The 56-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of Jonathan Joss, who voiced the character John Redcorn on the popular animated “King of the Hill” series reportedly “immediately” confessed to the murder, according to multiple media reports.
The tragic violence unfolded on June 1 at around 7 p.m. on Dorsey Drive in a San Antonio, Texas neighborhood.
At the scene, local police found the 59-year-old actor near the roadway.
“The officers attempted life-saving measures until EMS arrived. EMS pronounced the victim deceased,” police said in a statement.
Joss’ former neighbor, 56-year-old Sigfredo Alavarez Ceja, was detained at the crime scene, with police later saying in their report that the man “immediately told them, ‘I shot him,’” the Daily Beast reported.
The police report, which was obtained by People, also detailed the timeline leading up to the deadly violence, saying that a woman had given Joss and his husband a ride to their former residence to pick up some mail.
Ceja reportedly approached the couple after they arrived, parking his vehicle “directly behind” the woman’s and began arguing with the victim.
In a June 2 post to Facebook, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, the actor’s husband, claimed the violence was homophobia-related and that police had ignored earlier reports of threats against them.
“My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. 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,” Gonzales 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. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.”
Gonzales said that while getting their mail, the couple saw the skull and harness of one of their three dogs, all of whom died in the January fire that arson investigators are still looking into.
It was while they were both overcome with grief at the site that he says Ceja began yelling “homophobic slurs” at the pair before raising a gun and firing at them.
“Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. When the man fired, Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life,” Gonzales wrote. “He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other.”
Initial statements from police claimed there was no evidence linking Joss’ sexual orientation to his murder. But San Antonio Police Chief William McManus walked back that assertion Thursday, calling the earlier statement “premature.” He confirmed that investigators are now considering whether homophobia played a role.
Tributes have poured in since the actor’s death. “King of the Hill” creators Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, and Saladin Patterson said in a statement, “His voice will be missed… and we extend our deepest condolences to Jonathan’s friends and family.”
In addition to “King of the Hill,” Joss appeared in “Parks and Recreation,” “Ray Donovan,” “Tulsa King,” and “The Magnificent Seven.”
