Jonathan Joss, 'King of the Hill' voice actor, killed in San Antonio shooting
Jonathan Joss, the voice actor best known as John Redcorn from "King of the Hill," was killed in a San Antonio, Texas, shooting on Sunday, according to police.
A suspect, 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, was taken into custody and booked for murder, the San Antonio Police Department said in a statement to NBC News.
Officers were dispatched to Dorsey Drive around 7 p.m. Saturday night for a shooting in progress and arrived to find the actor, full name Jonathan Joss Gonzales, near the roadway after he was shot, police said.
Authorities attempted life saving measures until EMS arrived and pronounced Joss, 59, deceased.
Joss was the voice actor for John Redcorn in the hit Fox animated series "King of the Hill," replacing the late Victor Aaron, who was the original voice. He also played Ken Hotate in "Parks in Recreation" and had roles in "Tulsa King" and the 2016 remake of "The Magnificent Seven."
His most recent acting credit was in 2023 for voicing a character in the "Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty" video game.
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The ATX panel was meant to celebrate the show's new reboot, debuting August 4 on Hulu, with creators Mike Judge (who voices Hank Hill and Boomhauer) and Greg Daniels joined by three voice actors - Pamela Adlon (Bobby Hill), Toby Huss (Dale Gribble) and Lauren Tom (Connie). Variety's Michael Schneider moderated the panel, revealing it was supposed to be a 'small gathering,' which is why Joss wasn't invited to be on the panel. Schneider added that Joss was, 'quite miffed' about his exclusion from the panel, and took matters into his own hands, leaving his seat in the audience and approaching the microphones set up for the audience Q&A, but they were not yet turned on. When Toby Huss was speaking about writer and voice actor Johnny Hardwick, the original voice of Dale Gribble before Huss replaced him, Joss walked to the mic, as Daniels gave him an impromptu introduction as the voice of John Redcorn to the crowd. 'You were talking about Johnny, and I want to say something about him. This young man said I couldn't stand over there. I guess he didn't know that my land's already gone. He said the mic wasn't going to be used. And I'm an actor. I see a mic, I use it. I see a wrong, I make it right. I want to breathe,' Joss said. He added, 'Our house burned down three months ago,' as Schneider recalled someone in the audience yelled out, 'Dammit Bobby!' before Joss added that his house burned down, 'Because I'm gay.' Schneider added that the panel was 'frozen' and the audience let out a nervous laugh. One panelist said 'Uh,' as Joss responded, 'What? You're doing the same thing, sir. The mind's full of emotion. And real.' He then finally spoke about Johnny Hardwick, stating, 'Johnny, he gave you guys a character, because he is that character. He is that person.' Judge re-introduced Joss as the voice of John Redcorn, at which point Joss walked away from the microphone and past the stage, of his own accord, with Schneider mentioning he wasn't escorted away by security. After the panel backstage, Schneider revealed the panelists all agreed it was the 'right thing' to let him speak and not involve security, though the audience Q&A was skipped after Joss' interruption. He called the interruption, 'jarring,' with Schneider debunking reports that he was upset because he wasn't in Season 14 (he was upset because he wasn't on the panel) and insisted security didn't stop him from speaking, like others have suggested. The panel occurred just two days before Joss was shot and killed following a reported altercation with his neighbor Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja outside his home. Ceja was captured by law enforcement and has been booked on suspicion of murder. He was released on $200k bail this week. Police investigating the senseless murder have now apologized for a previous statement denying his killing was a hate crime. Joss' husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales claimed the shooting that claimed his spouse's life was carried out as part of a homophobia hate-fueled attack - although the San Antonio Police Department later issued a statement dismissing this theory. In a press conference Thursday, San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus walked back the statement and said it had been issued 'way too prematurely.' He said: 'We shouldn't have done that, it was way too early to make a statement of that nature, we didn't have information to make that statement. 'We understand the LGBTQ+ community are feeling anxious and concerned, a lot of it has to do with that statement, we're sorry.' 'The loss of Jonathan Joss was tragic and felt by the LGBTQ+ community, there's also a concern around circumstances surrounding that death and the history leading up to that.' The previous statement from a San Antonio PD spokesman had read: 'Despite online claims of this being a hate crime, currently the investigation has found no evidence to indicate that Mr. Joss's murder was related to his sexual orientation.' Chief McManus addressed the question of why Ceja had not been charged with a hate crime, saying: 'In Texas hate crimes are not separate charges, instead they are addressed through sentencing enhancements. 'We don't charge with hate crimes, we gather the facts and give those facts to the DA's office. 'A hate crime would be determined at sentencing. 'We're committed to delivering a thorough and complete investigation to file with the DA.' Referring to a fire that destroyed Joss' home in January of this year, he added: 'We're also working closely with arson investigators to understand the fire in this case 'The investigation is still active. 'We've also seen concerns about the volume of calls to Jonathan Joss' residence. 70 calls over 2 years involving neighbor disturbances 'Sometimes he was the caller and other times not.' He confirmed mental health services had made 'repeated efforts to mediate conflicts' and 'connect Joss with services he needed.' Chief McManus ended with a message to the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month, saying: 'Please know your safety and trust matter to us deeply.' New details about the run-up to the violent crime also emerged via a police report obtained by with an unnamed witness stating they drove Joss from Austin to his burned down San Antonio home around 7pm on June 1 to check his mail. The witness said she pulled up and parked in the driveway while she waited for Joss and another witness to check the mail. Joss' husband Gonzales has claimed he was with the actor on this trip and during the murder. Per the report, she said she saw suspect Ceja pull up in his vehicle with a passenger and stop 'directly behind her car.' She allegedly saw Joss and Ceja argue in her rear view mirror, and claimed Ceja told Joss 'he had a gun and would shoot [Joss].' She claims Ceja then shot Joss. Per the report, Joss was pronounced dead at the scene at 7.20pm and Ceja was detained by police and 'immediately told them "I shot him". His weapons were seized. The report states that '[Ceja] intentionally and knowingly discharged a weapon at [Joss] resulting in his death.' Joss already had a rough year, with his San Antonio house burning down in January, losing his home and two of his three dogs, with the final pooch still missing. He told KSAT in January that he was having issues with the electricity, and he was using a propane heater to keep the house warm, though he hinted that maybe, 'somebody may have come in and did something, who knows.' Joss also lost his car in the blaze, but the GoFundMe organized by Logan Kostroun successfully raised $10,721 from a $15K goal. But neighbors told TMZ on Monday that his house burned down because he attempted to use a BBQ pit to heat it after the city allegedly 'shut off his power when the property was deemed unsafe and uninhabitable.' Gonzales — whom he wed on Valentine's Day — claimed he was murdered after they were 'harassed' for two years by 'openly homophobic' individuals who 'did not accept our relationship. 'When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress,' the South Carolina native recalled on Facebook. '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. Jonathan and I had no weapons.' He continued, '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.' Tristan added, 'My focus now is on protecting Jonathan's legacy and honoring the life we built together.''
