TikTok Influencer Gabbie Gonzalez Charged With Plotting to Kill Ex Jack Avery

A custody battle over a seven-year-old girl. A dark web marketplace. Bitcoin payments disguised as invoices for web development. A code word borrowed from crypto culture. And at the center of it all, a TikTok influencer with nearly a million followers across platforms, now sitting in a Los Angeles County jail facing charges that could put her away for life.

The story of Gabbie Gonzalez, her father Francisco Gonzalez, and her ex-boyfriend Kai Cordrey sounds like a Netflix limited series. But it's very real, and the alleged target, musician Jack Avery, says he spent a month locked inside his own home, terrified to step outside.

Who Is Gabbie Gonzalez?

Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez, 24, goes by Gabbie online. She's a lifestyle content creator with roughly 400,000 followers on TikTok and another 400,000 or so on Instagram. Her content, until recently, was the kind of glossy, aspirational stuff that fills your feed without you really thinking about it. Pretty face, cute daughter, aesthetically arranged life. Nothing that would suggest someone allegedly capable of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot through the dark web.

But according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, that's exactly what prosecutors believe happened. Gonzalez was arrested on May 18 in Northern California and later transferred to an L.A. courtroom, where she appeared in a plexiglass holding pen wearing a blue hoodie and handcuffs. She did not enter a plea. Her lawyer asked for more time to review the evidence. The judge set bail at $2 million.

The Target: Jack Avery of Why Don't We

If you have a teenage daughter (or had one around 2017), you might recognize the name Jack Avery. He was a member of Why Don't We, a boy band that was active from 2016 until 2022 before getting tangled in a legal battle with their former management company. The group officially lost the rights to their name in February 2025.

Avery, now 26, shares a daughter named Lavender with Gonzalez. The two were never married, and by all accounts their co-parenting relationship deteriorated badly. What prosecutors describe as a "bitter custody dispute" allegedly became something far worse between October 2020 and the fall of 2021.

According to court filings, Avery said the FBI showed up at his door to warn him that someone had potentially hired a hitman to kill him. "I stayed in my house for a month straight," Avery later said. "I didn't leave. I was so scared looking out my window every night."

Her Father Is a Florida Attorney

This isn't just a story about a young influencer allegedly losing her mind over a custody fight. Her father, Francisco Javier Gonzalez, 59, is a civil trial lawyer based in Seminole County, Florida. He was arrested on May 18 (the same day as his daughter) in Lake Mary, Florida, on a California warrant for conspiracy to commit murder.

According to prosecutors, Francisco was "deeply involved" in the custody conflict and became the alleged bankroll for the entire operation. Court documents paint a picture of a father who didn't just support his daughter emotionally in the custody dispute. He allegedly funded the whole thing.

One detail from the affidavit that keeps getting repeated: a witness told investigators that Francisco once said something to the effect that it would be "cheaper if Avery were dead" than to continue the expensive custody battle. That single quote tells you a lot about how prosecutors are framing Francisco's alleged motivation.

The Dark Web, Bitcoin, and a Code Word Called "Bullrun"

The alleged mechanics of this plot read like a true crime podcast episode. According to the investigation, Gabbie Gonzalez enlisted her then-boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, 26, a surf instructor from Hawaii, to serve as the middleman. Between 2020 and 2021, Cordrey allegedly began using the dark web to find a contract killer, operating under the alias "LizardKing69."

In April 2021, Francisco allegedly sent Cordrey $10,000 as "front money" to locate and pay a hitman. To hide the payment from anyone who might look, the transfer was reportedly documented as a business expense for "web development services" through a platform called Site Whisperer. Investigators noted that Cordrey never performed a single hour of actual tech work.

Cordrey then allegedly moved money into a Gemini cryptocurrency account and made contact with what he believed was a murder-for-hire marketplace on the dark web. On May 22, 2021, Cordrey allegedly identified Jack Avery as the target, provided a Los Angeles address, and gave instructions that Avery "should be killed by whatever method was easiest."

When the supposed hitman requested more money in June 2021, Cordrey went back to Francisco for an additional $4,000. Days later, Cordrey allegedly asked for the killing to happen within a couple of days. The plan, according to investigators, included staging Avery's death to look like a car accident.

One detail that's gone viral: the alleged use of the code word "Bullrun" in text communications. In crypto culture, a bull run refers to a rising market. But investigators say Francisco used the word as a coded signal that the budget was locked in and the contract was officially live. The co-conspirators also allegedly communicated through Signal, the encrypted messaging app, to avoid leaving a paper trail.

The FBI Sting That Stopped It

The plot was never carried out. The reason? The person on the other end of those dark web communications was eventually replaced by (or had always been) an undercover federal agent posing as a hitman.

On September 19, 2021, an undercover FBI agent spoke with Cordrey by phone about the plot. During the call, Cordrey allegedly confirmed Jack Avery as the target and discussed payment and proof of death. In a follow-up conversation, Cordrey allegedly told the fake hitman that Gabbie wanted the murder to happen and that Francisco could cover the cost.

Avery was placed under protective surveillance. He was never physically harmed. But it took years for criminal charges to come together. The FBI began the investigation and eventually turned the case over to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office. Criminal charges were officially filed on May 19, 2026, more than four years after the alleged plot began.

What Happened to Their Daughter

The saddest part of this story might be what happened to Lavender, the couple's seven-year-old daughter. After Gabbie's arrest, the child was briefly placed with a foster family. Avery said he rushed to California to pick her up as soon as he learned what had happened.

According to reports, Avery has since filed for sole custody. He also filed a restraining order against Gabbie following the arrest. Meanwhile, members of Gonzalez's family allegedly began calling and texting Avery demanding to know where the child was. Two women identified as Gonzalez's friends reportedly showed up at Avery's Southern California home, banging on his door.

The Charges and What Comes Next

All three defendants face serious charges. Gabbie Gonzalez, Francisco Gonzalez, and Kai Cordrey have each been charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and one count of solicitation of murder. If convicted, all three face potential life sentences.

Gabbie remains in custody in L.A. on $2 million bail. The judge ordered her to stay at least 100 yards from Avery and their daughter, with zero contact. Francisco was held without bond in Florida and is expected to be extradited to California. Cordrey faces the same charges.

L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman didn't mince words about the case. "This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder," he said. He added a pointed comment about Francisco's role: "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."

The Bigger Picture Nobody's Talking About

There's something deeply unsettling about scrolling through someone's curated TikTok feed, watching them do morning routines and outfit checks with their kid, and then reading that prosecutors say they were allegedly plotting a murder behind the scenes. Gabbie Gonzalez's accounts are still up at the time of writing. The comments sections are, predictably, a mess.

Jack Avery briefly mentioned the alleged hitman plot during an interview on the Zach Sang Show back in September 2025, saying the FBI had come to his home to warn him. He didn't name Gonzalez in that interview. Now, with the charges public, he doesn't have to.

This case has already become one of the most talked-about true crime stories of 2026. And with arraignments, extraditions, and a potential trial still ahead, the story is far from over. For now, three people sit in jail cells, a seven-year-old is caught in the middle, and a former boy band singer says he's just grateful to be alive.