Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez, a 25-year-old TikTok influencer, was arrested in California in June 2026 for allegedly conspiring to hire a hitman to kill her ex-boyfriend Jack Avery, father of their 7-year-old daughter Lavender [1, 2, 3]. Her father, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, a Florida-based lawyer, was also arrested on related charges [1, 2].
The alleged murder-for-hire plot stemmed from a long and heated custody battle between Gonzalez and Avery that escalated between 2020 and 2022 [1, 3]. Prosecutors say Francisco Gonzalez paid Kai Faron Codrey, Gabriela's then-boyfriend, $14,000 or $10,000 disguised as web development payments, depending on the source, to find and pay a hitman [2, 3]. Codrey later sought an additional $4,000 for the job [3]. The payments were discussed in communications with an undercover federal agent posing as a hitman [1, 2].
Codrey, who was charged in connection with the plot, allegedly used the pseudonym "LizardKing69" on the dark web to manage the murder-for-hire account [3]. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Cordrey told the undercover officer that Avery was the target and discussed payment and proof of death. "In a subsequent conversation, Cordrey allegedly told the purported hitman that Gabriela Gonzalez wanted the murder to happen and Francisco Gonzalez could pay for the expense," the DA said [2].
Jack Avery is a former member of the boy band Why Don’t We [1, 2, 3]. Prosecutors allege that Gabriela and Francisco Gonzalez falsely portrayed Avery as unfit or dangerous to remove him from his daughter's life [3].
The arrests came while Gabriela Gonzalez was attempting to board a flight in California and Francisco Gonzalez was taken into custody in Florida [1, 2]. If convicted, the defendants face 25 years to life in prison [2].
Authorities have not disclosed the next court dates, but the case remains open with ongoing investigation into the murder-for-hire conspiracy and related custody issues.
