San Antonio police have retracted their statement, claiming there is no evidence to suggest that Jonathan Joss' fatal shooting was a hate crime.
Joss, best known for vocalizing John Red Corn in the animated comedy King of the Hill, was shot dead outside his San Antonio home on Sunday. His neighbor, 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Seja, was later arrested on murder charges.
Photos from the handout released by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office suspect that Sigfredo Seja Alvarez will take a photo of an appointment in San Antonio on June 2, 2025. He was booked for the murder of Jonathan Joss, the voice actor for the TV show King of the Hill.
Bexar County Sheriff's Office/Getty Images
Police confirmed that the cause of the death was “injured after multiple shootings.”
In a statement the following day, San Antonio police said “despite online claims that this is a hate crime, there is no evidence currently found that Joss' murder is linked to his sexual orientation.”
This statement sparked widespread anger and upset, especially Joss' widow, Tristan Caen de Gonzalez.
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“Jonathan Joss is my husband,” Kahn de Gonzalez said in the Tiktok post. “Because he is always my husband, because he will always be the love of my life.
Jonathan Joss' cause of death came from being “injured after multiple shootings.”
Jonathan Joss / Facebook
“I'm going to share everything about Jonathan and everything he was standing with, not just what happened on the day my husband died. We're going to laugh together. We'll cry together.
“We won't stop talking about this. I'm not going to silence SAPD or anyone else the fact that this is a hate crime.
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“I may not be as loud as my husband, but I carry his powers with me. I will not stop fighting for the right things and for the things I know for the sake of my love.”
Police Chief William P. McManus retracted the unit's initial comments on Thursday.
“We shouldn't have done that. (It was) too soon before we got the actual information, so I own it,” McManus said in connection with the statement. “It was too early in the process for a statement of its nature to be issued.
“We understand that many people in the LGBTQ+ community are feeling uneasy, and a lot of that has to do with that premature statement we released.
In Texas, hate crimes are not charged as separate crimes, but rather as strengthening penalties for underlying crimes, McManus explained.
“We collect facts and give these facts to the district attorney's office. The designation of hate crimes is determined by the verdict, but we do not claim hate crimes.”
Police records obtained by NBC show Joss and Caen de Gonzalez had encountered problems with their neighbors before the fatal shooting.
According to the outlet, Caan de Gonzales says he and his husband were attacked by homophobic slander from their neighbors.
McManus said Thursday that over the past two years, his department received 70 calls, including nearby spats.
The police chief said the mental health unit “had extensive involvement with Joss and repeatedly worked to improve the conflict and link him to the services he needed.”
An investigation into Joss' death is underway.
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