Houston
AP
—
A grand jury in Texas has indicted the man accused of killing “King of the Hill” voice actor Jonathan Joss on a murder charge.
But it’s unclear whether or not Joss’ killing will likely be thought of a hate crime. Police in San Antonio didn’t instantly return an electronic mail looking for remark Wednesday on whether or not its investigation had decided that Joss’ sexual orientation performed a task in his shooting, and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office declined to remark on the matter.
Police allege Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 57, confronted Joss and his husband on June 1 as they have been checking their mail at their San Antonio house, which had been burned down in January.
Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, has claimed the one that killed the actor yelled “violent homophobic slurs” earlier than opening fireplace.
Ceja Alvarez’s attorneys didn’t instantly return emails looking for remark Wednesday.
In June, Alfonso Otero, one of Ceja Alvarez’s attorneys, mentioned his consumer was harmless and denied making any homophobic statements.
The grand jury returned the indictment Monday, and Ceja Alvarez stays free on a $200,000 bond.
A pal of the 59-year-old Joss has mentioned that Joss and Ceja Alvarez have been neighbors and the two had argued for years.
Initially, San Antonio police had mentioned there was no proof indicating the shooting was associated to Joss’ sexual orientation. But San Antonio Police Chief William McManus later walked again that assertion, saying it had been “premature” and that whether or not Joss’ sexual orientation performed a task in the shooting was “part of the investigation.”
The district legal professional’s workplace mentioned in an announcement Wednesday that Ceja Alvarez “is charged with murder, which is the most serious charge applicable to this crime under Texas law. As the case is still pending, no additional details or information can be released at this time.”
Under Texas legislation, a hate crime — if there’s a conviction — can be dealt with as an enhancement throughout sentencing and never as a separate charge.
Joss was the voice of John Redcorn, a Native American character on the well-liked “King of the Hill” animated collection, which ran for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2008. A reboot of the present, which Joss had already labored on, premiered in August.
Joss additionally had a recurring function on the tv present “Parks and Recreation,” taking part in Chief Ken Hotate. He appeared in two episodes of the collection “Tulsa King” in 2022.