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 darkish internet to kill him as half of a custody dispute over their now 7-year-old daughter, prosecutors mentioned.
Gabriela Gonzalez, a 24-year-old with a massive social media following, was charged Tuesday with one depend of tried homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide and solicitation of homicide within the alleged plot to kill Jack Avery, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office mentioned. Gonzalez’s father, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her then-boyfriend Kai Cordrey, 26, face the identical costs.
“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 mentioned in a information launch.
He mentioned the fees had been the outcome of a prolonged investigation that was initiated by the FBI and ultimately turned over to the district legal professional’s workplace.
Avery thanked prosecutors and legislation enforcement for his or her assist in an Instagram put up Thursday and mentioned his focus is on “being the best father I can be.”
Prosecutors say Gonzalez is accused of in search of the assistance of Cordrey to hire somebody to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021. Then, in April 2021, her father allegedly despatched Cordrey $10,000 as entrance cash within the plot, prosecutors mentioned. Two months later, prosecutors mentioned, Cordrey allegedly requested and received $4,000 extra from Francisco Gonzalez when the alleged hit man requested for more cash.
In September 2021, an undercover legislation enforcement officer posing as a hitman spoke with Cordrey in regards to the murder-for-hire plot. Cordrey is accused of telling the undercover officer that Avery was the goal and mentioned cost and proof of dying, prosecutors mentioned.
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 legal professional, Elliot Zarabi, didn’t instantly return a name for remark.
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 legal professional to converse on his behalf on the fees.
Los Angeles County jail data present that Cordrey was arrested Thursday. His bail was set at $2 million, in accordance to a spokesperson for the district legal professional’s workplace. Jail data didn’t present an legal professional for him.
If convicted, all three defendants face up to life in jail.
The boy band Why Don’t We launched their debut album in 2018, which included the track “8 Letters,” and a sophomore album three years later. They have since disbanded, and Avery launched the only “XOXOX” on his personal this 12 months.