The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has charged social media influencer Gabriela Gonzalez and two others in a plot to kill her former partner, Jack Avery, in the midst of a custody dispute in 2020. The individuals charged include Gonzalez, 24, her father Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her ex-boyfriend Faron Cordrey, 26. The charges against them are attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated that the FBI launched the initial investigation, later transferring the case to L.A. County prosecutors. Jack Avery, previously a member of the boy band ‘Why Don’t We,’ was identified as the intended victim. He performed at Power 96.1’s Jingle Ball in Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2019.
Hochman explained, “This case involves defendants accused of extensive efforts to recruit someone for murder.” Court documents reveal that witnesses informed investigators about Gabriela Gonzalez expressing repeated desires for Avery’s death and her plans to employ a hitman.
According to the prosecution, the plot presented options such as staging a deadly shooting or an accident. Allegedly, Gabriela Gonzalez instructed Cordrey to explore the dark web for someone to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021. Investigators reported that Gonzalez’s father initially provided Cordrey with $10,000 to secure a hitman. However, the supposed hitman was an undercover FBI agent.
“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,” said Hochman.
Later, Gonzalez’s father allegedly gave Cordrey an additional $4,000 after the undercover operative requested more funds. Prosecutors explained that Cordrey discussed the murder-for-hire plan with the undercover agent posing as a hitman in September 2021, covering the terms of payment, proof of death, and targeting Avery.
Additionally, Cordrey allegedly relayed to the operative that Gabriela Gonzalez insisted on the murder and that her father agreed to finance it.
Avery, while speaking on a podcast the prior year, recounted the moment the FBI warned him. “Someone hired someone to kill me,” Avery stated.
Should they be convicted, all three accused individuals could face sentences ranging from 25 years to life imprisonment. Jonathan Vigliotti has contributed further to this report.