A TikTok influencer, her father and her ex-boyfriend pleaded not guilty Monday, Sept. 14, to charges they plotted to hire a hitman to kill singer Jack Avery.
Gabriela "Gabbie" Gonzalez, 24, entered her plea alongside Francisco Gonzalez, 59, her father, and Kai Cordrey, 26, her former boyfriend. Each faces one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder, according to LAmag. All three waived the charge reading.
No statements from defense attorneys were available following the arraignment.
If convicted on all counts, they face 25 years to life in state prison, according to Courthouse News Service.
Prosecutors allege the plot began in late 2020, when Gonzalez told Cordrey and her father she wanted Avery dead so she could gain sole custody of their daughter Lavender, now seven years old. Avery, 26, is a former member of the boy band Why Don't We.
The alleged plan called for Avery to be killed in Los Angeles in a murder "made to look like a car accident," according to court documents cited by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Francisco Gonzalez, a Florida-based lawyer, allegedly sent Cordrey $10,000 in April 2021 as front money to locate and hire someone to kill Avery, prosecutors said. Two months later, he allegedly sent another $4,000 after the purported hitman requested additional funds. The total alleged payment was $14,000.
The purported hitman was actually an undercover FBI agent assigned to monitor dark web murder-for-hire solicitations. The agent met with Cordrey in September 2021, during which Cordrey allegedly identified Avery as the target and "discussed payment and proof of death," according to prosecutors.
The FBI initiated the investigation before turning it over to the district attorney's office, according to District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
"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 a statement when the arrests were announced in May.
Gonzalez, who has nearly 1 million combined followers on TikTok and Instagram, posted a $2 million bond and was released on bail as of a May 30 court appearance, ABC7 reported. Francisco Gonzalez and Cordrey were still being held at that time. A judge denied Francisco Gonzalez bail at that hearing.
Avery said in a statement in May that he had been granted sole custody of Lavender. "Right now, my focus is on being the best father I can be," he wrote.
The three defendants are scheduled to return to court Nov. 18.
