A Texas grand jury has indicted the man accused of fatally shooting actor Jonathan Joss, best known for voicing John Redcorn on the long-running animated series King of the Hill.
According to The Associated Press, the indictment, returned Monday in Bexar County, charges 57-year-old Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez with murder in connection with the June 1 shooting outside Joss’s San Antonio home. Whether prosecutors will pursue the case as a hate crime remains unclear.
Authorities say Joss and his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, were checking their mail when they were confronted by Ceja Alvarez. The couple’s home had been destroyed by a fire months earlier, in January.
Kern de Gonzales has said publicly that the shooter shouted “violent homophobic slurs” before opening fire. Police have not confirmed that detail.
The San Antonio Police Department did not respond to requests for comment on whether investigators believe Joss’s sexual orientation factored into the attack. The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office also declined to comment on that question.
Ceja Alvarez remains free on a $200,000 bond. His attorneys did not respond to messages seeking comment, but one of them, Alfonso Otero, said in June that his client was innocent and denied that he made any homophobic remarks.
Joss, 59, had reportedly been in a long-running dispute with Ceja Alvarez, who lived nearby. A friend of the actor said the two neighbors had argued for years before the shooting.
Initially, police officials said there was no evidence suggesting the crime was motivated by Joss’s sexual orientation. But San Antonio Police Chief William McManus later walked back that statement, calling it “premature” and noting that investigators were still examining whether bias played a role.
The district attorney’s office said Wednesday that Ceja Alvarez “is charged with murder, which is the most serious charge applicable to this crime under Texas law,” adding that no further details could be released while the case is pending.
If prosecutors seek a hate-crime enhancement, it would apply only at sentencing under Texas law and would not be filed as a separate charge.
Joss voiced John Redcorn throughout all 13 seasons of King of the Hill from 1997 to 2008 and had already completed work for the series’ recent reboot, which premiered in August. He also appeared on Parks and Recreation as Chief Ken Hotate and had a role in the 2022 series Tulsa King.
