May 19, 2026: Trio Charged With Conspiring to Murder Child’s Father in Bitter Custody Dispute

"This was a lengthy investigation that was initiated by the FBI and eventually turned over to our office, resulting in criminal charges being filed today," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. "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."

Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez (dob 9/6/01), Francisco Gonzalez (dob 12/23/66) and Kai Faron Cordrey (dob 10/13/99) were charged in case 26CJCF03024 with one count each of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder.

Gabriela Gonzalez was scheduled to be arraigned today in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Francisco Gonzalez was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition.

Gabriela Gonzalez, a social media influencer, was embroiled in a custody dispute involving her daughter and the child's father, Jack Avery, a former member of the musical group Why Don't We. Between 2020 and 2021, she is accused of seeking the assistance of her then-boyfriend Cordrey to hire someone on the dark web to kill Avery.

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.

Cordrey allegedly requested and received an additional $4,000 from Francisco Gonzalez two months later after the alleged hit man asked for the additional funds. Several days later, Cordrey allegedly requested that Avery be killed within a couple of days.

In September 2021, an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman spoke with Cordrey about the murder-for-hire plot. Cordrey is accused of telling the undercover officer that Avery was the target and discussed payment and proof of death.

In a subsequent conversation, Cordrey allegedly told the purported hitman that Gabriela Gonzalez wanted the murder to happen and Francisco Gonzalez could pay for the expense.

If convicted as charged, all three defendants face 25 years to life in state prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott of the Major Crimes Division and remains under investigation by the District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation.

The charges filed in this case are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.