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A California social media influencer, her attorney father and her ex-boyfriend are accused of trying to hire a hitman on the dark web to murder the father of her child in what prosecutors say was a yearslong custody battle that spiraled into a murder-for-hire conspiracy.
Los Angeles County prosecutors announced charges this week against Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez, her father, Francisco Gonzalez, and her former boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, accusing them of plotting to kill Jack Avery — a former member of the boy band “Why Don’t We” and the father of Gonzalez’s 7-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors allege the scheme unfolded between 2020 and 2022 during an increasingly bitter custody dispute involving the couple’s daughter, Lavender. The complaint alleges Gonzalez and her father repeatedly portrayed Avery as “unfit, dangerous, or harmful” during family court proceedings.
The criminal complaint further alleges Gonzalez and Francisco Gonzalez used accusations surrounding Avery’s parenting and frustrations with the family court process “to encourage or justify efforts to remove Jack Avery from Lavender A.’s life.”
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Gabriela Gonzalez faces attempted murder and conspiracy charges after prosecutors accused her of participating in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting Jack Avery. (LA County Sheriff’s Office)
Prosecutors allege Gonzalez enlisted Cordrey to help locate a hitman through the dark web, while Francisco Gonzalez, a Central Florida attorney, allegedly financed the operation.
According to the filing, Gonzalez allegedly discussed wanting Avery dead between October 2020 and May 2021 and discussed hiring a hitman to kill him.
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Prosecutors allege Gonzalez and Cordrey discussed using the dark web and Bitcoin to hire someone to kill Avery in Los Angeles and discussed “making the killing appear to be an accident.”
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Authorities say Florida attorney Francisco Gonzalez helped finance an alleged plot to hire a hitman to kill his daughter’s ex-boyfriend. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities claim Francisco Gonzalez sent Cordrey approximately $10,000 in April 2021 disguised as “web-development payments” to help locate and hire a killer. Prosecutors allege Cordrey later sought another $4,000 to continue the alleged murder-for-hire plot.
The filing alleges Cordrey transferred thousands of dollars into a Gemini cryptocurrency account as part of the scheme.
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According to prosecutors, Cordrey later allegedly pushed for Avery to be killed “within two days” and allegedly told the purported hitman the killing “did not need to be accomplished in any special way.”
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Records reviewed by Fox News Digital allege Cordrey used the alias “LizardKing69” while operating a dark-web murder-for-hire account targeting Avery. Cordrey is accused of providing Avery’s address and other identifying information to the dark-web account.
But the supposed assassin was actually an undercover FBI agent.
In September 2021, prosecutors allege Cordrey spoke with the undercover agent posing as a hitman and discussed payment, proof of death and Avery as the intended target.
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Jack Avery of Why Don’t We performs onstage during 106.1 KISS FM’s Jingle Ball 2019 at Dickies Arena on Dec. 3, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
The complaint further alleges Cordrey later told the undercover agent that Gonzalez wanted Avery killed, that he had helped arrange the plot and that “the father,” allegedly referring to Francisco Gonzalez, “still wanted it done and could pay.”
“This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “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.”
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Investigative records cited by FOX 35 Orlando allege Francisco Gonzalez became “deeply involved” in the custody dispute, including by allegedly hiring a private investigator to surveil Avery in hopes of finding evidence of drinking, smoking or other behavior that could be used against him in court.
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The outlet also reported investigators accused Gonzalez of threatening to have Avery arrested during visitation exchanges and attempting to involve a law enforcement contact in the dispute.
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Jack Avery of Why Don’t We performs during Power 96.1’s Jingle Ball 2019 Show on Dec. 20, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
TMZ reported that one witness allegedly recalled Francisco Gonzalez remarking that “it would be cheaper if Jack were dead.”
Gonzalez, who built a large social media following posting motherhood, travel and lifestyle content online, was arrested last week in Humboldt County, California, while allegedly preparing to board a flight, TMZ reported.
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Jail and arrest records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Gonzalez is being held without bail in Los Angeles County, while her father was arrested May 18 at his Lake Mary home on a California fugitive warrant tied to the alleged murder-for-hire plot. Records identify Gonzalez as a lawyer with Gonzalez Law Firm.
During his first court appearance in Florida, Francisco Gonzalez’s attorney said he planned to waive extradition and return to California to face the charges, FOX 35 Orlando reported.
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All three defendants are charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder. Prosecutors recommended bail be set at $2 million for each defendant.
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The alleged plot left Avery fearing for his life, according to both court filings and prior public comments.
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“I stayed in my house for a month straight. I didn’t leave. I was so scared looking out my window every night,” Avery said during a September appearance on the “Zach Sang Show.”
Avery has since filed for a restraining order against Gonzalez and is seeking sole custody of their daughter, according to filings cited by TMZ. The filings allege Avery claimed Gonzalez “attempted to kill me by hiring a hit man.”
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The investigation was initially launched by the FBI before being turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Major Crimes Division.
Authorities have not yet explained why arrests in the case came years after the alleged murder-for-hire plot allegedly unfolded.
It was not immediately clear if any of the suspects had retained attorneys.