From Custody Battle to Dark Web Hit: TikTok Star Gabriela Gonzalez and Lawyer Father Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot

A chilling family feud has erupted into a major criminal case spanning from Florida to California. High-profile civil trial attorney Francisco Gonzalez and his social media influencer daughter, Gabriela “Gabbie” Gonzalez, find themselves behind bars. Authorities have unsealed a terrifying criminal complaint, charging the duo alongside Gabriela’s former boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, with attempting to orchestrate the contract killing of pop singer Jack Avery—the former member of the boy band Why Don’t We and the father of Gabriela’s seven-year-old daughter.

The severe legal escalation stems from a bitter, multi-year custody dispute over the young child. According to unsealed court records from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the Gonzalez family harbored an intense obsession with securing sole custody. Investigators allege that Francisco Gonzalez, practicing out of Lake Mary, Florida, explicitly orchestrated the plot under the belief that financing an execution would be significantly cheaper than continuing the grueling and financially draining legal battle.

The Anatomy of the Staged “Accident”

Federal and state investigators revealed that the conspiracy traces its roots back to the height of the pandemic, when a private investigator was initially retained to track Avery’s day-to-day movements in Los Angeles. However, the operational scope quickly transformed into an active assassination plot.

According to the unsealed nine-page criminal complaint, the co-conspirators heavily discussed methods to ensure the pop star’s death looked entirely accidental. The specific plan outlined by prosecutors involved hitting the singer with a vehicle in Los Angeles, masking the targeted assassination as a tragic hit-and-run auto accident.

"This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder... a dad who allegedly helped his daughter and her boyfriend break the law in the most sinister way imaginable."
— L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman

The Dark Web and the Undercover Setup

To put the execution into motion, Gabriela’s then-boyfriend, Kai Cordrey, utilized the dark web under the digital pseudonym “Lizard King 69.” Attempting to operate under the cloak of digital anonymity, Cordrey negotiated a contract hit using cryptocurrency.

Financing for the operation came directly from Francisco Gonzalez. Investigators uncovered transaction records showing the elder Gonzalez transferred $10,000 to Cordrey as upfront money, masking the transaction as a payment for “web development work.” A subsequent transfer of $4,000 was executed after the operative demanded additional funds.

However, the entire network collapsed from within. Cordrey was not communicating with an elite criminal; he was talking directly to an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a contract killer. In a recorded sting operation, Cordrey explicitly stated that Gabriela wanted the murder executed within days, and that her father would handle the expenses. In a separate call, Francisco Gonzalez utilized the explicit code word “Bullrun” to give the final confirmation to launch the operation.

The Legal Aftermath

The long-running investigation, originally initiated by the FBI before being handed over to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, culminated in a sweep of arrests. Gabriela Gonzalez was apprehended in Northern California, while her father was taken into custody by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

Appearing before a Florida judge, Francisco Gonzalez chose not to contest his extradition and will be transported to California to stand trial. Gabriela, Francisco, and Kai Cordrey now each face single counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder. If convicted on these severe felony charges, all three co-conspirators face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in a state prison