A California couple has been charged with murder after authorities say they shot their son-in-law to death on Saturday in a public park, just days before he and the couple's daughter were due to appear at a hearing in a bitter divorce case.

Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, both aged 77, were scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday for arraignment on the charges.

Reporters were unable to contact an attorney representing the couple ahead of the court appearance.

Their daughter, Candice Jang, could not be reached, although she appeared virtually at Wednesday's hearing.

Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old gaming engineer for The New York Times, was fatally shot in the parking lot of a sports complex in Dublin, situated east of San Francisco.

According to a news release issued by Dublin Police Services, a police sergeant who happened to be driving nearby spotted him lying on the ground as witnesses began dialing 911 and pointing out the couple, who remained in the vicinity of the scene.

Court records indicate that McKinsey’s killing occurred amid a contentious divorce from Jang and a custody dispute over the couple’s three young children.

In petitions for restraining orders filed last year, the couple accused each other of physical, emotional and psychological abuse spanning more than a decade.

McKinsey, who is transgender, alleged that both Jang and her parents had been verbally and physically abusive regarding a gender transition he had undergone years earlier.

In his petition for a protection order, McKinsey alleged that Chen had levelled anti-LGBTQ slurs at him and his eldest child.

He also accused Jang of being physically and emotionally abusive during medical procedures related to his transition.

He alleged Zhang punched him in the chest while he was recovering from double mastectomy surgery.

McKinsey was apprehended last October and charged with misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly striking their eldest son.

Police stated that he acknowledged having slapped the child.

Prosecutors additionally charged him with endangering their youngest child after deputies, having responded to the family’s residence to speak with him, discovered that their 2-year-old had been left home alone, according to court documents.

McKinsey entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and asserted in court records that he had been framed by his wife, who had departed the house without informing him that the child was sleeping in a crib upstairs.

He was released from jail on the condition that he complete 12 parenting classes.

At the time of his killing, McKinsey was out on bail and had been attempting to gain admission to a mental health diversion program.

It was likewise in October that Jang secured a domestic violence protection order against McKinsey.

In her filing, Jang stated that during an argument in 2010, McKinsey had seized her by the forearms, causing her to strike the corner of a coffee table and fracture a vertebra in her upper back.

She further recounted that in 2023, she had summoned the police to their residence after McKinsey pushed their eldest son forcefully on the head.

Jang additionally accused McKinsey of emotionally abusing her mother.

In December, McKinsey filed his own petition for domestic violence protection against Jang, alleging years of abuse, including an incident in which she struck him on the head with a frying pan.

He subsequently filed for divorce and sought increased time with the three children, noting that he had been restricted to two hours of supervised visits per week since the previous fall, according to Alameda County court documents.

In late August, McKinsey was granted the privilege of unsupervised public outings twice weekly.

The killing transpired a week prior to a scheduled hearing in the divorce proceedings of McKinsey and Jang, who had been married since July 2011.

McKinsey joined The New York Times in January 2023, assuming the role of director of engineering for New York Times Games and operating out of the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the paper.

A spokesperson declined to elaborate further.