Authorities are backpedaling on their initial statement regarding King of the Hill actor Jonathan Joss' murder having "no evidence whatsoever" of being a hate crime on June 1.
Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, has since publicly claimed that the attack was a targeted homophobic attack, rather than stemming from a disagreement among neighbors turning deadly.
“That was way, way, way premature,” said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus during a press conference on Thursday (June 5). “Shouldn’t have done it. It was way too soon before we had any real information, and I will own that and simply say, again, that we shouldn't have done that. It was way too early in the process for any statement of that nature to be issued.”
“We understand that many in the LGBTQ+ community are feeling anxious and concerned,” he added. “A lot of it has to do with that premature statement that we released, and again, I own that shouldn't have done it. The loss of Jonathan Joss was tragic and most, most heavily felt by the LGBTQ+ community.”
McManus also clarified that hate crimes aren't separate charges and are addressed as sentencing enhancements in adherence with Texas law.
"We don’t charge with hate crimes. We gather the facts and we give those facts to the district attorney’s office, and that hate crime designation is determined at sentencing, but we don’t charge hate crime," he said.
Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 56, was placed under house arrest after posting a $200,000 bond Monday (June 2) night and is barred from possessing any firearms while on release, subject to random drug testing and prohibited from contacting Joss' family. Joss' husband claimed that his killer cackled and spewed a gay slur moments before his murder while speaking to the Independent on Tuesday (June 3).
“Everything was really close range. It was in the head,” said Kern de Gonzalez while discussing the moment Joss was fatally shot.
“While I’m holding him, [the suspect] has the gun pointed over me, and he’s laughing, saying, ‘Oh, you love him? Joto,'” he added. “‘Joto’ is Spanish for f***ot. I never knew the word until I came to Texas, and then I heard it a lot.”
Alvarez was arrested one block away from the scene. Police initially found there was "no evidence" that Joss was killed over his "sexual orientation."
“We take such allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly,” the San Antonio police said in a statement obtained by the New York Post.
Kern de Gonzales shared a lengthy post on his husband's Facebook account claiming he and his husband were "harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship," at their previous house, where the murder took place, and claimed "much of the harassment was openly homophobic." He said they were checking the mail when they noticed the skull of their dog and their dog's harness placed out front of the house, which caused them to begin "yelling and crying," when a man approached them and yelled slurs before opening fire.
"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," Kern de Gonzales wrote in the Facebook post.
Joss was pronounced dead at the scene despite paramedics' best efforts to save him, according to TMZ. The Native American actor played Redcorn for 34 episodes on the FOX animated series, which aired from 1997 to 2009, and also had a recurring role as Chief Ken Hotate on the NBC series Parks and Recreation. Joss' death came days after the trailer for the King of the Hill revival series was shared by Hulu ahead of its August 4 release date.
Joss is among several recurring King of the Hill voice actors who have passed away since its original run including actress Brittany Murphy, actor Johnny Hardwick and rock legend Tom Petty.