By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-17 15:28:54 | Updated at 2024-11-23 00:29:12
5 days ago
A California man who became 'obsessed' with a teenage girl he met through the furry community has been convicted of plotting the murders of her family.
Frank Felix, 33, was found guilty of murder on Tuesday for killing three people in 2016, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Felix, then 25, met then 17-year-old Katlynn Goodwill Yost at a 'furry convention' – an event for people who dress up and role play as animals.
The two became romantically involved, but the girl's mother, 39-year-old Jennifer Goodwill-Yost, and her stepfather, 35-year-old Christopher Yost, disapproved of the relationship.
After their relationship ended, Felix and his friend then 21-year-old Joshua Acosta, an Army mechanic stationed at Ft. Irwin in Barstow, plotted to free Katlynn from her parents.
On the morning of September 24, 2016, Katlynn let Acosta into her family's home where he shot her parents and killed a family friend sleeping on the couch.
Felix and Katlynn waited in a truck outside, and the couple's six-year-old and nine-year-old daughters found their parents bodies.
The jury deliberate for around 45 minutes on Tuesday and convicted Felix of three counts of special circumstances murder, reported The Orange County Register.
Frank Felix (pictured at trial), 33, was convicted for his role in murdering the family of a teenage girl he became obsessed with
Felix, then 25, met then 17-year-old Katlynn Goodwill Yost (pictured) at a 'furry convention' with her parents Jennifer Goodwill-Yost (center) and Christopher Yost (left)
His sentencing is scheduled for January 17, where he faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.
'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,' said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
'The trauma inflicted on those little girls compounded by the loss both of their parents in such a violent way is beyond heartbreaking. Violence is never the answer, and a sick and twisted plan turned into life behind bars for two young men.'
Prosecutors showed that Felix developed an obsession with the girl after their relationship fell apart, growing to the point of self-mutilation. They said in one instance, Felix cut himself in front of the teenager.
At an earlier trial, Katlynn testified that Felix had 'blackmailed' her into having sex with him.
During the week leading up to the murder, he planned their deaths with Acosta through email.
They purchased bolt cutters, ear plugs and shotgun ammo in Burbank, California.
The prosecution stated Felix wrote to an acquaintance: 'I might be assisting someone in murder.' When advised by the friend not to go through with it, Felix switched up and said he was talking about an animal.
Katlynn and her mom Jennifer were both in the furry community. The 17-year-old's fursona was named Day Dreamer Fox Wolf
Katlynn's parents disapproved of the relationship and after it ended Felix plotted to 'free' her from them
Felix conspired with his friend Joshua Acosta to kill the teen's family. Felix and Katlynn waited outside while Acosta shot her parents and a family friend
They also noted the defendant was 'nervous' in the email exchanges with Acosta where they detailed their plans. In one instance, they wrote whoever answered the front door would either be pushed aside or shot.
Acosta was the one who agreed to carry out the murders after Katlynn told them she had been molested by her stepfather Christopher on a weekly basis – she would also testify about this in the former army mechanic's trial in 2018 in exchange for immunity.
Using Felix's father's shotgun, Acosta shot family friend Arthur 'Billy' Boucher, 28, in the head as he slept on the couch.
Then he entered Jennifer's bedroom where he shot her between the eyes as she slept and finally gunned down Christopher as he tried to make a break for it out the back door
After the couple's young children found their bodies, the teenager was regarded as missing until she was found later. Authorities at the base where Acosta was stationed found the three shotgun shells that were later tied to the killing.
Acosta was found guilty of the murders and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2018.
