Ex-girlfriend of boy band member charged with trying to hire a hitman to kill him

FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. THAT’S ALL COMING UP IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES. SEE YOU SOON. CAM, A CENTRAL FLORIDA LAWYER, IS BEHIND BARS TONIGHT ACCUSED OF PLOTTING TO HAVE SOMEONE KILLED IN CALIFORNIA WHO HAD A CHILD WITH HIS INFLUENCER DAUGHTER. WESH TWO KENNEDY MASON IS LIVE AT THE SEMINOLE COUNTY JAIL WITH WHAT SHE’S LEARNING ABOUT THE SUSPECT. KENNEDY. THE MAN ACCUSED IN THIS PLOT IS A WELL KNOWN ATTORNEY RIGHT HERE IN SEMINOLE COUNTY. I SPOKE TO ONE OF HIS COWORKERS COWORKERS TODAY AT HIS FIRM WHO SAYS HE IS SHOCKED, DESCRIBING FRANCISCO AS A KIND CHRISTIAN MAN DEVOTED TO COMMUNITY SERVICE. BUT COURT DOCUMENTS PAINT A VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE. FIVE FRANCISCO GONZALEZ. FRANCISCO GONZALEZ APPEARED IN FRONT OF A SEMINOLE COUNTY JUDGE TUESDAY AFTERNOON, WHERE HE WAIVED HIS EXTRADITION. HE WILL BE CONSENTING TO BE VOLUNTARILY TRANSFERRED IN CUSTODY TO THE TO CALIFORNIA. ACCORDING TO THE ARREST WARRANT, JACK AVERY HAS A CHILD WITH FRANCISCO’S DAUGHTER, GABRIELLA GONZALEZ, A WELL KNOWN INFLUENCER. DOCUMENTS OUT OF CALIFORNIA SAY AVERY AND GABRIELLA HAVE A LONG RUNNING CUSTODY DISPUTE AND THAT FRANCISCO BECAME DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE CONFLICT. WITNESSES DESCRIBED THE GONZALEZ FAMILY AS OBSESSED WITH HAVING FULL CUSTODY. ONE WITNESS CLAIMED THAT GABRIELLA SAID SHE WANTED JACK AVERY DEAD AND DISCUSSED HIRING A HIT MAN. THAT SAME WITNESS ALLEGED THE INTENT KILLING WAS DISCUSSED AS OCCURRING IN LOS ANGELES AND BEING MADE TO LOOK LIKE A CAR ACCIDENT. ANOTHER WITNESS STATED GABRIELLA TOLD HIM A MAN HAD BEEN RECRUITED TO CARRY OUT THE KILLING. THAT WITNESS ALSO ALLEGED FRANCISCO SAID IT WOULD ALL BE CHEAPER IF AVERY WERE DEAD, AND DESCRIBED FRANCISCO AS A MAJOR FORCE BEHIND THE FAMILY’S HOSTILITY. INVESTIGATORS SAY FRANCISCO PAID THE WOULD BE HITMAN ROUGHLY $10,000, DISGUISING THE PAYMENTS AS WEB DEVELOPMENT WORK. THEY SAY THERE WAS NO ACTUAL WEB DEVELOPMENT DONE. GONZALEZ IS NOW AWAITING TO BE TRANSFERRED TO CALIFORNIA TO FACE CHARGES THERE. HIS DAUGHTER, GABRIELLA, WAS ALSO ARRESTED IN CALIFORNIA. WE ARE TOLD THAT GONZALEZ’S LAW FIRM WILL REMAIN OPEN, BUT NOBODY THERE WANTED TO GO ON CAMERA.

Updated: 10:00 PM EDT May 21, 2026

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Updated: 10:00 PM EDT May 21, 2026

Editorial Standards ⓘ

The former girlfriend of a member of the boy band Why Don't We has been charged with trying to hire a hitman on the dark web to kill him as part of a custody dispute over their now 7-year-old daughter, prosecutors said.Gabriela Gonzalez, a 24-year-old with a large social media following, was charged Tuesday with one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder in the alleged plot to kill Jack Avery, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Gonzalez's father, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her then-boyfriend Kai Cordrey, 26, face the same charges.Related video above: Lawyer arrested in Seminole County accused of murder-for-hire plot out of Los Angeles“This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a news release.He said the charges were the result of a lengthy investigation that was initiated by the FBI and eventually turned over to the district attorney's office.Avery thanked prosecutors and law enforcement for their support in an Instagram post Thursday and said his focus is on “being the best father I can be.”Prosecutors say Gonzalez is accused of seeking the help of Cordrey to hire someone to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021. Then, in April 2021, her father allegedly sent Cordrey $10,000 as front money in the plot, prosecutors said. Two months later, prosecutors said, Cordrey allegedly requested and got $4,000 more from Francisco Gonzalez when the alleged hit man asked for more money.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, prosecutors said.Gabriela Gonzalez, who has over 450,000 followers on Instagram, was being held in a Los Angeles-area detention facility on $2 million bond on Thursday. Her attorney, Elliot Zarabi, did not immediately return a call for comment.Francisco Gonzalez, who WESH reports is a well-known attorney in Seminole County, Florida, was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition. He appeared Tuesday afternoon before a Seminole County judge after being arrested on a California warrant accusing him of involvement in the murder-for-hire plot.Francisco Gonzalez, 59, waived extradition during the hearing and is now awaiting transfer to California to face charges there.Los Angeles County jail records show that Cordrey was arrested Thursday. Jail records did not show an attorney for him.If convicted, all three defendants face up to life in prison.The boy band Why Don't We released their debut album in 2018, which included the song “8 Letters,” and a sophomore album three years later. They have since disbanded, and Avery released the single “XOXOX” on his own this year.

Gabriela Gonzalez, a 24-year-old with a large social media following, was charged Tuesday with one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder in the alleged plot to kill Jack Avery, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Gonzalez's father, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her then-boyfriend Kai Cordrey, 26, face the same charges.

Related video above: Lawyer arrested in Seminole County accused of murder-for-hire plot out of Los Angeles

“This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a news release.

He said the charges were the result of a lengthy investigation that was initiated by the FBI and eventually turned over to the district attorney's office.

Avery thanked prosecutors and law enforcement for their support in an Instagram post Thursday and said his focus is on “being the best father I can be.”

Prosecutors say Gonzalez is accused of seeking the help of Cordrey to hire someone to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021. Then, in April 2021, her father allegedly sent Cordrey $10,000 as front money in the plot, prosecutors said. Two months later, prosecutors said, Cordrey allegedly requested and got $4,000 more from Francisco Gonzalez when the alleged hit man asked for more money.

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, prosecutors said.

Gabriela Gonzalez, who has over 450,000 followers on Instagram, was being held in a Los Angeles-area detention facility on $2 million bond on Thursday. Her attorney, Elliot Zarabi, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Francisco Gonzalez, who WESH reports is a well-known attorney in Seminole County, Florida, was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition. He appeared Tuesday afternoon before a Seminole County judge after being arrested on a California warrant accusing him of involvement in the murder-for-hire plot.

Francisco Gonzalez, 59, waived extradition during the hearing and is now awaiting transfer to California to face charges there.

Los Angeles County jail records show that Cordrey was arrested Thursday. Jail records did not show an attorney for him.

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

The boy band Why Don't We released their debut album in 2018, which included the song “8 Letters,” and a sophomore album three years later. They have since disbanded, and Avery released the single “XOXOX” on his own this year.

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Ex-girlfriend of boy band member charged with trying to hire a hitman to kill him

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