TikToker Gabbie Gonzalez Pleads Not Guilty in Alleged Dark-Web Plot to Kill Jack Avery

TikTok influencer Gabbie Gonzalez pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that she joined her father and ex-boyfriend in an alleged dark-web murder-for-hire plot targeting former Why Don't We singer Jack Avery, the father of her daughter.

Gonzalez, 25, appeared in a Los Angeles County courtroom with her father, Florida attorney Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her former boyfriend, Hawaii surf instructor Kai Faron Cordrey, 26. All three pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder and face 25 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.

Prosecutors allege the plot grew out of a custody dispute and escalated from efforts to discredit Avery to surveillance, intimidation and plans to pay for his killing with cryptocurrency.

All three waived a formal reading of the charges at the Sept. 14 arraignment. Judge Louis T. Parise Jr. ordered them back to court Nov. 18 for a preliminary hearing, when prosecutors will have to present enough evidence for the case to proceed toward trial.

Gonzalez's attorney, Elliot R. Zarabi, said after the hearing that the evidence will present a different account than the one prosecutors have described.

"There are two sides to every case, and thus far, the public has heard only one," Zarabi said, adding that he expects "a very different picture of Gabriela and this case" to emerge as the evidence is tested.

In an earlier filing seeking permission for Gonzalez to see her daughter while the criminal case is pending, Zarabi described her alleged role as "comparatively limited." He argued that Cordrey handled the "primary operational aspects" of the alleged scheme and that prosecutors rely heavily on statements from a co-defendant who has an incentive to minimize his own conduct.

The defense also argued that prosecutors have presented no direct evidence that Gonzalez personally hired a hit man, transferred cryptocurrency or communicated with undercover agents.

Prosecutors tell a far different story, alleging that a custody fight escalated over roughly two years into surveillance, intimidation efforts and an ultimately funded murder-for-hire plot.

Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott has said the alleged conduct moved from efforts to discredit Avery in family court to "a funded murder-for-hire plot designed to remove Jack permanently."

According to the felony complaint, Gonzalez repeatedly discussed wanting Avery dead between October 2020 and May 2021 and enlisted Cordrey to help arrange a killing through the dark web using bitcoin. Prosecutors allege the plan was to make Avery's death appear accidental.

Francisco Gonzalez allegedly transferred $10,000 to Cordrey in April 2021 to help fund the plot. Cordrey then moved money into a Gemini cryptocurrency account and began communicating through a dark-web murder-for-hire account under the alias "LizardKing69," prosecutors say.

On May 22, 2021, Cordrey allegedly identified Avery as the target, provided a Los Angeles address, and told the operator that Avery could be killed by whatever method was easiest, including a shooting or staged accident.

When another $4,000 was requested the following month, prosecutors allege Cordrey went back to Francisco Gonzalez for the money and later pressed for Avery to be killed within 48 hours.

The investigation shifted in September 2021, when an undercover FBI agent posing as a hired killer began speaking with Cordrey about the alleged job. Cordrey allegedly told the agent that Gonzalez wanted Avery dead and that her father would pay for the killing.

Francisco Gonzalez is accused of later contacting the same undercover agent using the password "Bullrun" to discuss an earlier bitcoin transfer.

Prosecutors also point to an October 2022 recorded call in which Gonzalez allegedly told Cordrey that she could involve her father because "he had been handling most of it" while the two discussed what could happen if the plot were discovered.

The criminal case became public in May after Avery sought a civil restraining order in family court. Avery said in court papers that the FBI first warned him in 2021 that someone had been hired to kill him.

Avery said he later learned Gonzalez had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and that their daughter had temporarily been placed with a foster family. He said he traveled to retrieve the child and was later contacted repeatedly by Gonzalez's relatives seeking information about her whereabouts.

Two women Avery identified as friends of Gonzalez also allegedly appeared at his Southern California home and demanded to know where the girl was, according to his filing.

Avery said the FBI advised im that being around Gonzalez was unsafe, but he continued arranging contact with his daughter despite his concerns.

"I continued to travel to see [my daughter] and had to learn to manage my own fears and anxiety," Avery wrote. "I did so because of how important [my daughter] is to me and out of serious concern for her safety and well-being."

The Nov. 18 preliminary hearing will be the next major stage in the criminal case. Prosecutors will not need to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt at that hearing, but they will have to show sufficient evidence to keep the case moving toward trial.