Jonathan Joss' husband claims ‘King of the Hill' actor's killing was ‘homophobic' attack

The husband of Jonathan Joss, an actor best known for his role the animated television series “King of the Hill,” claimed the person who fatally shot Joss yelled “violent homophobic slurs” before opening fire.

The 59-year-old was killed near his home in south San Antonio Sunday night.

In a statement released a day after the killing, Tristan Kern de Gonzales said he and Joss had previously faced harassment, much of it “openly homophobic.”

"He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other," Gonzales wrote.

After the shooting, authorities arrested 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja and charged him with murder in Joss’ death. In a statement, San Antonio police said its investigation “has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate that Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation."

“We take such allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly," police said.

Gonzales recounted he was present during the attack and said before the shooting, they were checking mail at Joss’ home, which had been heavily damaged during a January fire that claimed the lives of their three dogs.

“That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire," he wrote. "We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.”

“Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship,” Gonzalez went on to share. “Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.”

He said when they visited the property to check for mail, they allegedly found "the skull of one of their dogs and its harness" on the site and this caused them "severe emotional distress."

"We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw," he wrote. "While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired."

He continued: "Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life."

Police respond to the home about 7 p.m. Sunday and "officers attempted life saving measures until EMS arrived,” San Antonio police said in a statement. "EMS pronounced the victim deceased."

A neighbor of Joss' spoke to NBC affiliate WOAI and said the actor had an ongoing feud with several people in the neighborhood and "had been acting erratically over the past several months."

"The two of them had been repeatedly harassed because they were gay and that their home was burned down after years of threats from neighbors," the neighbor told the outlet.

Another neighbor told Telemundo San Antonio that neighbors had previously reported Joss to police after he was allegedly seen walking in the area carrying a rifle and yelling expletives. That neighbor alleges police told them they didn't need to worry about Joss because he had moved to North Carolina and no longer posed a threat.

Joss, who grew up in San Antonio, was best known as the voice of John Redcorn, a Native American character on the popular “King of the Hill” animated series that ran for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2008. A reboot of the show is set to start in August.

Joss also had a recurring role on the television show “Parks and Recreation,” playing Chief Ken Hotate. He appeared in two episodes of the series “Tulsa King” in 2022.

Before he was fatally shot, Joss had been in Austin for events related to a sneak peak of the “King of the Hill” revival.

On Saturday, Joss had posted a video on Instagram in which he said he was signing autographs at a comic book store in Austin.

“The fans get to revisit ‘King of the Hill’ again, which I think is an amazing thing because it’s a great show,” Joss said in the video, adding he had already done voice work on four episodes of the revival.

Joss' husband said Joss was grateful for his fans.

“To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family,” de Gonzales said.

The two were married earlier this year on Valentine’s Day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.