‘King of the Hill' actor Jonathan Joss' suspected killer admitted ‘I shot him' before arrest
Jonathan Joss' suspected killer admitted to the crime, per the police report obtained by The Post.
The 'King of the Hill' voice actor, who played John Redcorn in the Fox animated series, was shot dead on Sunday, June 1, after a heated argument, with his alleged shooter fleeing the scene.
The suspect, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, 56, was arrested blocks away from the murder and told law enforcement, 'I shot him,' per the report, which also stated that a rifle was the weapon that was used in the fatal shooting.
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9 Jonathan Joss was featured on 'King of the Hill' and 'Parks and Recreation.'
NBC
Police alleged the incident started around 7 p.m. after a female drove the actor from Austin to his old home in San Antonio, which burned down in February, with another passenger 'to check on his mail.'
The woman told law enforcement that 'she pulled in the driveway and parked her car,' which is where she waited for Joss and the other unidentified passenger for roughly five minutes.
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The female witness claimed Alvarez Ceja 'pulled up in his vehicle and stop[ed] directly behind her car.' She said she witnessed Joss and the man 'argue' from her rearview mirror.
Alvarez Ceja allegedly told Joss that he had a gun and threatened to shoot him before 'intentionally and knowingly' discharging the weapon, resulting in the actor's death, per the police report.
Alvarez Ceja has since been charged with first-degree murder. He is being held on a $200K bond.
9 The actor's alleged killer was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
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9 The Post obtained the police report, which revealed a rifle was used in the fatal shooting.
Facebook/Jonathan Joss
9 Jonathan Joss' suspected killer told cops, 'I shot him,' according to the police report.
Facebook/Dale Bracey
While the rifle was the only weapon listed on the police report, the responding officer noted that the suspect's 'weapons were seized' before he was taken into custody.
Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, broke his silence following the tragedy.
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He claimed he was with Joss at the time of the shooting and alleged the pair were set off after discovering their beloved dog's remains in the rubble.
9 Jonathan Joss' husband claimed the incident was a hate crime; however, cops denied the allegation.
Facebook/Tristan Kern de Gonzales
9 His husband released a lengthy statement claiming he witnessed the murder and was there when Jonathan Joss passed away.
Jonathan Joss Facebook
Joss' husband, whom he tied the knot with earlier this year, also claimed that the fatal shooting was a hate crime — but police denied that accusation.
Joss was last seen in public two days before his death when he was reportedly escorted out of a theater during a 'King of the Hill' at the ATX TV Festival.
The star addressed the panel, which included the animated series' co-creators, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.
9 The actor's 'Park and Recreation' cast were 'texting' about his murder 'all day.'
NBC
9 Jonathan Joss was only 59 years old.
Facebook/Tristan Kern de Gonzales
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After one of the creators introduced him to the audience, informing them that he voiced John Redcorn and was returning for the revival, Joss began walking toward the stage and across the front row to his seat, which is when security allegedly approached him.
'As Joss moved away from the mic to go back to his seat, that's when security told him he had to leave and he exited the theater calmly and cooperatively,' the onlooker told People.
While he's best known for his 'King of the Hill' voiceover work, Joss also appeared as Chief Ken Hotate in 'Parks and Recreation' alongside Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aubrey Plaza and Adam Scott.
9 The actor was allegedly escorted out of a TV festival during a 'King of the Hill' panel just days before his death.
NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
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On Monday, Offerman revealed the 'Parks and Recreation' cast had been 'texting' about Joss' murder 'all day,' adding that they are 'heartbroken' over the tragedy.
Pratt also paid tribute to his late co-star.
'Damn. RIP Jonathan,' the actor wrote on his Instagram story. 'Always such a kind dude.'
'He played Ken Hotate in Parks and was also in [The Magnificent Seven],' Pratt added. 'Sad to see. Prayers up. Hug your loved ones.'
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I would never light my dogs on fire.'" - YouTube Just two days before his death, Joss interrupted a King of the Hill reunion panel by claiming the fire that destroyed his house was a deliberate act of arson against him because of his sexual orientation. Joss was not invited to the panel, which was meant to be a small gathering of he main cast, but attended in the audience. When one of the actors said of Joss, "We love our guy, Johnny, and so sad he's not here," he revealed himself in the crowd and took a microphone meant for fan questions. 'You were talking about Johnny, and I want to say something about him,' the panel moderator from Variety recalled him saying. 'Our house burnt down three months ago. Because I'm gay." Joss explained the moment on Bwaaa!, saying that he did not initially intend to interrupt the panel but spoke up in the heat of the moment. "The worst thing about not existing in the world is someone ignoring you when they have taken from your culture," he said. Jonathan Joss Kern de Gonzales revealed in a Facebook post that he and Joss were "involved in a shooting" when they returned to the site of their former home to check the mail. He claimed that the fire and the shooting occurred "after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire" and that despite reporting the threats to law enforcement multiple times, "nothing was done." "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," Kern de Gonzales wrote. "This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw. 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. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving," he continued. "We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life." - YouTube Kern de Gonzales later told NBC that he and Joss, after seeing their dead dog's skull placed in front of their burnt down home, believed it to be a message from their neighbors taunting them. In anger, Joss began shouting and walking back and forth in the street with a pitchfork. One neighbor shared a video with KSAT that shows Joss walking with the pitchfork and yelling about half an hour before his death. 'I knew something was going to happen. I wanted to call the police, but he hadn't done anything," she said. Kern de Gonzales said the suspect pulled up in his car several minutes after Joss had returned to his side. Kern de Gonzales said the man called him and his husband "jotos," a Spanish slur for gay people, before shooting Joss. 'I could give two fucks less if me or my husband had 50 pitchforks in every orifice of our body rolling up and down that street like tumbleweed," Kern de Gonzales said. "It don't matter." Bexar County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez's mug shot Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 56, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with Joss's killing, telling officers as he was being detained "I shot him," according to the police report. The two neighbors had reportedly been feuding for over a year, with law enforcement frequently being called to Joss's residence to settle their disputes. Alvarez told police in June 2024 that Joss approached his house with a crossbow while calling him racial slurs, though Joss claimed that he walked over to "talk about their dogs fighting with each other." Upon searching Joss's house, officers found a crossbow and confiscated it. Joss accused Alvarez of being the one who burned his home down in January, according to a separate police report via NBC. The officer taking the report wrote, "I have classified this fire to be undetermined in nature at this time but cannot rule out human involvement intentional or unintentional." Alvarez posted his $200,000 bond Monday night, a Bexar County court spokesperson told Yahoo News. He is now under house arrest, during which he is subject to random drug testing and is not allowed to access firearms. NBC Jonathan Joss Multiple neighbors have said that Joss often spoke loudly and behaved erratically but that no violent confrontations had occurred until he was shot. One woman said that Joss and Alvarez would often fire guns on their own property, but never at each other. 'I've been here six years and when we moved in, it was already going on, so it's just been years of feud with these two,' she told the New York Post. 'I'm not taking nobody's side because I do have reports on both of them, but nothing got done. This man should be alive today, but nothing got done.' The neighbor who took the video of Joss with the pitchfork also said that he "was always yelling at the top of his lungs." She explained, "He would say that all the children on this street were going to die, and that we were all going to go to hell because we're sinners and God is on his side.' Another neighbor told San Antonio TV station WOAI that she had seen Joss outside minutes before his death and that he seemed upset about something. She said that he and his husband "had been repeatedly harassed because they were gay and their home was burned down after years of threats from neighbors." The San Antonio Police Department released a statement shortly after Joss's death claiming it had uncovered "no evidence" to suggest that the killing was a hate crime, which his husband's statement contested. The department later retracted its comments. Police Chief William McManus walked back the statement at a press conference Thursday while also apologizing to the LGBTQ+ community for dismissing their concerns, saying "it was way too early in the process for any statement of that nature to be issued." "We understand that many in the LBGTQ+ [sic] community are feeling anxious and concerned," McManus said. "A lot of that has to do with that premature statement that we released, and again, I own that. We shouldn't have done it. The loss of Jonathan Joss was tragic and most heavily felt by the LBGTQ+ [sic] community." McManus also clarified that the police department doesn't charge hate crimes in Texas. Instead, police "gather the facts and we give those facts to the district attorney's office; then that hate-crime designation is determined at sentencing." Kern de Gonzales had asserted in his Facebook post that throughout their time living at Joss's family home as a couple, they "were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic." "He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other," he said. Screenshot from @prattprattpratt on Instagram Chris Pratt tribute to Jonathan Joss Several of Joss's colleagues from King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation have posted messages mourning the actor. The official social media accounts for the shows have also posted tributes. King of the Hill creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels and current showrunner Saladin Patterson released a statement on the show's Instagram page saying that "his voice will be missed at King of the Hill, and we extend our deepest condolences to Jonathan's friends and family." Toby Huss, who voiced Kahn Souphanousinphone and Cotton Hill on King of the Hill, wrote on Instagram Story in reaction to the news,"RIP old friend. Godspeed." Chris Pratt, who played Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation, also posted a message to his story, which read, "Damn. RIP Jonathan. Always such a kind dude. He played Ken Hotate in Parks and was also in Mag 7 [The Magnificent Seven]. Sad to see. Prayers up. Hug your loved ones." Nick Offerman, who played Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, told People that the cast had been texting about the news and were all "heartbroken." He added,"Jonathan was such a sweet guy and we loved having him as our Chief Ken Hotate. A terrible tragedy."
