guns in March 2026 saying they feared for their lives. Each entered a not-guilty plea on first-degree murder plus a lying-in-wait special circumstance. A pretrial hearing is set for November 23.