A furry fanatic who became obsessed with a teenage girl unleashed a series of unhinged Facebook posts before plotting to murder her parents (Image: Facebook)
A US court has learned of the heinous acts carried out by an obsessive “furry” involved in masterminding a murder plot that claimed the lives of three individuals, including the mother and stepfather of a teenage girl he had become fixated on. Californian resident Frank Sato Felix, aged 33, was convicted for his role in the fatal 2016 conspiracy that led to a ghastly triple homicide in Los Angeles.
Heartbreakingly, the crime scene was stumbled upon by two young children, merely six and nine years old. The three victims were 39-year-old Jennifer Goodwill-Yost, her husband Christopher Yost, 35, and their family friend Arthur “Billy” Boucher, who was found asleep on the couch at the time of the incident.
Further inquiry divulged Felix’s unhealthy fascination with Goodwill-Yost’s then 17-year-old daughter following their chance meeting at a furry convention, which the youngster had attended alongside her. Individuals identifying as furries represent a unique subculture known for adopting alternate animal personas, often akin to wolves, dogs, foxes, or fantasy creatures like dragons, all possessing humanlike traits.
Felix spewed a harrowing rant on his Facebook page targeting a person not publicly identified. His ominous message read: “I know you’ll still lie to me you’re just afraid to be open with people that can raze you like a European city during the second world war I just hope you’re gonna regret everything you’ve done to me and everything you could’ve done and live with that guilt you’ve put on yourself everyday.”
Joshua Acosta, was sentenced to serve life in prison without parole for the murders of Christopher Yost, Jennifer Goodwill-Yost, and Arthur Boucher (Image: Orange County DA’s Office)
Additionally, a mere four days before the harrowing crimes took place, Felix – who adopted the alias Entey Felix in online spheres and among the furry community – alarmingly told an acquaintance of his plans to kill, writing: “I might be assisting someone in murder.”
Shockingly, he tried to diminish the gravity of the statement by adding: “It’s just killing an animal,” reports the Mirror.
The friend who received these alarming messages confessed that he didn’t believe them at first, expressing: “I didn’t take it for real,” also noting the challenge in gauging whether one is serious or jesting: “You don’t know if someone is serious anymore or joking.”
The un-named 17-year-old girl dragged into the case was exposed to the “furry” subculture by her own mother, who brought her along to the convention. This community is marked by followers dressing in animal costumes and assembling at conventions, where she met Felix, then aged 25, and Joshua Charles Acosta, a 21-year-old Army mechanic.
Felix initiated an affair with a teenage girl against the wishes of her mother, Jennifer Goodwill-Yost, and stepfather Christopher, owing to their age difference. On the fateful evening of September 24, 2016, Acosta and Felix launched their harrowing operation to assist the 17-year-old in escaping from her family residence.
With the Yost household and their visitor, Arthur “Billy” Boucher, deep in slumber, the pair’s murderous scheme commenced. The girl met up with Felix outside, while Acosta made his lethal entry wielding a shotgun given by Felix.
Acosta proceeded to mercilessly kill 28-year-old Boucher with a shot to the head as he rested on the sofa, then ruthlessly slaying the girl’s mother with a shotgun blast to the face in the primary bedroom. The stepfather’s last-ditch effort to escape was brutally ended by a headshot as he dashed towards the backyard door.
After the atrocity, the two young daughters of the Yost family, aged six and nine, were the only ones left alive in the house. Acosta fled the scene, leaving a house tinged with bloodshed, as the culprits, including the teenager, took refuge at Felix’s abode in Sun Valley.
There, they burned their bloodied clothes and tried to erase their digital footprints.
Felix revealed his part in the plot to a friend on Facebook (Image: Facebook)
The horrific morning unfolded as the young Yost sisters awoke to the chilling scene of three lifeless bodies in their home, leading to an urgent call to 911. The Fullerton Police Department later arrested Felix at his Sun Valley home, while Acosta was captured within his military barracks at Fort Irwin.
“Two little girls, six and nine, went to sleep not knowing the last time they would see their parents would be when they woke up to find them shot to death,” lamented Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The trauma inflicted on those little girls compounded by the loss of both of their parents in such a violent way is beyond heart-breaking. Violence is never the answer, and a sick and twisted plan turned into life behind bars for two young men.”
Felix has been convicted of three felony counts of first-degree murder with three felony enhancements for multiple murders.
He faces life imprisonment without parole and is set for sentencing on January 17, 2025. Acosta received a life sentence without parole in 2018.
A 17-year-old girl also arrested in connection with the triple homicide was not charged by prosecutors, and law enforcement did not disclose her identity due to state privacy laws for minors.
