An infamous internet lolcow named KingCobraJFS (real name Josh Saunders) passed away on Thursday, August 21st, 2025, in his Casper, Wyoming, home.

The YouTuber's legacy of binge drinking, heavy metal and viral antics have thus come to an untimely end. Saunders, who first joined YouTube in 2010, built a cult following across 4chan, Kiwi Farms and Facebook, where users found comfort and intrigue in his roudy, webcam lifestyle.

So, who was KingCobraJFS? How did he become an internet legend, and what do we know about his death? Let's explain.

Who Was Josh Saunders, Also Known As 'KingCobraJFS?'

Joshua Fay Saunders was born on March 26th, 1991, in Casper, Wyoming, according to amateur documentarian RKH Media on YouTube, who posted a lengthy documentary on Saunders' life.

He pulled his knowledge of Saunders from the myriad of videos that Saunders shared on YouTube from 2010 to 2025. According to RKH Media, Saunders began posting under the moniker GothicKingCobra52 when he was 19 years old.

Before then, Saunders was purportedly the child of a broken home. His parents were young when they had him, and he was born premature. However, Josh Saunders stayed in his hometown of Casper for most of his life, and it was where he'd eventually die.

When Did KingCobraJFS Start Posting On YouTube?

Josh Saunders' first video on his original GothicKingCobra52 channel was supposedly shared on June 13th, 2010. Reuploads of it still exist on YouTube, shared by archive channels dedicated to preserving the late YouTuber's video library.

The video was called "Guitar insite intro." It was the first of a series of "Guitar insite" videos in which Saunders shared his opinions on many topics, not just on guitars. He warns the viewer that he uses "coarse language," which is true. Saunders never shied away from using taboo slurs.

Saunders' early videos on GothicKingCobra52 are also available on the Internet Archive. A user there shared a large folder containing the early records for future internet historians.

How Did KingCobraJFS Gain Fans?

After 2010, Josh Saunders was discovered by users on 4chan's /tv/ board, among other imageboards on the site.

"Check out this guy Gothickingcobra AKA KingCobraJFS," said an early 2013 /tv /post. "He's pretty much the biggest badass in the entire world and makes everyone else look like scum."

In 2014, a YouTuber named trappped filmed and uploaded the first full-length documentary about Saunders. He met up with him in Casper, Wyoming, and filmed for a day or two. One of Saunders' friends, a veteran, was also featured in the film.

Over the years, the video has stood the test of time, as it still receives views and likes to this day. Its "slice of life" vibe might be a bit more digestible for the average viewer as opposed to Saunders' regularly scheduled programming of ranting into his Photobooth webcam and hitting the upload button without a second thought.

But Saunders' "no filter" attitude seems to be what endeared him to the degenerate posters on 4chan and elsewhere. His then-growing fanbase both adored him and also bullied him, turning him into a verifiable lolcow.

At the time, there weren't many lolcows, a slang term for an internet personality that others mess with and troll in order to "farm LOLs." It's usually a "laughing at" scenario and not a "laughing with" one.

In those early days, Chris Chan was one of the only other notable lolcows. But since the start of this decade, many have joined their ranks with the help of TikTok's rise, including Daniel Larson and Nova Online, just to name a few.

How Did KingCobraJFS Die?

The Natrona County Coroner's Office in Casper, Wyoming, has confirmed in a press release that Joshua Fay Saunders passed away on August 21st, 2025.

Suspicion was mounting that something was wrong with KingCobraJFS. Users in the Kiwi Farms thread dedicated to Saunders were some of the first to repost a video, originally shared by Saunders' dad, Clint Saunders, allegedly on his son's Facebook. It's since been deleted, if so.

His father claimed that he checked on his son at his home and found him unresponsive.

The news hit the KingCobraJFS fandom extremely hard. Honorary memes and posts have been flooding social media all day.

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For the full history of KingCobraJFS, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.