Social-media influencer Gabriela “Gabbie” Gonzalez, her father Francisco Gonzalez, and her former boyfriend Kai Faron Cordrey pleaded not guilty Monday, Sept. 14, to charges alleging a plot to kill singer Jack Avery, formerly of the boy band Why Don’t We.
The three defendants each face one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The pleas are denials of the charges, not findings about the underlying allegations. All three defendants are presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Court TV and MyNewsLA reported that the arraignment was brief and that the court set a Nov. 18 hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence exists for the case to proceed to trial. Court TV also reported that the judge granted Francisco Gonzalez a modification allowing him to attend Sunday church services while remaining subject to GPS monitoring. That hearing concerned release conditions, not guilt or innocence.
The prosecution was announced in May after what the DA’s office described as a lengthy investigation begun by the FBI and later referred to county prosecutors. Authorities allege the defendants sought to arrange Avery’s killing amid a custody dispute involving Gonzalez and Avery’s young daughter. Prosecutors contend that Francisco Gonzalez provided money, and that Cordrey communicated with an undercover officer posing as a hit man. Those are allegations from the prosecution, and they have not been tested at trial.
Avery’s place in the story puts the case at the intersection of criminal procedure and a contemporary form of celebrity built through pop fandom, social platforms, and family-court visibility. Why Don’t We emerged during the streaming-era boy-band revival, cultivating an online audience for whom musicians’ personal lives can become content alongside releases and tour announcements. Gonzalez, meanwhile, had built a substantial audience of her own. The case’s public interest does not change the legal standard or justify treating claims in a criminal complaint as established fact.
The important development this week is procedural: the defendants have now entered pleas after the initial charges and delays in the case. A not-guilty plea requires the state to prove the allegations; it is not an account of what happened and does not foreclose later motions, negotiations, or trial. Likewise, the counts are not convictions, and no sentence has been imposed.
Los Angeles prosecutors say each defendant could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted as charged. That potential range should be understood as contingent on a conviction and the applicable sentencing findings, rather than as a prediction of the outcome. The Nov. 18 proceeding is expected to address the preliminary-hearing stage, where a judge considers whether the prosecution has presented enough evidence for the matter to move forward.
For now, the record is clear on the narrowest point: Gonzalez, Francisco Gonzalez, and Cordrey have been charged, have pleaded not guilty, and remain in a pending Los Angeles criminal case. The allegations will be decided in court, not through the online circulation of a high-profile accusation.
Sources
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