A 33-year-old man from California has been found guilty by a jury of conspiring to murder the parents of a 17-year-old girl he became fixated on after encountering her in the “furry” community, and he now faces a life sentence in prison.
Frank Sato Felix has been convicted on three counts of first-degree murder, along with enhancements for multiple murders, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors claim that the girl’s mother introduced her to the ‘furry’ subculture, where individuals wear animal costumes.
During these events, the girl encountered Felix, who was 25 years old, along with his friend Joshua Charles Acosta, a 21-year-old Army mechanic based at Ft. Irwin in Barstow.
Prosecutors stated that Felix developed a “obsession” with the girl and ultimately became “romantically involved” with her.
Goodwill-Yost and her husband, 35-year-old Christopher Yost, who is also the girl’s stepfather, were not in favor of the relationship. Felix concluded that he had to remove the parents from the equation so the 17-year-old girl could escape with him. He provided Acosta with a shotgun and ammunition, and on September 24, 2016, they traveled to the Yost residence in Fullerton.
They held off until the Yosts and their family friend, Arthur “Billy” Boucher, were fast asleep. A girl stepped outside and joined Felix in his truck, which was parked in the driveway. With the shotgun in hand, Acosta quietly entered the house.
Acosta took Boucher’s life while he was resting on the couch. He entered the master bedroom and shot Goodwill-Yost in the face. Yost fled in a desperate attempt to reach the patio. However, Acosta located him and fired a shot to his head.
Acosta, Felix, and the girl returned to Felix’s home in Sun Valley, where they set their clothes on fire and attempted to destroy their cellphones, according to prosecutors. At the same time, the Yosts’ other kids, aged 6 and 9, were asleep in the house when the tragic events occurred and woke up to discover their parents and Boucher deceased. Emergency services were contacted.
Following an investigation, authorities in Fullerton took Felix into custody at his residence and apprehended Acosta at Fort Irwin. Acosta faces three counts of first-degree murder, according to prosecutors. In 2018, a jury found him guilty, and a judge handed down a life sentence.
A teenage girl testified at Acosta’s trial, stating that she was unaware of any plan to harm her parents, according to the Orange County Register. She allegedly informed the jury that her stepfather had been abusing her for over ten years.
After confiding in Felix about the abuse, she alleged that he threatened to inform her mother about the molestation if she did not engage in sexual activity with him. She was never charged with any crime by prosecutors.
Felix is set to receive his sentence on January 17.