A TikTok star was arrested in California this week and accused of trying to hire someone to kill her daughter’s father, boy band singer Jack Avery.
Gabriela Gonzalez — a 24-year-old influencer with nearly half a million followers on the platform — was charged with one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release Tuesday.
Prosecutors alleged that, with the help of her father, Francisco Gonzalez, and her ex-boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, the TikTok star plotted to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021.
“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,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement.
A lawyer for Gabriela Gonzalez did not immediately reply to a request for comment. It is not clear whether the two other defendants have lawyers.
Avery, a member of the boy band group Why Don’t We, released a statement Thursday about the alleged plot that involved the mother of his daughter.
“For years, my family and I have endured intense public scrutiny, false accusations, and deeply painful attacks on our character and reputation,” Avery said in the post on Instagram. “Throughout that time, I chose to remain silent out of respect for the legal process and, most importantly, for my daughter.”
He added that his main focus right now is “being the best father” and is thankful to have sole custody of his “safe, healthy, and deeply loved” daughter.
Gabriela Gonzalez is accused of seeking the assistance of her then-boyfriend Cordrey to hire someone on the dark web to kill Avery. She was then embroiled in a custody dispute involving her 7-year-old daughter with Avery, officials said.
Francisco Gonzalez, a Florida-based personal injury attorney, sent $10,000 to Cordrey in April 2021 as front money to use in locating, hiring and paying someone to kill Avery, prosecutors said.
Officials said Cordrey requested and received an additional $4,000 from Francisco Gonzalez two months later, after the supposed hit man asked for the additional funds. Several days later, Cordrey requested that Avery be killed within a couple of days, according to prosecutors.
In September of that year, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman spoke with Cordrey about the murder-for-hire plot, prosecutors said. Officials accused Cordrey of telling the undercover officer that Avery was the target, discussing payment and asking for proof of death, according to the release.
In another conversation, Cordrey told the purported hit man “that Gabriela Gonzalez wanted the murder to happen” and that her father would pay for the expense, prosecutors said.
Francisco Gonzalez and Cordrey were also charged in connection with the alleged scheme, prosecutors said.
Francisco Gonzalez was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition to California this week, according to officials. A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, Greg Risling, told NBC News in an email that Cordrey has yet to be detained.
If convicted, the trio could face up to 25 years to life in state prison.
“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,” Hochman said Tuesday.
Pictures of Gabriela Gonzalez on her Instagram account, where she has nearly 500,000 followers, show her posing under palm trees and in front of waterfalls, wearing colorful bikinis. Her Instagram biography describes her as a “lover of life” and a “mermaid at heart.”
On TikTok, the 24-year-old posts videos of herself cooking and dancing, and shares her takes on pop culture trends. In a video she posted in 2024, she said her favorite song off of Taylor Swift’s then-new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was “I Can Do With a Broken Heart.”
“I feel like so many can relate to this because so many people are getting their hearts broken every day in different ways, shapes or forms, and we still be doing it,” she said in the video.
