Gabbie Gonzalez was charged Tuesday in Los Angeles in an alleged murder-for-hire plot that prosecutors say targeted musician Jack Avery, her former partner and the father of her seven-year-old daughter. She did not enter a plea in a downtown courtroom, where she appeared in a blue hoodie and handcuffs, and her arraignment was continued to Thursday.
A judge set bail at $2 million and ordered Gonzalez to stay at least 100 yards from Avery and their child with no contact. Prosecutors say she, her father Francisco Gonzalez and her ex-boyfriend Kai Faron Cordrey each face one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder.
The case turns on allegations that stretch back more than two years. Prosecutors say that between October 2020 and May 2021, Gonzalez repeatedly discussed wanting Jack Avery dead and enlisted Cordrey to help hire someone to carry out the killing. The complaint says the pair discussed using Bitcoin on the dark web and making the death look like an accident, a plan prosecutors tie to a bitter custody dispute between Gonzalez and Avery.
According to prosecutors, Francisco Gonzalez sent Cordrey $10,000 in front money on April 26, 2021, and Cordrey moved the funds to a Gemini cryptocurrency account before opening a dark-web murder-for-hire account under the alias LizardKing69. On May 22, 2021, Cordrey identified Avery as the target, gave an address in Los Angeles and told participants that Avery should be killed by whatever method was easiest. When the account administrator later demanded another $4,000 on June 4, 2021, prosecutors say Cordrey went back to Francisco Gonzalez for more cash.
Several days later, Cordrey allegedly asked that Avery be killed within a couple of days. On Sept. 19, 2021, an undercover FBI agent posing as a hit man spoke by phone with Cordrey about the supposed plot, and Cordrey allegedly identified Avery as the target while discussing payment and proof of death. In a later conversation, prosecutors say Cordrey said Gonzalez wanted the killing carried out and that Francisco could pay for it. Francisco Gonzalez then contacted the undercover agent using the password Bullrun to discuss a prior Bitcoin payment.
Gonzalez, who was arrested last week in Northern California, appeared in court as the case moved into its first major public hearing. Her father was arrested Monday in Seminole County, Florida, and online jail records show he was being held without bond. The record prosecutors laid out also says Gonzalez spoke with Cordrey on a recorded call on Oct. 20, 2022, about communications with the supposed hit man and how to respond to the threat of exposure.
The allegations land against a backdrop that has made the case resonate beyond the courtroom. Gonzalez and Avery share a young daughter, and Gonzalez's TikTok and Instagram accounts each reportedly draw nearly half a million followers. Avery is also identified as a former member of the boy band Why Don't We, a detail that has helped push the case into the public eye. For now, the next step is procedural: Gonzalez is due back in court Thursday, while the prosecution has already laid out a timeline it says connects family conflict, cryptocurrency and an alleged plan to kill a well-known musician.
