Two people arrested in connection with a triple homicide in Fullerton over the weekend have been charged with murder, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Joshua Acosta, 21, and Frank Felix, 25, were charged with three felony counts each of special circumstances murder, the DA’s Office said in a news release. Acosta also faced an additional charge with sentencing enhancements of discharging a firearm causing death.
The defendants, who are not eligible for bail, face a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged, according to prosecutors.
They were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in a Santa Ana court room, but the hearing was continued to Oct. 28.
Acosta and Felix are accused in the slayings of 39-year-old Jennifer Goodwill-Yost, her husband, 34-year-old Christopher Yost, and their friend, 28-year-old Arthur William Boucher.
The two men were taken into custody, along with an unidentified 17-year-old girl, on Sunday, one day after the victims were found deceased in a home in the 400 block of South Gilbert Street.
Officers responded to the residence around 8:21 a.m. Saturday after receiving a call from a child telling authorities that her parents were dead, according to the Fullerton Police Department.
Acosta is accused of shooting the three victims, the DA’s office said. Investigators initially only said that the trio suffered “significant trauma”; a cause of death has yet to be formally released.
Responding officers arrived at the house and found two girls, ages 6 and 9, inside the residence. Both were physically unharmed, and police said it was the the younger girl who had called 911.
A short time after that, authorities asked for the public’s help in locating 17-year-old Katlynn Goodwill Yost, who resided at the home and was described as missing and at risk. She was later found unharmed, police said in announcing the arrests.
It was unclear whether she was the teen suspect, as police emphasized they could not legally release the name of the juvenile who was in custody.
Prosecutors also did not disclose whether any charges have been filed against the youngest suspect in the case.
“I’m empathetic to your cause, I’m empathetic to the public wanting to know, but there’s only so much information I can give,” Prosecutor Troy Pino said outside of the courtroom on Tuesday. “I can’t say anymore because the investigation is pending and it would be irresponsible for me to do so.”
Like Acosta and Felix, the teen was booked on suspicion of murder and conspiracy, according to Fullerton police Sgt. John Radus.
The suspects — who police said knew the victims — and Katlynn Yost were apparently involved in the Southern California “furry community,” the Orange County Register reported. The community consists of fans who meet up to dress up like animals, according to the newspaper.
Jennifer Yost was described as “mother figure” to the SoCal Furs, a group that has members across the region, according to the Register.
Yost was Katylnn’s mother, and Christopher Yost was her stepfather. Boucher, a family friend, occasionally stayed at their Fullerton residence.
Katlynn was allegedly in a dating relationship with Felix at one time, according to a woman who was at Tuesday’s court hearing and identified herself as a friend of the the victims and suspects. The woman said she received a text from Felix the morning after the murders that said, “It wasn’t us.”
She said Felix texted her because a day or so before the shootings, Felix told her he was going to help Katlynn leave her house.
“All I know is he said he was going to help her get out, like in the truck and just leave. That’s all I know,” the unnamed woman told KTLA at Tuesday’s court hearing.
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
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