The ex-girlfriend of a member of the boy band Why Don’t We has been accused of trying to hire a hitman on the dark web to kill him as part of a custody dispute over their now 7-year-old daughter, prosecutors said.
Gabriela Gonzalez, a 24-year-old with a large social media following, was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder in the alleged plot to kill Jack Avery, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said. Gonzalez’s father, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her then-boyfriend, Kai Cordery, 26, face the same charges.
“This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find a person to commit murder,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a news release.
He said the charges were the result of a lengthy investigation initiated by the FBI and eventually transferred to the district attorney’s office.
Avery thanked prosecutors and law enforcement for their support in an Instagram post Thursday and said his focus is “being the best father I can be.”
Prosecutors say Gonzalez is accused of enlisting Cordery’s help to hire someone to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021. Then, in April 2021, her father allegedly sent Corey $10,000 in advance money in the conspiracy, prosecutors said. Two months later, Cordery allegedly requested and received an additional $4,000 from Francisco Gonzalez when the alleged killer asked for more money, prosecutors said.
In September 2021, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman spoke with Corddry about the murder-for-hire plot. Cordery is accused of telling the undercover officer that Avery was the target and discussed payment and proof of death, prosecutors said.
Gabriella Gonzalez, who has more than 450,000 followers on Instagram, was being held in a Los Angeles area detention facility on $2 million bail on Thursday. Her attorney, Elliot Zarabi, did not immediately return a call for comment.
Francisco Gonzalez was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition. He was being held at a Florida jail in Seminole County on Thursday. It was not clear whether he had an attorney to speak on his behalf on the charges.
Los Angeles County Jail records show Cordery was arrested Thursday. Bail was set at $2 million, according to a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. Prison records did not show a lawyer for him.
If convicted, the three defendants face life imprisonment.
The boy band Why Don’t We released their first album in 2018, which included the song “8 Letters,” and Sophomore album Three years later. The band has since disbanded, and Avery released “XOXOX” on his own this year.