Police are investigating the tragic murder of Jonathan Joss, known for his role in King of The Hill, and have issued an apology for their initial dismissal of the possibility that it was a hate crime.

Joss, 59, was shot and killed in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday after a reported altercation with his neighbor Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja outside his home.

Ceja was captured by law enforcement and has been booked on suspicion of murder. He was released on $200k bail this week.

Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, refuted the police’s claim and asserted that the attack which resulted in the loss of his spouse’s life was driven by homophobia. The San Antonio Police Department had promptly dismissed this assertion, but later Chief William McManus acknowledged during a press conference that their initial conclusion was premature.

This turn of events occurred during a press briefing on Thursday, where Chief McManus acknowledged that the statement denying the hate crime possibility was released hastily and without thorough investigation.

He said: ‘We shouldn’t have done that, it was way too early to make a statement of that nature, we didn’t have information to make that statement.

‘We understand the LGBTQ+ community are feeling anxious and concerned, a lot of it has to do with that statement, we’re sorry.’

‘The loss of Jonathan Joss was tragic and felt by the LGBTQ+ community, there’s also a concern around circumstances surrounding that death and the history leading up to that.’

The previous statement from a San Antonio PD spokesman had read: ‘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.’

Chief McManus addressed the question of why Ceja had not been charged with a hate crime, saying: ‘In Texas hate crimes are not separate charges, instead they are addressed through sentencing enhancements.’

‘We don’t charge with hate crimes, we gather the facts and give those facts to the DA’s office.

‘A hate crime would be determined at sentencing.

‘We’re committed to delivering a thorough and complete investigation to file with the DA.’

Referring to a fire that destroyed Joss’ home in January of this year, he added: ‘We’re also working closely with arson investigators to understand the fire in this case

‘The investigation is still active.

‘We’ve also seen concerns about the volume of calls to Jonathan Joss’ residence. 70 calls over 2 years involving neighbor disturbances

‘Sometimes he was the caller and other times not.’

He confirmed mental health services had made ‘repeated efforts to mediate conflicts’ and ‘connect Joss with services he needed.’

Chief McManus ended with a message to the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month, saying: ‘Please know your safety and trust matter to us deeply.’

New details about the run-up to the violent crime recently emerged via a police report, with a unnamed witness stating they drove Joss from Austin to his burned down San Antonio home around 7pm on June 1 to check his mail.

The witness said she pulled up and parked in the driveway while she waited for Joss and another witness to check the mail. Joss’ husband Gonzales has claimed he was with the actor on this trip and during the murder.

Per the report, she said she saw suspect Ceja pull up in his vehicle with a passenger and stop ‘directly behind her car.’

She allegedly saw Joss and Ceja argue in her rear view mirror, and claimed Ceja told Joss ‘he had a gun and would shoot [Joss].’  She claims Ceja then shot Joss.

Per the report, Joss was pronounced dead at the scene at 7.20pm and Ceja was detained by police and ‘immediately told them “I shot him”. His weapons were seized.

The report states that ‘[Ceja] intentionally and knowingly discharged a weapon at [Joss] resulting in his death

Last Saturday, Joss — who boasts 9K social media followers — shared a video of himself in good spirits, urging fans to visit him at Tribe Comics and Games in Austin, TX for a signing.

Jonathan also voiced the character Healing in Paul McComas and Holly Trasti’s animated drama Unplugged alongside the late Louis Gossett Jr., the late Ed Asner, Christina Ricci and Jeri Ryan.

But Joss is best known for voicing musician and healer John Redcorn, who embarked on a 14-year-long affair with anchorwoman Nancy Hicks-Gribble (Ashley Gardner), on the Fox animated sitcom from seasons 2–13.

Last Friday, the charismatic actor of Native descent crashed the King of the Hill reunion at ATX TV Festival in Austin and with co-creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels as well as actors Pamela Adlon, Lauren Tom and Toby Huss.

On January 23, Jonathan suffered the loss of his three beloved dogs when his childhood home, that his father built in 1957, burned to the ground.

Joss also lost his car in the blaze, but the GoFundMe organized by Logan Kostroun successfully raised $10,721 from a $15K goal.

But neighbors told TMZ on Monday that his house burned down because he attempted to use a BBQ pit to heat it after the city allegedly ‘shut off his power when the property was deemed unsafe and uninhabitable.’

Gonzales — whom he wed on Valentine’s Day — claimed he was murdered after they were ‘harassed’ for two years by ‘openly homophobic’ individuals who ‘did not accept our relationship.’

‘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,’ the South Carolina native recalled on Facebook.

‘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.’

He continued, ‘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.’

Tristan added, ‘My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together.’

Jonathan is also remembered for his role as Chief Ken Hotate in five episodes of NBC’s mockumentary sitcom Parks and Recreation spanning 2011–2015.

Joss had small roles in TV shows like Walker Texas Ranger, Charmed, ER, Ray Donovan and Tulsa King.

He also acted in films like True Grit, The Magnificent Seven, Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World and Johnson Family Vacation.

Fans have since taken to social media to mourn over the loss of Joss and also expressed their condolences. 

One penned on X, ‘Such a tremendous loss. His talent and spirit will be deeply missed,’ and another wrote, ‘Rest in peace. So so sad.’ 

‘Iconic voice, such an awful way to go. RIP,’ a fan shared, while one typed, ‘RIP Jonathan Joss. Voice of one of the best and funniest characters in King of the Hill.’

Another commented, ‘RIP to a legend, I haven’t watched parks and rec for a long time but I had no idea he played the Casino owner…

‘Literally one of the funniest episodes and side characters. What a legend,’ they continued.