Jonathan Joss’ husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales claimed that the actor’s death was the result of a hate crime.
UPDATE — 6/2/25 at 4:47 p.m. ET:
“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,” read a statement shared via Joss’ Facebook on Monday, June 2. “We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.”
Kern de Gonzales alleged that he and Joss were the targets of “openly homophobic” harassment. While at the site, Kern de Gonzales claimed they found “the skull” of one of their dogs and its harness which caused “severe emotional distress.”
“We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw,” the statement read. “While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us.”
Kern de Gonzales claimed that the unnamed man raised a gun and fired it while he and Joss were weaponless.
“Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side,” the post read. “When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.”
Kern de Gonzales added he was by Joss’ side when he passed away and he “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,” the statement said. “My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring 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.”
Original story below:
Parks and Recreation alum Jonathan Joss has died at age 59 after being fatally shot.
The police confirmed that Joss was killed on Sunday, June 1, after an alleged altercation with a neighbor in San Antonio, Texas, according to multiple outlets. Authorities were dispatched to a shooting where they found Joss lying “near the roadway.”
There were “life saving measures” attempted while waiting for EMS, but Joss was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived. Officers detained their suspect, Sigfredo Alvarez Cejam, after he initially fled the scene in a vehicle. Cejam has been booked for murder and the investigation is still ongoing, according to TMZ.
Joss is best known for voicing John Redcorn in King of the Hill. He took over in season 2 after the original actor, Victor Arron, died in a car accident in 1996. Joss continued to play John until the series concluded in 2009. He was expected to reprise the role in the newly announced revival, which is set to premiere on Hulu in August.
Recording had already begun for the series before it was recently announced at the ATX TV Festival, which featured Pamela Adlon, Lauren Tom, Toby Huss and one of the show’s new writers, Saladin K. Patterson.
Hours before his death, Joss posted an Instagram video teasing how the “reboot is up and moving” as he walked around Texas. Joss also appeared in other high-profile shows including Parks and Recreation, Tulsa King, Ray Donovan, True Grit, The Magnificent Seven and more.
Joss’ passing is not the only death the Parks and Recreation cast has weathered. The show’s executive producer Harris Wittels — who also appeared on the show — died in 2015 by suicide at age 30.
Star Amy Poehler delivered a speech in Wittels’ honor hours later.
“So today, I lost a friend,” she said at a Unite4Humanity’s event in February 2015. “I lost a dear, young man in my life who was struggling with addiction and who died just a few hours before we came. Jane [Aronson] and I sat and talked about it, and I’m sharing it with you because life and death live so closely together and we walk that fine line every day. At the end of the day, when things happen in our lives and we turn to people that we love and we turn to family and community for support, we lean on people and hope that they will ease our pain.”
Fellow Parks and Rec alum Aubrey Plaza, meanwhile, suffered a loss when her husband Jeff Baena died by suicide in January at age 47.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” a rep said in a statement to Us Weekly on behalf of Plaza, 40, and family members. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
