Terrifying new details in feud between gay King of the Hill star and neighbor accused of shooting him dead

The King of the Hill voice actor shot and killed in San Antonio on Sunday night had a vicious and longstanding feud with the man charged with his murder, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.

Jonathan Joss, 59, who also starred in Parks and Recreation, was gunned down outside the charred remains of his childhood home that burned to the ground in January. 

His neighbor, Sigfredo Alvarez Cejam, 56, fled the scene but was later arrested and booked for his murder. 

Cejam told officers ‘I shot him’ as soon as he was taken into custody, according to a police report released on Tuesday. 

The tensions between Joss and Cejam were well known to the San Antonio Police, and the Daily Mail can confirm cops were called more than 14 times.

In January, the home burned to the ground. Joss believed – and publicly stated – that the home was deliberately torched because he was gay. 

Authorities did not charge anyone with the fire, saying that a propane heater was left on when no one was home. 

But Joss countered that he had shut off the heater, and that someone else had ignited the flames.  

The fire, which killed Joss’s three dogs, also destroyed his car, his King of the Hill library, and more than 30 years of TV and showbiz memorabilia.

Actor Jonathan Joss, who starred in Parks and Recreation (above in a scene with Amy Poehler), had a longstanding feud with the man charged with shooting and killing him 

Joss stood outside his home in January after it burned to the ground (above). He was gunned down at next to the same San Antonio property on Sunday 

Neighbors tell the Daily Mail that Joss and Cejam often clashed, engaging in shouting matches outside. 

The screaming matches would often end in a call to 911.  

‘They had a lot of bad blood,’ says Jane Estes, a neighbor who knew Joss for more than a decade. 

‘There were always cop cars out front. I’d see the lights and I’d be like ‘oh God, what happened now?’ It was nonstop.’ 

In a statement, Joss’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, claimed that the actor was shot because he was openly gay. 

‘My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home,’ the statement say. 

‘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. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.’

‘Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship,’ Gonzales continued. ‘Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.’

According to Gonzales, he and Joss allegedly found the skull of one of their deceased dogs left out for them to see when they arrived at the property, which caused them ‘severe emotional distress.’ 

His neighbor, Sigfredo Alvarez Cejam, 56, fled the scene but was later detained and booked for murder. Police say that the investigation is still ongoing

In a statement, Joss’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales (above), claimed that the actor was shot because he was openly gay 

Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, says that the shooter yelled violent homophobic slurs at them before opening fire 

Mourners have started a makeshift memorial on the spot where the actor was killed

Estes says that she didn’t know the nature of the conflict, or if Cejam was responsible for putting the dog’s skull outside, but she previously heard him make homophobic slurs when talking about Joss and Gonzales. 

‘He would call them all the names you expect,’ Estes says, ‘Queers, gays, the f-word. He didn’t care if you agreed with him, he just said those words.’ 

A second neighbor tells the Daily Mail that, while the conflict had overtones of homophobia, Joss was also erratic around the neighborhood, stopping traffic and yelling at people who he thought encroached on his property. 

‘I think he was cranky sometimes,’ says the neighbor, ‘and that turned people off. But obviously he didn’t deserve to die because of it. Everyone has cranky neighbors sometimes, but everybody doesn’t shoot them.’ 

‘I don’t know how much of it was because they were gay, but Sigfredo wasn’t a fan of gay people, that’s one thing I know.’ 

But the San Antonio Police Department insists that the shooting was not homophobic, and did not rise to the level of a hate crime. 

‘Our investigation has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation,’ the SAPD said on Tuesday, June 3. ‘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.’ 

Whatever the reason, neighbors say that the fire and the murder are a blight on their neighborhood, and are mourning Joss’s death. 

‘This is so sad,’ says Estes. ‘Nobody here wanted this to happen. We just wanted everyone to live in peace.’ 

Cejam has not yet entered a plea. 

It’s unclear if he has an attorney authorized to speak on his behalf.