A TikTok star recruited her dad to kill her boy band baby daddy, officials say

A TikTok star was arrested in California this week and accused of trying to hire someone to kill her daughter’s father, boy band singer Jack Avery.

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Gabriela Gonzalez — a 24-year-old influencer with nearly half a million followers on TikTok — has been charged with one count each of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release Tuesday.

Prosecutors alleged that with the help of her father, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her ex-boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, the TikTok star plotted to kill Avery between 2020 and 2021.

“Most fathers raise their children to respect the law, but here we have a father who allegedly helped his daughter and her boyfriend break the law in the most sinister way imaginable,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement.

It is unclear whether any of the defendants have retained an attorney. Avery, a member of the boy band Why Don’t We, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Between 2020 and 2021, Gabriela Gonzalez is accused of enlisting the help of her then-boyfriend, Cordrey, to hire someone on the dark web to kill Avery. Gabriela Gonzalez was later involved in a custody dispute over her 7-year-old daughter with Avery, officials said.

Francisco Gonzalez, a Florida-based personal injury attorney, sent Cordrey $10,000 in April 2021 as initial money to use to locate, hire and pay someone to kill Avery, prosecutors said.

Two months later, Cordrey requested and received an additional $4,000 from Francisco Gonzalez, after the alleged hitman requested additional funds, officials said. Several days later, Cordrey requested that Avery be killed within a few days, according to prosecutors.

In September of that year, an undercover law enforcement agent posing as a hitman spoke with Cordrey about the murder-for-hire plot, prosecutors said. Officials accused Cordrey of telling the undercover agent that Avery was the target, discussing payment and asking for proof of death, according to the release.

In another conversation, Cordrey told the alleged hitman “that Gabriela Gonzalez wanted the murder to happen” and that her father could pay the costs, prosecutors said.[ayfortheexpenseprosecutorssaid[ayfortheexpenseprosecutorssaid

Francisco Gonzalez and Cordrey were also charged in connection with the alleged scheme, prosecutors said.

Francisco Gonzalez was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition to California this week, according to authorities. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office, Greg Risling, told NBC News in an email that Cordrey had not yet been arrested.

If convicted, the trio could face a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

“This has been a lengthy investigation that was initiated by the FBI and ultimately turned over to our office, resulting in the filing of criminal charges today,” Hochman said Tuesday.

Photos of Gabriela Gonzalez on her Instagram account, where she also has nearly 500,000 followers, show her posing under palm trees and in front of waterfalls, wearing colorful bikinis. Her Instagram bio describes her as a “lover of life” and a “mermaid at heart.”

On TikTok, the 24-year-old posts videos of herself cooking, dancing and sharing her views on pop culture trends. In a video she posted in 2024, Gabriela Gonzalez said her favorite song from Taylor Swift’s new album The Tortured Poets Department was “I Can Do With a Broken Heart.”

“I feel like so many people can relate to this because so many people get their hearts broken every day in different ways, shapes or forms, and we still do,” she said.