LOS ANGELES—On Tuesday, May 19, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged social media influencer, Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez, 24, her father and her then-boyfriend were with plotting to kill the father of her 7-year-old daughter by trying to hire a hitman on the dark web as part of a family custody dispute several years ago.
Gabriela Gonzalez, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and Kai Faron Cordrey, 26, were charged in case 26CJCF03024 with one count each of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder.
Gabriela was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Francisco was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition.
Gabriela, a social media influencer, was invovled in a custody dispute involving her daughter and the child’s father, Jack Avery, a former member of the musical group Why Don’t We. Between 2020 and 2021, she is accused of seeking the help of her then-boyfriend Cordrey to hire someone on the dark web to kill Avery.
In April 2021, Gonzalez’s father, Francisco allegedly sent $10,000 to Cordrey as front money to use in locating, hiring and paying someone to kill Avery.
Cordrey allegedly requested and received an additional $4,000 from Francisco Gonzalez two months later after the alleged hit man asked for the additional funds. Several days later, Cordrey allegedly requested that Avery be killed within a couple of days.
In September 2021, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman spoke with Cordrey about the murder-for-hire plot. Cordrey is accused of telling the undercover officer that Avery was the target and discussed payment and proof of death.
In a subsequent conversation, Cordrey allegedly told the purported hitman that Gabriela wanted the murder to happen and Francisco Gonzalez could pay for the expense. If convicted as charged, all three defendants face 25 years to life in state prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott of the Major Crimes Division and remains under investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.
