San Fernando Valley man accused of orchestrating high-profile triple murders of a Fullerton man and woman he met in the “furry community” and a friend of the couple after becoming “obsessed” with their teenage daughter was found guilty of murder Tuesday.

An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for about 45 minutes before finding Frank Felix guilty of the special circumstance murders of Jennifer Yost, Christopher Yost and Arthur “Billy” Boucher. All three were shot with a shotgun as they slept early on the morning of Sept. 24, 2016, at the Yost home in Fullerton.

Félix, then aged 25, admitted to providing the real shooter – Joshua Acosta, then 21 – with a shotgun and ammunition and waiting outside the Fullerton home with Yost’s daughter, then 17, while Acosta killed the couple and Boucher, who was spending the night at home. Boucher was killed while sleeping on a couch, Jennifer Yost while sleeping in her bed, and Christopher Yost after he woke up and tried to escape the house.

Felix, the Yosts and their teenage daughter were all part of the furry community, made up of people who role play and sometimes dress up as animal characters and assume their personas when they gather online and at conventions. Acosta – at the time an army mechanic – was a “Brony”, a man who was a fan of the “My Little Pony” series.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Seton Hunt argued that Felix orchestrated the killings, motivated by an obsession he had with the 17-year-old girl the Yosts ordered him to stay away from. Shortly before the murders, Felix wrote to the teenager: “You are the only person and the only thing that makes me happy. »

“He wanted to live happily ever after, without any parental interference,” the prosecutor told jurors.

The girl – who testified at a previous trial but did not take the stand at Felix’s trial – claimed that her stepfather, Christopher Yost, sexually assaulted her and that her mother, Jennifer Yost, had verbally and physically assaulted her. Felix and Acosta told police after the murders that they were trying to “save” the daughter from her parents.

But with the parents dead and unable to defend themselves against the accusations, authorities have already said it will likely never be known whether the abuse allegations were true.

What, if anything, the girl knew about the plan to kill her parents is also unclear. She alleged in testimony at a previous trial that Felix “blackmailed” her into having sex with him. She also admitted to letting Acosta into the house just before the murders began.

Felix’s attorney, David Paulson, told jurors during closing arguments that Felix only intended to help the 17-year-old “escape” from her mother and stepfather.

Paulson argued that it was Acosta who wanted the gun and ammunition to protect himself in case the mother or stepfather tried to arrest him.

“He thought it was to protect himself, not to kill,” Paulson said.

Only later, the defense attorney told jurors, did Felix realize Acosta’s plan to kill the parents.

“The plan was formulated after Mr. Acosta received the gun from Mr. Felix,” Paulson said. “He fooled everyone.”