Influencer Gabbie Gonzalez Accused in Murder-for-Hire Plot Against Jack Avery

TikTok influencer Gabbie Gonzalez — known to her more than a million followers for lifestyle content and motherhood posts — has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder in an alleged plot to kill Jack Avery, the Why Don’t We singer who is the father of her 7-year-old daughter, Lavender. Her father, Francisco Gonzalez, has been arrested in Florida on the same charge. And the details coming out of court documents are nothing short of jaw-dropping.

Gabbie was taken into custody last week in Humboldt County, California, as she was attempting to board a flight — reportedly while traveling with Lavender. She was transferred Monday to Los Angeles County, where she’s currently jailed without bail. Her arraignment took place Tuesday in L.A. County court. Francisco was arrested Monday in Florida and has not yet been extradited to California.

How the Alleged Plot Unfolded

According to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, the alleged scheme stretches back to 2021 and was rooted in a bitter custody battle between Gabbie and Jack over their daughter. Francisco allegedly got deeply involved in that fight — and, according to a witness, made a chilling remark that it would simply be cheaper if Jack were dead.

Cops say Francisco’s original plan involved tracking and photographing Jack in Hawaii, where the singer lives, to capture footage of him smoking, drinking, or doing anything that could damage him in custody proceedings. But the alleged plan escalated far beyond surveillance.

In one alleged communication between family members, Francisco wrote: “Call Barca … never too early.” Authorities believe “Barca” refers to a man named Dustin Barca. Investigators say Gabbie and her friend Kai Cordrey later allegedly tried to recruit Barca to threaten Jack directly.

It didn’t stop there. According to an affidavit obtained by People, witnesses told investigators that Gabbie repeatedly said she wanted Jack dead and discussed hiring a hitman to make it happen. She and Cordrey allegedly talked about using the dark web and Bitcoin to arrange the murder — and even discussed staging it to look like a car accident.

Then came the money. A witness told police that Francisco electronically paid Kai $10,000 on April 26, 2021, described as “web-development payments.” Kai later told cops that was a cover story — no web services were ever performed. Armed with that information, a federal agent posed as the hitman and got Francisco on the phone. During that call, investigators say, Francisco made it clear he had made the payments, discussed the target, and used coded language — including the term “bullrun” — while also talking about prior Bitcoin payments and arranging “payment/accountability after completion.”

The Witnesses Who Blew It Open

Two people close to Gabbie’s inner circle ultimately helped bring the case to law enforcement: her former live-in nanny, McKenzie Ferry, and her estranged husband, Cody Clayburn.

McKenzie was the first to alert authorities — back in 2021, according to a source with direct knowledge of the case. Her report is what triggered an FBI raid on the Hawaii home Gabbie shared with Cody after their 2022 marriage (described as a ceremony, though not a legally recognized one). During that raid, agents confiscated electronics and interviewed Gabbie. But at the time, federal investigators felt they didn’t have enough evidence to move forward.

A frustrated lead investigator eventually handed the case over to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department last year. That agency re-interviewed witnesses — including both McKenzie and Cody — and determined there was enough to make arrests. Cops had originally planned to take Gabbie into custody during a child custody exchange this June, but when she stopped communicating with Jack, the timeline was accelerated.

Cody, for his part, didn’t stay quiet once the news broke. Shortly after TMZ published the story, he shared it on Instagram with a single word: “Karma.”

Jack Avery Had Already Been Warned — Sort Of

Jack Avery, who rose to fame as a member of Why Don’t We, has known something was wrong for a while. Last year, he revealed in an interview on the Zach Sang Show that FBI agents had shown up at his mom’s house and told him someone had been trying to have him killed. He said he knew the names of the alleged conspirators but wasn’t able to share them publicly.

When asked why someone would want him dead, Jack’s answer was painfully simple: “To get stress out of their life.” Asked what stress he could possibly be causing anyone, he said: “None.”

He also opened up about the toll the situation took on him — saying he was traumatized by the news and that he turned to alcohol during that period as his mental state deteriorated.

What makes the interview even more striking in hindsight: in that same conversation, Jack spoke warmly about Gabbie, calling her a “great” and “incredible mom” to Lavender. He apparently had no idea at the time that she was allegedly the one behind the plot.

Jack has not yet spoken publicly about the arrests. Francisco remains behind bars in Florida, awaiting extradition. And Gabbie — the influencer who built her following documenting motherhood, travel, and daily life — sits in an L.A. County jail without bail, facing a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.