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 seven-year-old daughter, prosecutors said.
Gabriela Gonzalez, a 24-year-old with a large social media following, was charged May 19with 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.
"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 US$10,000 as front money in the plot, prosecutors said. Two months later, prosecutors said, Cordrey allegedly requested and got US$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 US$2milbond on Thursday. Her attorney, Elliot Zarabi, did not immediately return a call for comment.
Francisco Gonzalez was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition. He was being held in a jail in Florida in Seminole County on Thursday. It was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf on the charges.
Los Angeles County jail records show that Cordrey was arrested Thursday. His bail was set at US$2mil, according to a spokesperson for the district attorney's office. 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 itsdebut album in 2018, which included the song 8 Letters,and a sophomore album three years later. The group has since disbanded, and Avery released the single XOXOX on his own this year. - AP
