Influencer, father accused of plotting to kill ex over custody dispute

A bitter custody battle over a 7-year-old daughter is now at the center of a murder case in Los Angeles County, where prosecutors say a social media influencer, her father and her boyfriend tried to arrange the killing of her ex, singer Jack Avery.

Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez, 24, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and Kai Faron Cordrey, 26, were charged on May 19, 2026, with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder. Prosecutors said the case grew out of a long-running dispute with Avery, 26, a former member of the boy band Why Don’t We. If convicted as charged, each defendant faces 25 years to life in state prison.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the alleged plot began as a lengthy Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation before being handed to local prosecutors. Court records say Gabriela Gonzalez sought Cordrey’s help sometime between 2020 and 2021 to hire someone on the dark web to kill Avery. Prosecutors also allege Francisco Gonzalez supplied front money for the scheme, sending $10,000 in April 2021 and another $4,000 in June 2021.

Investigators say the alleged plan was later intercepted in September 2021 by an undercover officer posing as a hitman. Court documents say the scheme included trying to make the killing look like a car accident, underscoring how the dispute moved beyond family court into an alleged criminal conspiracy that relied on online anonymity and covert communications.

Prosecutors said the custody fight had become contentious by 2020, after Gabriela Gonzalez repeatedly portrayed Avery as unfit, dangerous or harmful to their daughter. After the allegations surfaced, Avery asked the court for sole custody and a protective order. He also said the FBI warned him five years ago that it was not safe to be around Gabriela Gonzalez, and he described harassment from her friends and family after her arrest.

Francisco Gonzalez was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition to Los Angeles. Gabriela Gonzalez was held on $2 million bail and was scheduled to be arraigned at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The case is being handled by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Major Crimes Division and remains under investigation by the office’s Bureau of Investigation.