Fatal shooting of Jonathan Joss uncovers neighborhood feud, sparks police controversy
The Brief
Jonathan Joss, voice actor for John Redcorn on King of the Hill, was fatally shot outside his San Antonio home.
A neighbor has been arrested and charged with murder, but police are facing scrutiny for initially dismissing the possibility of a hate crime.
Investigators are now probing a long-standing neighborhood feud and a prior house fire involving Joss, to determine if they are connected to his murder.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Hollywood actor was shot and killed outside his San Antonio home last weekend.
The San Antonio Police Department did make an arrest in the case, but they've also stepped right into a PR scandal.
Perhaps best known as the voice behind John Redcorn on the hit TV show King of the Hill, actor Jonathan Joss was fatally gunned down outside his home, at the age of 69 on Sunday.
Almost immediately, police arrested a neighbor, 56-year-old Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, and charged him with murder.
Investigators never revealed what linked him to the crime, but court records show Alvarez did bond out and is currently on house arrest.
What they're saying
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus initially said there was no reason to believe a hate crime had occurred but has since walked that statement back.
"Shouldn't have done it. It was way too soon before we had any real information and I will own that and simply say again that we simply shouldn't have that," said McManus.
"We understand that many in the LBGTQ Plus community are feeling anxious and concerned. A lot of it has to do with that premature statement that we released, and again, I own that."
The victim's husband told officers that Alvarez yelled homophobic slurs at them, before opening fire.
Dig deeper
Neighbors told police that Alvarez and Joss had a longstanding neighborhood feud over reasons yet to be revealed.
"There's also concern about the circumstances surrounding that death and the history in the neighborhood leading up to that," said McManus.
On Thursday, alliance members held a community meeting with police leaders to dispel some of the rumors and myths that the case has generated.
"We feel it's important to be able to bridge the gap and just get to a truth everybody can understand," said Secretary of PRIDE San Antonio, James Poindexter.
According to detectives, Joss's home burned down several months ago.
Now the big question is, are the fire and the murder connected?
Police are sorting through the extensive logs in their quest for clues.
"There are approximately 70 calls over the past two years involving various neighborhood type disturbances. Sometimes he was the caller. Other times, the neighbors were calling on him," said McManus.
"Our homicide detectives are continuing to pursue every lead in this case to ensure that we understand the full picture of what led up to the senseless murder of Mr. Joss."
What's next
When asked by a reporter at today's news conference whether Joss was targeted because of his sexual orientation, Chief McManus said they're still "looking into that."
The Source
Information in the article is provided by the San Antonio Police Department.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Manhunt expands for Washington dad accused of killing his three daughters
Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson has ordered National Guard resources to assist in the manhunt for a father suspected of killing his three young daughters and leaving their bodies near a campsite in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Authorities have been searching for 32-year-old Travis Caleb Decker since discovering the bodies of his daughters — 5-year-old Olivia, 8-year-old Evelyn and 9-year-old Paityn — near his abandoned pickup truck on Monday. Ferguson said late Friday that the state is providing helicopter transportation for law enforcement officers as they comb through remote areas in their search for Decker. 'As a parent, my heart goes out to Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia's mom, Whitney, and all those who love them,' Ferguson posted on social media. 'The brutal murder of these young children has shocked our state. I'm committed to supporting law enforcement as they seek justice for Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia.' More than 100 officers, agents and deputies are engaged in the search, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said Friday, with more than 500 tips from the public. Whitney Decker had reported the girls missing May 30 after they did not return from a planned visitation with their father. She told police in Wenatchee, where she lived with the girls, that she and Travis Decker had divorced after about seven years of marriage and had an amicable co-parenting relationship following a court-issued custodial parenting plan that allowed him visitations every other weekend, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Washington Post. Whitney Decker told police that she and the girls' father had never had problems with their shared parenting plan but that he was no longer allowed overnight visits after he became homeless and struggled to find stable housing, the affidavit states. Travis Decker was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder toward the end of their marriage, Whitney Decker told investigators, but she believed he was not taking medication. He had also been ordered to seek mental health treatment and anger management counseling as part of the parenting plan, which he had refused to sign, according to the affidavit. Travis Decker had also been struggling financially following two traffic collisions for which he had received a citation, as well as because his wages were being garnished for back child support, the affidavit states. On Monday, a deputy found his white pickup truck in a remote area in Chelan County, the affidavit states, with what appeared to be two bloody handprints on the tailgate. About a hundred yards away were the bodies of the three girls, according to the affidavit, who had plastic bags over their heads and appeared to have had their wrists zip-tied. Family friend Amy Edwards, who organized a GoFundMe that has raised more than $1 million for Whitney Decker, described Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia as 'the kind of children that everyone rooted for, looked forward to seeing and held close in their hearts.' They were well-known and cherished within the community, where they participated in sports, dance and theater and attended the local elementary school, Edwards said in a news conference Thursday. 'Their laughter, curiosity and spirit left a mark on all of us,' Edwards said. Authorities have expanded their search for Travis Decker across multiple counties in central Washington, issuing closure notices for camping areas as well as for a large swath to the north that includes trails and campgrounds along the Pacific Crest Trail. They warned that Decker — who was described as 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes — was former military and had extensive training and should be considered dangerous. He is also 'well versed in wilderness survival and capable of spending days or even weeks in the wilderness on his own and with very little equipment,' said the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, which asked that any cabin owners in the remote areas of Chelan, Kittitas, King, Snohomish and Okanogan counties be on alert and lock their doors, including to sheds and outbuildings. Federal authorities including the FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service are aiding in the search, according to the sheriff's office.
Fox News
23 minutes ago
- Fox News
Fox News AI Newsletter: FDA approves cancer-fighting tech tool
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER: - FDA approves first AI tool to predict breast cancer risk- Kesha changes cover art for 'Delusional' single after fan backlash over AI image- OpenAI to appeal copyright ruling in NY Times case as Altman calls for 'AI privilege' SMARTER SCREENINGS: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first artificial intelligence (AI) tool to predict breast cancer risk. 'WE WILL FIGHT': OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Thursday that the company plans to appeal a court decision in a copyright case brought by The New York Times. NOVA IN ACTION: Flock Safety has released another piece of revolutionary technology aimed at keeping everyday civilians safe from crime. The company's new product, Flock Nova, helps law enforcement with a common but often overlooked problem – a lack of data sharing and access. ROBOT NURSES RISING: The global healthcare system is expected to face a shortage of 4.5 million nurses by 2030, with burnout identified as a leading cause for this deficit. In response, Taiwan's hospitals are taking decisive action by integrating artificial intelligence and robotics to support their staff and maintain high standards of patient care. INNOVATION HUB: Amazon is investing $10 billion to create data centers in North Carolina aimed at expanding its artificial intelligence and cloud computing technology capabilities. 30 AI STOCKS: Investing in the next generation of artificial intelligence winners is getting more comprehensive with the launch of a new exchange-traded fund based on 30 stock picks from one of Wall Street's top analysts. AI ART BACKLASH: Kesha unveiled the new cover artwork for her single "Delusional" after facing backlash from fans for initially using an AI-generated image. OPINION: UAE AMBASSADOR: President Donald Trump's recent visit to the UAE marked a pivotal moment for UAE-U.S. bilateral relations, shining a spotlight on a shared vision for the future. As the UAE and the "New Gulf" pivot from oil to cutting-edge technologies, our partnership with the U.S., rooted in decades of trust, has become a beacon of what's possible when nations collaborate. ROBOT GOES BERSERK: A chilling video circulating on social media has reignited old anxieties about robots turning against their creators. The footage shows a Unitree H1 humanoid robot, a machine about the size of an adult human, suddenly flailing its arms and legs with alarming force during a test, coming dangerously close to two technicians. FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA FacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitterLinkedIn SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS Fox News FirstFox News OpinionFox News LifestyleFox News Health DOWNLOAD OUR APPS Fox NewsFox BusinessFox WeatherFox SportsTubi WATCH FOX NEWS ONLINE STREAM FOX NATION Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox News here.
CNET
28 minutes ago
- CNET
You Probably Hate This Masterpiece Sci-Fi Show. Here's Why You Need to Rewatch It in 2025
You may be thinking, "Really, Macy? You're going to the mat over a show that came out over 20 years ago?" Well, yes. Because it simply isn't given the respect it deserves. Like many Americans, my family and I loved our nights huddled around the TV to watch our favorite TV shows live. For us, that meant American Idol, Dexter and, of course, ABC's network hit, Lost. There's a good chance you watched Lost in the early 2000s, too. And there's an even better chance you think it got bad. Or you have some sort of perspective that it started strong but went off the rails after the first three seasons. Somewhere along the way -- maybe when the flash-sideways began, or when a smoke monster turned into a man, or when you realized there wasn't going to be a clear-cut answer to every mystery -- you bailed. Maybe you saw the finale and thought it ruined the whole show. (More on that later.) I watched Lost when I was a kid, but hadn't revisited it for close to a decade. Until it came to streaming services, first Hulu and now Netflix and Disney Plus. One day, I decided to replay the pilot episode and, well, it transformed me into the person writing this 1,500-word defense. I binged the show and then immediately turned around and binged it again. I'm truly mad at myself for wasting so much time thinking this show was a disappointment. In truth, it's a glorious, ambitious near-masterpiece. It's my favorite show. That's why I'm writing this. I'm here to ask you to do something radical: Rewatch Lost in 2025. Yes, all of it. And this time, go in with fresh eyes -- see it not as a weekly network drama, but as a serialized, character-driven odyssey that, along with The Sopranos and Mad Men, paved the way for the prestige genre TV we obsess over now. Because the truth is, Lost wasn't a failure. It was just ahead of its time. Here's why. It's time to go back to the island for a 2025 rewatch. ABC's Lost Looking for more streaming recommendations? You should also watch my favorite movie, a historical drama packed with modern themes, for free now. No, the ending is not what you think The last thing I want to do is spoil the ending of a show I'm trying to get you to rewatch. But I feel like I need to address this early since one of the main reasons audiences ultimately turned on the show was a misconception about the ending. I'll tell you right now, spoilers be damned. They. Were. Not. All. Dead. The. Whole. Time. The idea that the characters were really all dead the whole series and that the island was just a purgatory-like state is completely untrue. It's been debunked by the creators of the show, the actors who starred in the show and the dialogue in the series finale itself. A twist ending like that -- revealing they had all died in the plane crash right at the start -- would be a horrible one. It would retroactively reduce the entire plot of the show to meaningless, empty nothingness. So, thankfully, that's not how it actually ended. Now, you can just enjoy the show knowing that it all matters. The cinematography of Lost is some of the best ever put to television. ABC's Lost TV in 2004 didn't look like Lost When Lost premiered in 2004, there was nothing like it on network television. A lush, cinematic sci-fi mystery shot on 35mm film, with a massive ensemble cast of mostly unknown actors and an evolving mythology? On ABC, of all places? In the era of CSI, Desperate Housewives, and the dozens of other cop shows and formulaic TV, Lost was a risk. Lost is a sci-fi show (I think a lot of people forget that) with horror and supernatural elements. It's serialized, meaning you must see each episode to understand the next one, unlike so many shows that were airing on network TV at the time. The show follows a group of drastically different people who have just survived a plane crash on a remote, tropical island that seems to harbor deep, dark mysteries. But each survivor has secrets of their own. And they must live together in order to survive. (I can vividly remember hearing protagonist Jack Shepard say, "If we don't learn to live together… we're gonna die alone.") These characters come together with their differences, their pasts (beautifully depicted in flashback scenes), their traumas, their hopes and their desires, to collectively navigate this horrible situation. What unfolds is six seasons of intense, heart-wrenching plot points that subvert expectations and are rich with themes of faith, spirituality, dualism, philosophy and the mystical. It's pretty normal for TV shows now to be cinematic. Shows like The Last of Us, Succession, Stranger Things and Severance all make use of big budgets, high-quality production, engrossing performances and teams of insanely talented writers. But Lost was doing that in 2004 on ABC, which means the showrunners were dealing with the many obstacles and restrictions of network television. For instance, the show's creators -- J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof -- wanted Lost to only be three seasons, but ABC said no, and pushed them to do 10 seasons when they saw what a hit the show had become. They eventually negotiated down to the six seasons we have today. But that's twice the amount of runtime the original creators intended. Despite this, the writers crafted compelling story lines and introduced some of the most intriguing characters (Ben, Juliet, Jacob, Penny, Miles) into the later seasons. It's easy to forget that Lost was doing time jumps, shifting perspectives and emotional bottle episodes long before The Leftovers, Dark or Severance existed. It experimented with structure constantly: a flashback here, a flash-forward there, a time loop in season 5. Entire episodes would focus on side characters you hadn't seen in weeks. It was complicated, sure, but thrillingly so. The show trusted its audience to keep up, even when it was confusing. And yes, that led to frustration at the time, but trust me, it works much better now that Lost is on streaming services. It's a show that really should be binged, so that you can truly appreciate the nuance and hidden details of the writing. The things that made Lost so good at the time are why it hasn't been fully appreciated. It was simply ahead of its time. Small plot seeds would be introduced and then left unvisited for several episodes, making Lost a show that's perfect for binge-watching. ABC's Lost Lost indeed was a risk, but one that paid off in six seasons of wild, genre-bending storytelling and a gut-punch, emotional ending that will land as long as you give it another chance with an open mind. Read also: The 21 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows to Stream on Netflix It holds up in 2025 Part of what makes Lost such a rewarding rewatch in 2025 is that it doesn't feel dated. The series still looks and sounds incredible. Because it was filmed on 35mm, which can be upscaled and remastered. Plus, shot on-location in Hawaii, the series still looks gorgeous. Lost was shot on 35mm film, which means it can be upscaled and still look brand new 20 years later. ABC's Lost The performances of the 14 regularly recurring leads of the cast are absolutely brilliant, too. Even though this was a cast of mostly unknown actors at the time, they all, guest actors included, reached a caliber of performance that is still so rare to witness in a TV series. And the music is absolutely remarkable. Michael Giacchino (The Incredibles, Up, Coco, Inside Out) created what I think is the best TV score of all time for Lost. I mean, he used debris from the crashed plane from the pilot episode to create the unique, bizarre sounds you hear each episode. The score is a perfect fit for a unique storyline. More than anything else, Lost is a show that will make you feel. Lost is a show that is full of emotionally poignant moments. ABC's Lost Is every plotline perfect? No. Do the final seasons get a bit complex? Absolutely. But on balance, Lost is one of the most ambitious, strange, beautiful things ever put on television, and it is emotionally satisfying from start to finish. Lost opened the door for serialized sci-fi and genre storytelling on TV, especially character-first narratives with weird, metaphysical themes. What I'm saying is that without Lost, it's hard to imagine Severance, Stranger Things or other TV sci-fi faves. So if you haven't watched it since 2010 -- or if you've never watched it at all -- now's the time. The entire series is available to stream on Hulu, Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime Video for rent. Skip the Reddit threads. Forget the hot takes. Just hit play. And maybe, just maybe, you'll find that Lost didn't lose its way. We just didn't know how to watch it yet. For more, you can explore the 13 best sci-fi shows on Apple TV Plus and the 18 best sci-fi shows on Prime Video.
