A social media influencer charged along with her father and ex-boyfriend with plotting to kill the father of her 7-year-old daughter during a family custody dispute pleaded not guilty Monday, Sept. 14.
Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez, 25, her then-boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, 26, and her 59-year-old father, Francisco Gonzalez, are charged with one count each of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder involving the child’s father, Jack Avery, a former member of the boy band Why Don’t We.
If convicted as charged, all three defendants could face 25 years to life in state prison.
All three pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Monday. They are due back in court Nov. 18, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for them to stand trial.
During a hearing in May, Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott told a judge that the alleged conspiracy was “not just idle talk,” saying that the purported hitman was asked to send the victim’s “severed pinky.” The prosecutor alleged that Cordrey “acted as the frontman” in an alleged conspiracy that was “ongoing over a period of months.”
In a statement announcing the charges in May, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the case resulted from a lengthy investigation that was initiated by the FBI and eventually turned over to the District Attorney’s Office.
“This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder. 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,” Hochman said in the statement.
Gabriela Gonzalez was embroiled in a custody dispute with Avery over their daughter, and is accused of seeking the assistance of her then-boyfriend Cordrey to hire someone on the dark web to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
In April 2021, Gonzalez’s father, Francisco Gonzalez, allegedly sent $10,000 to Cordrey as front money to use in locating, hiring and paying someone to kill Avery, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Cordrey allegedly requested and received an additional $4,000 from Francisco Gonzalez two months later after the alleged hit man asked for the additional fund, and allegedly requested several days later that Avery be killed within a couple of days, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
In September 2021, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hit man spoke with Cordrey about the murder-for-hire plot, prosecutors said. Cordrey is accused of telling the undercover officer that Avery was the target and allegedly discussed payment and proof of death.
In a subsequent conversation, Cordrey allegedly told the purported hit man that Gabriela Gonzalez wanted the murder to happen and that Francisco Gonzalez could pay for the expense.
In an Instagram post in May following the announcement of charges, Avery wrote, “A few days ago, three individuals were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill me. One of those individuals is the mother of my daughter.”
“For years, my family and I have endured intense public scrutiny, false accusations and deeply painful attacks on our character and reputation. Throughout that time, I chose to remain silent out of respect for the legal process and, most importantly, for my daughter. Right now, my focus is on being the best father I can be. I’m thankful to have sole custody of my daughter, Lavender, who is safe, healthy and deeply loved,” Avery wrote, adding that he thanked “everyone who has supported me and withheld judgment while the truth unfolded.”