UPDATE: Despite his husband’s claims in a June 2 Facebook post, San Antonio Police released a statement today (Tuesday, June 3) saying they have found nothing to indicate the June 1 shooting that killed actor Jonathan Joss was a hate crime.
As People Magazine reports, a public information officer for the SAPD said, “Our investigation has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation. We take such allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly.”
Jonathan Joss, 59, who the voice of John Redcorn on King of the Hill, was shot to death on Sunday, June 1, at the site of his former home in San Antonio.
Joss was an openly gay man, and his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales, said in a statement today on Joss’ Facebook page that his husband was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime.
Gonzales said that he and Joss had gone to the site of their former home, which “was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire,” to check for mail.
He said that “throughout that time,” he and Joss had been “harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.”
He said they had reported the threats “to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.”
‘He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other. I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved.”
Tristan Kern de Gonzalez, about his husband, actor Jonathan Joss
Gonzales said that when he and Joss returned to the location on Sunday to check the mail, they “discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw.”
That’s when, he said, a man approached, yelling “violent homophobic slurs” at the couple before he “raised a gun from his lap and fired.”
Gonzalez said he and Joss were standing side-by-side when the shooting started, and that his husband pushed him out of the way and saved his life.
A San Antonio Police Department statement said that officers responded to the location around 7 p.m., and found Joss near the street and attempted lifesaving measures. Paramedics pronounced the actor dead when they arrived shortly after.
According to numerous news reports, gunman was identified by investigators as Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 56, a neighbor of the couple when they lived at that location. Alvarez was taken into custody by San Antonio Police officers shortly after the shooting and has been charged with murder. Police, however, have declined to comment on the motive for the shooting.
“Jonathan is my husband,” Gonzales wrote on Facebook. “He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future. He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other.
“I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved,” he added.
Gonzales said that he wants “everyone who supported [Joss], his fans, his friends” to “ know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family.”
He added, “My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together. … Jonathan saved my life. I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built.
Joss also had a recurring role at Chief Ken Hotate in Parks & Recreation and he appeared in other films and shows including Tulsa King, Ray Donovan, True Grit, The Magnificent Seven and more.
— Tammye Nash