Jonathan Joss, a voice actor finest identified for his work on the animated tv sequence “King of the Hill,” was fatally shot close to his Texas home, authorities stated Monday (June 2, 2025).
Police have been dispatched to a home in south San Antonio about 7 p.m. Sunday (June 1, 2025) on a capturing in progress name. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered the wounded 59-year-old close to the avenue.
“The officers attempted life saving measures until EMS arrived. EMS pronounced the victim deceased,” San Antonio police stated in an announcement.
Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, confirmed the actor’s demise to The Associated Press in a textual content. The two have been married earlier this yr on Valentine’s Day.
In an e-mail, San Antonio police didn’t instantly present any data on what prompted the capturing.
In an announcement, de Gonzales stated he and Joss had beforehand confronted harassment, a lot of it “openly homophobic.” Joss’ husband stated the one who killed the actor yelled “violent homophobic slurs” earlier than opening fireplace.
“He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other,” Mr. de Gonzales stated.
Before the capturing, Mr. de Gonzales and Joss have been checking mail at Joss’ home, which had been closely broken throughout a January fireplace that claimed the lives of their three canines. A person approached the two and threatened them with a gun, Mr. de Gonzales stated.
“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,” Mr. de Gonzales stated in an announcement.
After the capturing, authorities arrested 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja and charged him with homicide in Joss’ demise.
Court data didn’t checklist an lawyer who might communicate on behalf of Ceja, who was being held in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
In an announcement, San Antonio police stated 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.
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 sequence that ran for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2008. A reboot of the present is ready to start out in August.
Joss additionally had a recurring function on the tv present “Parks and Recreation,” enjoying Chief Ken Hotate. He appeared in two episodes of the sequence “Tulsa King” in 2022.
A GoFundMe web page had been arrange in January for Joss after the home fireplace. According to the web page, Joss had misplaced all of his belongings in the fireplace, together with his automobile.
Before he was fatally shot, Joss had been in Austin, positioned about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of San Antonio, for occasions associated to a sneak peak of the “King of the Hill” revival.
On Saturday (May 31, 2025), Joss had posted a video on Instagram through which he stated he was signing autographs at a comic book e-book retailer 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 stated in the video, including he had already accomplished voice work on 4 episodes of the revival.
Joss’ husband stated Joss was grateful for his followers.
“To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family,” Mr. de Gonzales stated.
Published – June 03, 2025 07:22 am IST
