‘King of the Hill’ star Jonathan Joss’ killer laughed, spewed gay slur moments before deadly shooting
By Emily Crane
The husband of slain “King of the Hill” star Jonathan Joss has claimed his killer cackled and spewed a gay slur moments after allegedly shooting the voice actor in the head.
Joss, 59, was gunned down near his San Antonio, Texas, home Sunday night in an attack that his spouse alleges was carried out by a homophobic neighbor.
“Everything was really close range. It was in the head,” Tristan Kern de Gonzales told the Independent of the moment the actor was fatally shot.
“While I’m holding him, [the suspect] has the gun pointed over me, and he’s laughing, saying, ‘Oh, you love him? Joto,'” de Gonzales alleged.
Jonathan Joss and his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, in an undated photo posted to Facebook.
Facebook/Tristan Kern de Gonzales
“‘Joto’ is Spanish for f—t. I never knew the word until I came to Texas, and then I heard it a lot.”
The suspect, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 56, was arrested a block away and has since been charged with murder.
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Cops, however, said the initial probe had found “no evidence” that indicated Joss was killed due 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,” San Antonio police said in a statement.
Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez was arrested and charged with the murder of Jonathan Joss on June 2, 2025.
Getty Images
It comes after the husband claimed the alleged killer had approached the pair after they stopped by to check the mail at Joss’ home, which had been heavily damaged during a January fire that claimed the lives of their three dogs.
The husband said the couple had just found the bones of their dead pet dog displayed on the property — causing them both “severe emotional distress.”
Jonathan Joss voiced John Redcorn in “King of the Hill.”
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw,” de Gonzales said in a social media post.
“While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.”
The husband said the couple had just found the bones of their dead pet dog displayed on the property -- causing them both "severe emotional distress."
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The husband said the couple had just found the bones of their dead pet dog displayed on the property — causing them both “severe emotional distress.”
Facebook/Tristan Kern de Gonzales
A memorial for Joss is set up in San Antonio on June 3, 2025.
AP
Joss — best known for voicing John Redcorn on the bawdy cartoon comedy — was struck by the gunfire and killed.
“He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other,” Joss’ husband said.
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