(KRON) -- New developments emerged Friday in the case against an East Bay couple accused of killing their son-in-law outside a Dublin sports complex. New York Times executive Jonathan McKinsey was gunned down on September 26. Shortly after the shooting, his estranged wife’s parents were arrested and charged with his murder.
Authorities suggesting the duo, Shili Chen and Shouyong Zhang were lying in wait and had ambushed their son-in-law.
But new court filings by Chen’s attorney Curtis Briggs seeking bail tells another story: One where the 77-year-old woman didn’t know what her husband was going to do and thus she was not lying wait and should be eligible for bail.
Mugshot of Shouyang Zhang and Shili Chen. (Photo: Alameda County Sheriff's Office)
“They've got a shot at this case in getting bail,” said KRON4 legal analyst Michael Cardoza. “The defense has a shot at this because the judge looks at two things. Number one, would she be dangerous to the public when she gets out? If she gets out of jail, I think the answer clearly is no, because this is an aberrational type killing, not where she'd go out into public and be dangerous. The second prong that a judge will look at: Will she return to court? She's got a passport. I'm sure … the judge will take the passport,” he added.
The court filing also suggests Chen’s decision to shoot McKinsey wasn’t premeditated.
“It'll be up to the individual juror to decide whether that story smacks of the truth,” Cardoza said.
While authorities say there is surveillance video showing Chen shooting McKinsey after her husband shot him, Chen’s attorney Briggs, maintains in court filings she didn’t know her husband had shot McKinsey and shot him believing McKinsey had tried to kill her husband.
“Jury instructions tell jurors intent can be formed in a split second. So the fact that she did shoot will affect the jury negatively, and I'm not sure they'll believe a story like this, especially with her taking the gun and shooting the victim,” Cardoza said. “People will say, ‘Come on, you really expect us to believe that?’", he said.
The two defendants will be back before a judge on November 4 for their bail hearing.
