The man accused of shooting and killing King of the Hill actor Jonathan Joss in June has been indicted for murder.
On Monday, a grand jury indicted Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 57, on one count of murder, according to Bexar County court records (via People). Alvarez was arrested in June on a charge of first-degree murder. He was subsequently released on a $200,000 bond.
Joss was shot and killed after a dispute near his San Antonio, Texas home on June 1. Following Joss’ death, the actor’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, said on social media that the couple was approached by the neighbor who began yelling homophobic slurs and fired his gun. “Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone,” Kern de Gonzales wrote. “We were standing side by side. When the man fired, Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.”
After the shooting, Alvarez fled the scene in a vehicle, but later confessed to killing Joss when he was detained by police. According to the police report, Ceja Alvarez told the first officers to arrive, “I shot him.”
In his post, Kern de Gonzales noted that the couple’s sexuality was often an issue with locals. “We were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship,” he wrote. “Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.” At the time of Joss’ death, they were living in hotels after a fire burned down Joss’ longtime home.
In a statement to Rolling Stone earlier this year, the San Antonio Police Department’s Public Information Office defended its response to the many threats against the couple. “SAPD officers responded to more than 70 calls for service at Joss’ address,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. “Additionally, the [San Antonio Fear Free Environment] officer assigned to the neighborhood maintained regular contact with both Joss and his neighbors for over a year. The SAPD Mental Health Unit was also engaged and provided additional resources and support.”
Ceja Alvarez initially claimed self defense and denied allegations of homophobia, and one of his relatives told the San Antonio Express-News that no one in the family had made homophobic comments to Joss. His lawyer told KSAT on June 24 that the shooting had “nothing to do with sexual orientation” and that “people in Texas have a right not to be a victim.”
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Joss, whose legal name was Jonathan Joss Gonzales, was known for his voice acting in all 13 seasons of King of the Hill, which ended in 2010. He also appeared in five episodes of the NBC hit Parks and Recreation as Chief Ken Hotate, a Native American tribal elder, as well as in films like True Grit and The Magnificent Seven.
Following news of his death, King of the Hill’s co-creators, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, and revival showrunner Saladin Patterson shared a post on Instagram alongside images of Joss and his character, John Redcorn. “Jonathan brought King of the Hill’s ‘John Redcorn’ to life for over a dozen seasons, including in the upcoming revival,” they wrote. “His voice will be missed at King of the Hill, and we extend our deepest condolences to Jonathan’s friends and family.”
From Rolling Stone US
