AN influencer has pleaded not guilty to plotting to murder the father of her daughter amid a bitter custody battle.

Gabbie Gonzalez, 25, is accused of teaming up with her own father and her ex-boyfriend to have singer Jack Avery killed by an assassin allegedly recruited on the dark web.

TikTok influencer Gabbie Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to plotting to murder boyband star Jack Avery

Gonzalez, her father, and ex-boyfriend are accused of conspiring to kill Avery (pictured) via the dark web

Avery, who shares a seven-year-old daughter with Gonzalez, was allegedly targeted as the pair fought over custody of the child.

Gonzalez appeared in a California courtroom on Monday alongside her dad, Florida lawyer Francisco Gonzalez, 59, and her ex-boyfriend Kai Faron Cordrey, 26.

All three pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder.

Los Angeles County prosecutors claim the extraordinary alleged plot unfolded against the backdrop of a prolonged custody dispute over Gonzalez and Avery’s seven-year-old daughter.

They allege Gonzalez repeatedly discussed wanting Avery dead between October 2020 and May 2021 before enlisting Cordrey, a Hawaii-based surf instructor, to help.

The pair allegedly discussed using bitcoin to hire someone through the dark web and making Avery’s death “appear to be an accident,” Rolling Stone reports.

Prosecutors claim Gonzalez and her family viewed the singer as “the obstacle to their desired control” over the child.

Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott alleged in a July court filing that the situation escalated from family court proceedings into something far more sinister.

He wrote that Gonzalez and her father’s alleged conduct “escalated from family-court litigation and efforts to discredit Jack, to surveillance and attempted third-party intimidation, and ultimately to a funded murder-for-hire plot designed to remove Jack permanently.”

Francisco allegedly sent Cordrey $10,000 in April 2021 to find someone willing to kill Avery, according to prosecutors.

Cordrey is accused of moving the cash into a cryptocurrency account before making contact with a supposed murder-for-hire service on the dark web.

He allegedly communicated with an account operating under the alias “LizardKing69.”

Prosecutors claim Cordrey identified Avery as the target on May 22, 2021 and supplied an address in Los Angeles where he could be found.

The alleged plot stemmed from a bitter custody battle over Gonzalez and Avery’s seven-year-old daughter

Prosecutors claim Gonzalez discussed Avery’s death and her father funded the murder-for-hire scheme

The complaint alleges he said the singer could be killed using whatever method was easiest, including being shot or dying in a staged incident.

The administrator of the account allegedly demanded another $4,000 the following month, prompting Cordrey to seek more cash from Gonzalez’s father.

Cordrey allegedly then pushed for Avery to be killed within days.

But prosecutors say the purported plot eventually put the suspects in contact with law enforcement.

An undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman spoke to Cordrey by phone in September 2021, according to the complaint.

Cordrey allegedly identified Avery as the intended victim and discussed payment as well as receiving proof that the singer was dead.

During another call, he allegedly told the undercover agent Gonzalez wanted Avery killed and that her father could pay for it.

Francisco then allegedly contacted the undercover agent using the password “Bullrun” and discussed an earlier bitcoin payment.

Prosecutors further allege Gonzalez spoke to Cordrey during a recorded call in October 2022 about the supposed hitman and “how to respond to the threat of exposure.”

She allegedly said she could speak to her dad because “he had been handling most of it.”

Gonzalez spoke only briefly during Monday’s court proceedings.

“Yes, your honor,” she replied when the judge asked whether she agreed to postpone her next hearing until November 18.

Gonzalez pictured at a hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on July 23, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

Gonzalez has been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder for allegedly hiring a hitman to murder her daughter’s father

She did not answer reporters’ questions after leaving court.

Her lawyer Elliot R. Zarabi insisted there was another side to the allegations against his client.

“There are two sides to every case, and thus far, the public has heard only one. We are confident that when the evidence is presented, tested, and placed in its proper context, a very different picture of Gabriela and this case will emerge,” he said.

Zarabi has previously argued that Gonzalez “played a comparatively limited role in the alleged conduct” and claimed the “primary operational aspects” of the alleged scheme were carried out by Cordrey.

He also questioned evidence allegedly stemming from Gonzalez’s co-defendant.

“Much of the evidence against Ms. Gonzalez derives from statements made by Cordrey himself, a charged co-defendant, with every incentive to shift blame and minimize his own conduct,” Zarabi wrote.

The lawyer claimed there was no “direct evidence showing that Ms. Gonzalez hired a hit man, negotiated a killing, transmitted cryptocurrency, communicated with undercover operatives, or directly engaged in operational planning.”

Avery, meanwhile, has claimed he learned about the alleged murder plot years before the case became public.

The singer sought a civil restraining order against Gonzalez shortly before charges were made public in May.

“I was notified by the FBI that a hit man was hired to kill me,” he wrote in a declaration.

Avery claimed the FBI warned him “it was not safe” for him to be around Gonzalez.

He said he nevertheless continued travelling to see their daughter despite fears for his safety.

“I continued to travel to see [my daughter] and had to learn to manage my own fears and anxiety,” Avery wrote.

“I did so because of how important [my daughter] is to me and out of serious concern for her safety and well-being.”

If convicted as charged, Gonzalez, Francisco and Cordrey each face 25 years to life in state prison, according to prosecutors.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/17007856/influencer-gabbie-gonzalez-pleads-not-guilty-plot-kill-ex/