A social media influencer, her father, and her former boyfriend have been charged in connection with a murder-for-hire plot targeting her musician ex-partner, according to authorities. Gabriela Gonzalez, a 24-year-old lifestyle influencer known online as Gabbie Gonzalez, was involved in a custody dispute with Why Don't We singer Jack Avery over their 7-year-old daughter in 2020 and 2021, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office stated. During that period, she allegedly asked her then-boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, now 26, to help arrange a hit on Avery through the dark web.
In April 2021, Gonzalez's father, 59-year-old Francisco Gonzalez, allegedly sent Cordrey $10,000 as an upfront payment to locate, hire, and pay someone to kill Avery, prosecutors said. Two months later, Cordrey requested an additional $4,000 from the elder Gonzalez after the purported hitman demanded more money. Shortly thereafter, Cordrey allegedly pressed for the murder to be carried out within a few days, the district attorney's office reported.
According to the district attorney's office, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman communicated with Cordrey about the plot in September 2021. Prosecutors allege that Cordrey identified Avery as the target and discussed payment and proof of death. In a separate conversation, Cordrey reportedly told the undercover officer that Gabriela Gonzalez wanted the murder to occur and that Francisco Gonzalez could finance it, prosecutors said. All three were charged on Tuesday with one count each of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder.
“This was a lengthy investigation that was initiated by the FBI and eventually turned over to our office, resulting in criminal charges being filed today,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. “This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder. Most fathers raise their children to respect the law, but here we have a dad who allegedly helped his daughter and her boyfriend break the law in the most sinister way imaginable.”
If convicted, each defendant faces 25 years to life in state prison. Gonzalez, who shares lifestyle, travel, and motherhood content with over 400,000 followers on both TikTok and Instagram, was booked into the Humboldt County jail in Eureka on Friday and later transferred to Los Angeles County, where she is held without bond, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Meanwhile, Avery, 26, was a singer for Why Don't We, a boy band that has been on hiatus since 2022 amid a legal battle with its former management company, per Billboard. In a September 2025 interview on the Zac Sang Show podcast, Avery mentioned that FBI agents had warned him someone was allegedly trying to kill him, but he did not name suspects.
On Tuesday, Avery filed a petition in Los Angeles court seeking a restraining order against Gabriela Gonzalez, stating he was “notified by the FBI” of the murder plot in 2021. “In 2025, I am informed and thereon believe the FBI turned the case over to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office and identified GABRIELA, GABRIELA’s father Francisco Gonzalez, and her ex-boyfriend, Kai Cordrey as co-conspirators in a plot to have me killed,” his petition read. The petition notes that Avery was informed on Friday about Gabriela Gonzalez’s arrest, which resulted in their daughter being placed with a foster family. He later traveled to Northern California to pick her up and is requesting sole custody with no visitation rights, according to the report. A representative for Avery declined to comment to Billboard. Gabriela Gonzalez is expected to be arraigned on Thursday. Her father remains in custody in Florida, and Cordrey’s custody status was not immediately clear. The case is being prosecuted by Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bolt of the major crimes division, and the investigation remains ongoing.
