A high-powered Miami lawyer, his influencer daughter and a Hawaiian surf instructor have all been accused in a murder-for-hire plot targeting a Los Angeles singer who was a member of a 2010s boy band, two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Times.
Francisco Gonzalez, his daughter, Gabriela, and Kai Cordrey were all charged Tuesday with conspiracy, attempted murder and solicitation to commit murder, according to court records made public late Tuesday morning. The target of the plot was Jack Avery, who was once a member of L.A.-based boy band Why Don’t We, according to the two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss an active criminal investigation.
Gabriela Gonzalez, 25, was booked into a Los Angeles County jail Monday on suspicion of conspiracy, records show. Her father was arrested Monday in Florida, according to TMZ, which first broke details of the plot.
Cordrey was expected to be arrested in Hawaii, and Gabriela Gonzalez will likely be arraigned in a downtown L.A. courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, one source said.
Attorneys for the defendants were not yet listed in court records.
Francisco and Gabriela Gonzalez were furious at Avery because of a child custody dispute, according to the sources. Avery and Gabriela Gonzalez have 7-year-old daughter.
Cordrey married Gabriela after she split from Avery, though his role in the alleged crime was not clear.
The sources did not explain how the alleged murder plot was supposed to work. One source said the FBI intercepted the scheme “years ago” and that Avery was not in danger.
A spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Times could not immediately reach a representative for Avery.
A spokesman for the L.A. County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The elder Gonzalez is a native of Venezuela who works at the Florida-based law firm Shahady & Wurtenberger, where he specializes in international cases, according to his biography on the law firm’s website.
A representative for the firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Francisco Gonzalez’s personal Instagram account is home to posts questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election and a picture with his arm around U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Florida senator.
His daughter, Gabriela, has 473,000 followers on an Instagram page that shows her surfing and sunbathing around Maui. She is also wildly popular on TikTok for her lifestyle posts, according to TMZ.
Avery was a member of the boy band Why Don’t We, which released three albums to moderate success in the late 2010s. He is in the process of launching a solo career and dropped the single “XOXOX” earlier this year.
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