TikTok influencer arrested at Calif. airport in alleged murder-for-hire plot

A TikTok influencer was arrested at the Arcata-Eureka airport in Humboldt County last week and later charged in Los Angeles County in an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting former Why Don’t We singer Jack Avery, the father of her child.

Read more Zuckerberg names communication as ‘one area’ to improve as Meta guts workforce

Gabriela “Gabbie” Gonzalez, 24, her father Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her former boyfriend Kai Faron Cordrey, 26, were each charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder in connection with what prosecutors described as a yearslong plot.

Court documents allege the plot stretched across several states, involved cryptocurrency payments and dark web communications, and at one point included discussions about making the killing “appear to be an accident.”

“This was a lengthy investigation that was initiated by the FBI and eventually turned over to our office, resulting in criminal charges being filed today,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement Tuesday. “This is a case where the defendants are accused of going to great lengths to find someone to commit murder.”

“Most fathers raise their children to respect the law,” Hochman added, “but here we have a dad who allegedly helped his daughter and her boyfriend break the law in the most sinister way imaginable.”

According to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Gonzalez was arrested Saturday at the California Redwood Coast–Humboldt County Airport in McKinleyville. Lt. Jesse Taylor told Redheaded Blackbelt that the sheriff’s office “assisted LA County DA with the apprehension” and that Gonzalez was “taken into custody at ACV in McKinleyville without incident.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gabriela Gonzalez🦋 (@gabbieegonzalez)

Court records show Gonzalez was initially held in Humboldt County from May 15 to May 16 before being transferred south to Los Angeles County custody. An extradition complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court recommended $2 million bail for each defendant.

The felony complaint alleges the custody battle centered on Gonzalez and Avery’s daughter. Prosecutors allege Gonzalez and her father “participated in a custody and visitation dispute” in which Avery allegedly was portrayed as “unfit, dangerous, or harmful.”

According to the complaint, Gonzalez and Francisco Gonzalez allegedly “used allegations concerning Jack Avery’s treatment” of the child, along with frustration over the family court process, “to encourage or justify efforts to remove Jack Avery from [the child’s] life.”

Read more Steve Kerr explains his political activism after returning to Warriors

Investigators allege Gonzalez repeatedly discussed wanting Avery dead between 2020 and 2021 and talked about hiring a hit man to kill him. They also allege Gonzalez and Cordrey discussed using bitcoin and the dark web to arrange the killing in Los Angeles.

In one allegation detailed in the complaint, prosecutors say Cordrey texted his mother in April 2021 that there was a “15k$+ bounty” if her contact knew someone who could help with “getting Jack Avery away from” the child. The complaint further alleges Gonzalez and Cordrey attempted to recruit a Hawaii man on the island of Kauai “to threaten, scare, or force Jack Avery off Kauai.”

Prosecutors allege Francisco Gonzalez later transferred roughly $10,000 to Cordrey as upfront money for the alleged murder-for-hire scheme, followed by a $4,000 payment routed through Cordrey’s business, Site Whisperer. The filings also allege Cordrey used the alias “LizardKing69” while creating or accessing a dark-web murder-for-hire account tied to Avery. Court records allege Cordrey later identified Avery as the target and provided a Woodland Hills address associated with him.

In June 2021, Cordrey allegedly confirmed to the purported dark-web administrator that he had uploaded “4K more” for the killing to be completed. Days later, prosecutors say, Cordrey requested Avery be killed “within two days” and said the killing did not need to be carried out “in any special way.” The investigation later involved an undercover FBI agent posing as a hit man. Cordrey allegedly discussed “payment and proof of death” with the undercover agent during a September 2021 phone call.

According to the complaint, Cordrey later told the undercover agent that Avery’s “ex-girlfriend,” meaning Gonzalez, “wanted the job done,” while “the father,” referring to Francisco Gonzalez, “still wanted it done and could pay.”

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