Jack Avery Wins Sole Custody of Daughter as Ex Gabbie Gonzalez Faces Murder-for-Hire Charges

Singer Jack Avery won sole physical custody of his seven-year-old daughter and a five-year domestic violence restraining order against his former girlfriend, TikTok influencer Gabriela “Gabbie” Gonzalez, who is facing criminal charges over an alleged plot to hire a hit man to kill him during their custody dispute.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Comer Robinson issued the ruling on October 21, 2026, following a two-day hearing in which Avery testified that he feared Gonzalez and described years of anxiety after learning that federal investigators were examining an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting him.

Robinson found that Gonzalez, 25, had engaged in “clearly manipulative behavior” that caused Avery emotional harm. The judge also determined that their daughter had been a direct victim of Gonzalez's abuse. Although Avery received sole physical custody, Robinson said professionally monitored visits with Gonzalez would serve the child's best interests once an existing criminal protective order permits contact.

Avery, 27, a former member of the boy band Why Don't We, told the court that the FBI first contacted him in 2021 about an investigation involving Gonzalez. He testified that agents warned him against traveling to Hawaii, where his daughter was living with her mother, because of concerns about his safety.

The warning complicated an already contentious custody arrangement. Avery said he missed more than 25 visits with his daughter and became increasingly fearful of traveling, particularly after learning additional details about the alleged plan following Gonzalez's arrest in May.

“I'm very scared of Gabriela,” Avery testified, describing the emotional impact of the investigation. He told the court that he now experiences severe anxiety and panic disorder, and that the missed opportunities to see his daughter had been devastating.

His testimony followed accounts from Gonzalez's former boyfriend Cody Clayburn and Clayburn's mother, Paige, who appeared during the first day of proceedings on October 20.

Cody Clayburn testified by video that he had been living with Gonzalez in Hawaii when FBI agents searched their home and seized electronic devices in November 2022. After questioning her about the raid, he said Gonzalez told him that another former boyfriend, Kai Cordrey, had wanted to help eliminate Avery and that a Bitcoin payment had been made.

According to Clayburn, Gonzalez became distressed after the search, discussed leaving the country, and expressed concern that investigators would discover evidence on her phone that could send her to prison. He said she considered fleeing to South America, although he could not remember whether she identified a particular country.

The witnesses also described Gonzalez's conduct during Avery's communications with their daughter. Cody Clayburn said she frequently lowered the volume during FaceTime calls and criticized Avery in the child's presence. Paige Clayburn recalled similar behavior and described a contentious custody exchange in which Gonzalez allegedly tried to pull the girl from Avery's arms.

Gonzalez did not testify during the civil hearing. Her attorney indicated that she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, which protects individuals from being compelled to provide testimony that could expose them to criminal liability.

The custody ruling comes as Gonzalez, her father, Francisco Gonzalez, and Cordrey await further proceedings on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder. All three pleaded not guilty in September.

Los Angeles County prosecutors allege that Gonzalez sought Cordrey's assistance between 2020 and 2021 to arrange Avery's killing through a dark web murder-for-hire service. Investigators say the scheme developed amid the former couple's custody battle, with the defendants allegedly seeking to remove Avery from his daughter's life.

According to prosecutors, Francisco Gonzalez provided Cordrey with $10,000 in April 2021 to locate and pay a purported hit man, followed by another $4,000 two months later. Cordrey allegedly used cryptocurrency and online communications to arrange the killing, including discussions about staging Avery's death as an accident.

The alleged scheme eventually reached an undercover FBI agent posing as a contract killer. Prosecutors say Cordrey identified Avery as the target and discussed payment and proof of death with the agent in September 2021. Investigators also obtained communications in which the defendants allegedly discussed the plot and the possibility of exposure.

Gonzalez's criminal defense attorney, Elliot Zarabi, disputes the prosecution's account of her involvement. In court filings, he argued that Cordrey handled the principal operational aspects of the alleged scheme and that prosecutors relied heavily on statements from a co-defendant with an incentive to shift responsibility.

Zarabi has also challenged Avery's motives for seeking a restraining order years after the alleged plot began, accusing the singer of using the dispute to attract attention to his career. He maintains that Gonzalez is willing to stay away from Avery and wants an opportunity to see her daughter.

Francisco Gonzalez's attorney, Karen L. Goldstein, has separately accused prosecutors of exaggerating the allegations and presenting a distorted account of her client's conduct.

The family court's findings address domestic abuse and custody rather than criminal responsibility for the alleged murder plot. The prosecution must establish the criminal charges in separate proceedings, where all three defendants retain the presumption of innocence.

Gonzalez, her father, and Cordrey are scheduled to return to criminal court on November 18, 2026, for a preliminary hearing. Each faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.