Everything to Know About TikTok Influencer Gabriela Gonzalez's Alleged Murder-for-Hire Plot Targeting Boy-Band Ex Jack Avery

A TikTok influencer with nearly half a million followers is at the center of a case that reads more like a crime thriller than a custody dispute.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Gabriela Gonzalez, 24, along with her father and a former boyfriend, have been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder in connection with an alleged plot targeting “Why Don’t We” singer Jack Avery, with whom she shares a child.

The case stems from a years-long custody battle over Gonzalez and Avery’s 7-year-old daughter. Prosecutors allege that between 2020 and 2021, Gonzalez sought help from then-boyfriend Kai Cordrey to hire a hitman on the dark web to kill Avery.

Gonzalez’s father, Francisco Gonzalez, allegedly helped finance the plan, sending $10,000 in April 2021 and an additional $4,000 months later to support the effort.

Cordrey, meanwhile, allegedly communicated with an undercover officer posing as a hitman, discussing payment, the intended target, and proof of death. Prosecutors say the plan included staging Avery’s death to look like a car accident.

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

“In cases involving alleged murder-for-hire conspiracies, investigators typically focus on digital communications, financial transactions, prior disputes, and whether there was any overt act taken in furtherance of the alleged plan,” said Todd Spodek, Managing Partner at Spodek Law Group, who is not involved in the case.

“Prosecutors often build these cases through text messages, social-media activity, location data, and payment records long before formal charges are filed,’ he added.

Investigators then work to connect conversations with real-world action, according to Bobby Taghavi, Managing Partner at Sweet James, who is not involved in the case.

“They lock down the digital trail like texts, DMs, call logs, app messages and then verify it with hard proof like financial transfers, surveillance footage, location data, and witness statements,” Taghavi explained.

“Solicitation focuses on the alleged request, conspiracy focuses on the alleged agreement between parties, and attempted murder centers on whether authorities believe concrete steps were taken toward carrying out the act,” said attorney and cultural analyst Kaivan Shroff, who is not involved in the case.

“Prosecutors often charge multiple theories at once in cases like this to give themselves broader legal avenues as the case develops,” he added.

“When a case is going viral, the worst mistake is trying to fight the case on social media,” Taghavi said. “Every post becomes a statement, every DM becomes evidence, and every emotional reaction becomes impeachment ammunition later.”

That can be especially difficult for people who make their living on social media.

“Influencers often forget that in a criminal investigation, the algorithm is watching too,” Spodek noted. “Prosecutors now treat social media like a digital crime scene.”