San Antonio police: No evidence that ‘King of the Hill' actor Jonathan Joss' fatal shooting was a ‘hate crime'
A day after actor Jonathan Joss was shot and killed in San Antonio, his husband posted a statement Monday on Joss' Facebook page, saying the shooting was spurred by homophobia.
Hours later, the San Antonio police department posted on X, writing, '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.'
An investigation remains ongoing.
Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, had accused the suspect, identified by police as 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, of directing homophobic slurs toward him and Joss before the shooting on Sunday night.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
'He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other,' Gonzales wrote.
Ceja was taken into police custody and charged with murder, according to officials. His bond was set for $200,000, per KENS 5.
Reports have also emerged of a long-standing feud between Joss and Ceja.
The two were former neighbors and used to shoot toward each others' property, KENS 5 reported.
Neighbors told the station the feud compromised their safety and that law enforcement was not responsive to complaints.
San Antonio police said a unit had been mediating the dispute, according to KENS 5.
Joss had returned to his former address on Sunday to check his mail, KENS 5 reported. His house burned down earlier this year.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Joss appeared in 'Parks and Recreation' as well as 'Tulsa King,' but he was perhaps best known for his role voicing John Redcorn in King of the Hill.
The animated sitcom has a reboot that premieres Aug. 4 on Hulu. Joss had lines recorded for the upcoming season, Variety reported.
In a Monday statement to People magazine, 'Parks and Recreation' actor Nick Offerman said the show's cast was 'heartbroken' over Joss' death.
'Jonathan was such a sweet guy and we loved having him as our Chief Ken Hotate. A terrible tragedy.'
________
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Stepfather of missing N.S. kids reportedly says mother's grief worsening due to online speculation
Daniel Martell, the stepfather of missing Nova Scotia children, four-year-old Jack and six-year-old Lilly Sullivan, says their mother's grief is worsening due to online speculation about the case, according to CTV News. Despite a methodical search over the last weekend, 'searchers haven't uncovered anything of significance to the investigation,' Corp. Guillaume Tremblay told National Post on Thursday. 'Any future searches will be determined based on the course of the investigation. RCMP officers from various teams are fully engaged in finding out what happened to Lilly and Jack and we're using all tools and resources to determine the circumstances of their disappearance,' he said. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The children were reported missing more than a month ago from their rural home in Pictou County, where they lived with Martell, their mother Malehya Brooks-Murray, and the couple's baby, Meadow. Even with ongoing searches and following up on 355 tips as of late May , authorities still have not found any concrete leads. The lack of evidence has led many people on social media to come up with conspiracy theories about how the children disappeared, which the stepfather says is making the situation worse. 'It doesn't get any easier. One month has passed,' Martell told CTV News . 'Don't attack Maleyha because her mental health is going to be reflected on our daughter, so I don't want anyone attacking Maleyha anymore.' Martell, who attended a vigil for the children held on June 2, said Brooks-Murray's grief was overwhelming and was made worse by speculation. The vigil was held in Stellarton, a town in Pictou County. A video of the solemn event posted on Facebook showed Martell lighting two paper lanterns and letting them float off into the sky. Candlelight vigil for Lilly and Jack Sullivan ❤️💙 'Let truth be revealed, let justice prevail, and let every child be returned safely to the earth and never stop loving them,' said Brenda MacPhee, who helped organize the vigil, Global News reported . Meanwhile, volunteer organization Halifax Search and Rescue said that scammers may be impersonating the group on fundraising site, GoFundMe. The fake campaign said it has a goal of reaching $100,000 to buy a drone to help with the search for the Sullivan siblings. However, Halifax Search and Rescue director Paul Service said his group doesn't normally request donations through GoFundMe and doesn't base its campaigns on particular searches. Service says a representative from GoFundMe contacted him to say it was taking down the site and investigating after the campaign was reported on CBC. He says that it is disheartening for his group to have to cope with scams, as it may discourage the public from donating to his group's legitimate fundraising efforts. The children were last seen in public with family on the afternoon of May 1, the day before they went missing. After ongoing searches, authorities decided to scale back in early May to focus on specific locations. They said teams of searchers had been struggling to get through thick wooded areas, some with damage leftover from Hurricane Fiona. However, they said the investigation would continue. On May 31, a search and rescue team on the ground combed through an area around Gairloch Rd., Lansdowne Station, where the children's home is located. They also searched through the nearby pipeline trail, where a boot print was previously discovered, the Nova Scotia RCMP said in a news release . The search continued on June 1 in a similar location near the home, the RCMP said in another news release . Searchers once again looked at the area where a boot print had been found and conducted a grid search of 8.5 square kilometres. Search and rescue volunteers have dedicated 'more than 10,000 hours of their time, searching in very challenging conditions' to try to find the Sullivan children, the RCMP said. With additional reporting by The Canadian Press Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
an hour ago
- Edmonton Journal
Stepfather of missing N.S. kids reportedly says mother's grief worsening due to online speculation
Article content 'Any future searches will be determined based on the course of the investigation. RCMP officers from various teams are fully engaged in finding out what happened to Lilly and Jack and we're using all tools and resources to determine the circumstances of their disappearance,' he said. The children were reported missing more than a month ago from their rural home in Pictou County, where they lived with Martell, their mother Malehya Brooks-Murray, and the couple's baby, Meadow. Even with ongoing searches and following up on 355 tips as of late May, authorities still have not found any concrete leads. The lack of evidence has led many people on social media to come up with conspiracy theories about how the children disappeared, which the stepfather says is making the situation worse. 'It doesn't get any easier. One month has passed,' Martell told CTV News. 'Don't attack Maleyha because her mental health is going to be reflected on our daughter, so I don't want anyone attacking Maleyha anymore.' Martell, who attended a vigil for the children held on June 2, said Brooks-Murray's grief was overwhelming and was made worse by speculation. The vigil was held in Stellarton, a town in Pictou County. A video of the solemn event posted on Facebook showed Martell lighting two paper lanterns and letting them float off into the sky.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
$109M lawsuit accuses Meta of using Eminem's songs without permission
Rapper Eminem's music publishing company, Eight Mile Style, is suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, for allegedly distributing hundreds of his songs without permission. His organization filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg's tech conglomerate on Friday, citing the unauthorized use of over 243 songs owned by the rapper. According to the lawsuit, Meta failed to secure the necessary licensing to store, distribute and reproduce music from Eight Mile Style's catalogue. View image in full screen Eminem performs during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images 'Defendants had no license to store, reproduce, or distribute the infringed works, but have nonetheless created and stored copies of the Infringed Works on their servers, have encouraged their use, and distributed those copies to their billions of users and the general global public,' it says. Story continues below advertisement Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Meta users have been able to attach 243 songs owned by Eight Mile Style to their posts, arguing that it knowingly permitted their use without a licence, and is therefore guilty of contributory copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement and inducement to commit copyright infringement. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'This case involves Meta's knowing infringement of the Eight Mile Compositions by first reproducing and storing them in Meta's online Music Libraries, and then distributing them for users to select and incorporate (or 'synchronize') into their own photos and videos made available for public streaming on the users' WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram,' the lawsuit states. According to CBS, in 2020, Meta finalized a licence agreement with digital music royalty collection firm Audiam. It failed to obtain an Eight Mile Style licence under the Audiam licence. According to the lawsuit, Eight Mile Style had previously contacted Meta regarding the alleged copyright infringement, which has since wiped 'several of the Eight Mile compositions from its music libraries,' including hit song Lose Yourself from its library. Story continues below advertisement A karaoke version of the song, titled Lose Yourself (In the Style of Eminem), a piano instrumental cover titled Lose Yourself Piano Version and a regular cover version by an artist named URock 'all remain available as of the date of this complaint,' the filing says. Eight Mile Style is asking for US$150,000 per song used without permission across each platform where the songs were made available by Meta, '$150,000 per work, times 243 works, times 3 platforms,' the lawsuit states, and a court order prohibiting the company from using its music. The grand total amount being sought is approximately $109 million USD. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, is not a named plaintiff. In response to the filing, Meta released a statement saying: 'Meta has licenses with thousands of partners around the world and an extensive global licensing program for music on its platforms. Meta had been negotiating in good faith with Eight Mile Style, but rather than continue those discussions, Eight Mile Style chose to sue.'
