Following Jonathan Joss‘ murder, Texas police stated that there is currently no evidence to suggest that the fatal shooting of the 59-year-old voice actor in King of the Hill was motivated by homophobia. The statement comes after his husband claimed that it was a homophobic attack
In a statement on X, the San Antonio Police said: “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.”
“SAPD investigators handle these allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information,” the police department added. It further said that the suspect will be charged if any new evidence emerges.
Joss’s husband issued a statement hours earlier asserting that the shooting over the weekend was clearly motivated by homophobia.
Joss was reportedly shot multiple times following a dispute with a neighbor. According to Variety, the San Antonio Police went to a residence after receiving the reports of gunfire and discovered Joss near the road with gunshot injuries. At the scene, he was declared dead.
Jonathan Joss dead: Police arrest Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja
Later, police arrested Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, 56, who is facing murder charges in connection with Joss’s death.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Joss’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, shared a statement on the actor’s Facebook page asserting that the tragic incident was a homophobic hate crime.
Gonzales and Joss were looking for the mail at the their former residence, which was destroyed by a fire in January.
“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,” Gonzales wrote in a FB post.
According to Gonzales, a man then turned to the two and “started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.”
Gonzales further said that he and Jonathan were not carrying weapons and they 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.”
Gonzales stated that he and Joss were routinely harassed by people who made it evident that they did not approve their relationship. “Much of the harassment was openly homophobic,” he said.
He continued that Joss was murdered by someone who couldn’t bear to see two men loving each other.
Gonzales asserted that he and Joss tied the knot on Valentine’s Day this year and were planning to rebuild the late actor’s childhood house which he lost in the January fire.
