Actor Jonathan Joss killed in alleged homophobic attack: Read his husband’s harrowing statement

A star of TV shows King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation was killed after suffering years of homophobic abuse, his husband alleges.

American actor Jonathan Joss has been shot and killed outside his home, in an incident his husband has alleged was a homophobic attack.

Joss, best known for voicing the character John Redcorn in the animated series King of the Hill and for a recurring role on Parks & Recreation, died in a shooting in San Antonio, Texas, Variety reported. He was 59.

TMZ reported that Joss was shot by a neighbour – alleged to be 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, who is now in police custody – after a disagreement.

But Joss’ grieving husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, has now made disturbing allegations about his death in a public statement posted to his late partner’s Facebook account.

Joss voiced Native American character John Redcorn (left) on King of the Hill. Picture: Alamy

He also played Ken Hotate on Parks and Recreation. Picture: NBC

In it, de Gonzales wrote that he and Joss were visiting the site of their former home to check the mail. He said they’d previously received “death threats” and homophobic harassment during their time living at the property, which was lost in a fire in January after “two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire.” Several of the couple’s dogs also perished in the fire.

“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. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw.”

Suspect Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Picture: Bexar County Sheriff

Joss was a prolific character actor with dozens of film and TV credits. Picture: Picture: Alamy

de Gonzales claims that while he and Joss were there, a man approached them, started “yelling violent homophobic slurs,” raised a gun and opened fire.

“Jonathan and I had no weapons. 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.”

But a police spokesman disputed de Gonzales’ allegations in a statement, saying they had found “no evidence” the incident was a homophobic attack/

“Our investigation has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation,” the spokesman said in a statement published by the New York Times.

“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.”

de Gonzales described his late husband as giving him “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.”

Joss, seen here with co-star Amy Poehler, starred in five episodes of Parks and Rec. Picture: Getty Images

He claimed that Joss’ alleged attacker “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.”

Variety reports that Joss was most recently seen in public at a King of the Hill panel discussion in Austin, Texas, on the day before his death, with the show’s creators on stage to discuss the show, which ran for 13 seasons from 1997.

But the outlet reports that Joss was not on stage – instead, he approached a microphone from the audience to express his displeasure at not being invited, and announced that he’d recently lost his home in a fire.

As well as his role on King of the Hill, Joss played the recurring character Chief Ken Hotate on Parks and Recreation and had a lengthy list of television and film credits including Walker,Texas Ranger, Ray Donovan and his most recent role, a 2022 two-episode stint on Tulsa King.