She was followed by hundreds of thousands of subscribers on TikTok and Instagram but she has embarked on a crazy venture that has landed her behind bars today. American influencer Gabriela Gonzalez is now at the center of a spectacular criminal case making headlines in American media.
The 24-year-old woman, her lawyer father, and her ex-partner are accused of attempting to recruit a hitman to kill singer Jack Avery, the father of her daughter. Jack Avery is a successful young soul/pop singer and musician in the United States. He also has a large following on social media (1.5 million Instagram subscribers).
According to authorities in Los Angeles County, Gabriela Gonzalez, her 59-year-old father Francisco Gonzalez, and the influencer’s ex-boyfriend, 26-year-old Kai Cordrey, are facing charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder. If convicted, they could face life in prison.
Legal battle over custody of their daughter
The case originated from a violent legal battle over the custody of Gabriela Gonzalez and Jack Avery’s 7-year-old daughter. According to court documents revealed by several American media outlets, the influencer allegedly began portraying her ex-partner as a “dangerous” and “unfit” father in court as early as 2020 and 2021.
But investigators claim that the conflict quickly turned into a much darker project. According to the indictment, Gabriela Gonzalez had expressed multiple times her desire to see Jack Avery dead and had asked her then-partner to find a hitman on the dark web.
Prosecutors also accuse Francisco Gonzalez, a Miami-based lawyer specializing in international affairs, of playing a central role in the case. Investigators claim he transferred a total of $14,000 to Cordrey to finance the operation. An initial sum of $10,000 was allegedly transferred under the guise of payments for web development services, a justification Cordrey reportedly admitted was fictitious to police.
According to authorities, the suspects initially tried to recruit Dustin Barca, a former MMA fighter living in Hawaii, to intimidate or harass Jack Avery. However, investigators do not accuse him of any crimes in this case.
FBI poses as hitman
The investigation then took a federal turn. According to the Los Angeles County prosecutor, the FBI infiltrated the project after identifying exchanges related to a search for a hitman on the dark web. An undercover agent then posed as the presumed assassin. Prosecutors claim that Cordrey discussed payment, proof of the target’s death, and the roles played by Gabriela Gonzalez and her father in financing the project.
Gabriela Gonzalez was arrested last week in California as she was about to board a plane. She is now held without the possibility of bail in Los Angeles County. Her father was also apprehended in Florida and remains detained pending his potential transfer to California.
Hours after the public revelations of the case, Jack Avery requested a restraining order against his ex-partner. The singer, a former member of the Why Don’t We boy band, had publicly mentioned a threat last September. In an interview, he explained that FBI agents had informed him that someone was trying to have him killed. At the time, he did not seem to suspect Gabriela Gonzalez’s presumed involvement, describing her as a good mother to their daughter.
Gabriela Gonzalez had gained popularity in recent years through her lifestyle videos and content focusing on motherhood, surfing, and daily life in Hawaii. She claims to have several hundred thousand followers on social media.
