When “King of the Hill” returned for its latest season on Hulu, we were thrilled. The revitalized show had kept all the humor, heart, and wit that the previous seasons had so consistently featured. There was a tinge of sadness to it all though with the losses that the cast had suffered leading up to the revival. Johnny Hardwick, who voiced Dale, passed away from undisclosed natural causes. And Jonathan Joss, who voiced John Redcorn, was murdered in an alleged hate crime. As terrible as both of these circumstances are, at the very least we can report justice is moving forward for Joss.
Joss was openly gay, and happily married to his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales. According to Kern de Gonzales, the two of them had been experiencing numerous threats because of their sexual orientation from their neighbor, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez. On June 1st, 2025, a reported argument came to a vicious head when Alvarez allegedly pulled out a gun and fired at Joss and Kern de Gonzales, fatally striking Joss.
There is no disagreement that Alvarez shot and killed Joss, as he reportedly admitted this to the police. Instead, the case centered around a self-defense argument Alvarez claimed for why he shot Joss.
Self-defense laws vary from state to state, but the amount of force used has to be “reasonable” for the given situation. Alvarez’s self-defense claim hinges on whether or not the implementation of deadly force was reasonable in whatever the situation actually was.
On November 17th, a grand jury handed down an indictment of first-degree murder. Alvarez was released on a $200,000 bond.
Perhaps this case will settle before it gets to trial, maybe it will actually go before a jury. We will continue to provide updates as they happen and our hearts continue to go out to Joss’ family.
