Jonathan Joss’ husband claims King of the Hill actor’s murder was a homophobic hate crime

The news broke yesterday that King of the Hill voice actor Jonathan Joss had been shot dead whilst collecting mail from an old property, and now his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales has released a moving statement where he claims Joss’ murder was a homophobic hate crime. Gonzales survived the shooting, and says Jonathan Joss was responsible for saving his life. Now his husband Gonzales has shared further details of the harrowing events that led to King of the Hill star Jonathan Joss’ death. The news has devastated both fans of the show and the world as a whole.

A content warning that the following statement contains graphic and upsetting details of homophobia.

‘He raised a gun from his hip and fired’

In an emotional post on Jonathan Joss’ Facebook profile, Tristan Kern de Gonzales explained the circumstances that he claims led to Joss getting shot dead outside their former home.

“My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done. Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.

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“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. 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. 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.

Jonathan Joss

“Jonathan is my husband. 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.

“I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved. To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family. My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honouring the life we built together. If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice and being ignored by authorities then you never truly cared about my husband. Jonathan saved my life. I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built.”

Before his death and marriage to his new husband, Jonathan Joss was a Native American actor and voice actor best known for his role as John Redcorn on the long-running animated television series King of the Hill. From 1997 until the show’s end in 2009, Joss brought humour, warmth, and quiet complexity to the character – a Native American healer.

As well as his work in voice acting, Jonathan Joss also starred in the films True Grit and The Magnificent 7.

Texas police have released a statement following Gonzales’ post. “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,” the San Antonio Police Department wrote in a statement on X.

“SAPD investigators handle these allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information,” the department added, “Should any new evidence come to light, the suspect will be charged accordingly.”

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