LOS ANGELES (Court TV) — Singer Jack Avery has asked a court to intervene and grant him sole custody of his daughter after the child’s mother allegedly tried to have him killed.
Jack Avery of Why Don’t We performs at 93.3 FLZ’s Jingle Ball at Amalie Arena on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Gabriela Gonzalez, 24, is facing charges along with her father, Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her ex-boyfriend, Kai Cordrey, 26, after the three allegedly worked for months trying to plot a murder-for-hire.
In a statement filed in court, Avery said that he shares custody of his 7-year-old daughter with Gabriela Gonzalez, who was arrested on May 15 on charges of solicitation of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder-for-hire in Los Angeles. “The FBI warned me five years ago that it was not safe for me to be around Gabriela,” Avery’s statement reads. “I have been very aware of the safety risks every time I scheduled a custody visit and had to see Gabriela for an exchange.”
“For the past seven years, I have personally witnessed [Gabriela Gonzalez’s] dangerous, aggressive and fraudulent behavior that interfered with my custodial time and parenting rights,” the statement added.
In documents reviewed by Court TV, prosecutors in Los Angeles say the plot to kill Avery began in 2020, when the custody dispute over their child became contentious. Prosecutors say that after repeatedly portraying Avery as “unfit, dangerous or harmful” to his daughter, Gabriela Gonzalez began talking to both her father and Cordrey about hiring a hit man and “making the killing appear to be an accident.”
By April 2021, Cordrey allegedly told his mother that there was a “15k$+ bounty” if she knew anyone who could get Avery away from his daughter. The next month, Cordrey allegedly created the profile “LizardKing69” to set up a murder-for-hire account on the dark web. The group eventually made contact with an undercover FBI agent, who recorded phone calls with the participants as part of what they believed was a plot to kill.
In his request for sole custody and a restraining order keeping Gabriela Gonzalez away from both him and their daughter, Avery said that he believes his ex has been disparaging him to their child. After her mother was arrested, the 7-year-old allegedly told a social worker, “It’s dad’s fault mama got arrested.”
Avery said he is being harassed by Gabriela Gonzalez’s friends and family, who “have been calling me and texting me relentlessly, demanding to know where [the child] is and to talk to [the child].” Avery said that two women he did not know, but who are apparently friends with Gabriela Gonzalez, appeared on his property on Saturday and were banging on the door and ringing his doorbell, demanding to know where the child was. “One of the two said she could ‘do this all day,'” his complaint reads.
Francisco Gonzalez was arrested on Monday in Central Florida, where he has a law practice. He waived his extradition at a brief hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
