Inside Gabbie Gonzalez’s Alleged Murder-For-Hire Plot: How a Custody War Spiraled Into a Criminal Conspiracy

What began as a bitter custody dispute between a social media influencer and a pop singer has unraveled into one of the most disturbing alleged criminal conspiracies in recent true-crime memory — now drawing in an MMA fighter, a dark web hitman search, and a father accused of bankrolling a murder.

A Custody Battle That Allegedly Crossed Every Line

Gabbie Gonzalez, 24, rose to public attention through her TikTok and Instagram presence, amplified significantly by her relationship with Jack Avery of the pop group Why Don’t We. The two share a daughter, Lavender, now 7. What started as a fractured co-parenting arrangement reportedly deteriorated into a legal war — and, according to prosecutors, something far darker.

Court documents allege that by 2020 and 2021, Gonzalez was no longer simply fighting Avery in family court. Prosecutors say she and her then-boyfriend, Kai Faron Cordrey, began actively exploring ways to physically remove Avery from the picture — first through intimidation, then allegedly through murder.

Why Dustin Barca’s Name Appears in the Case

The most revealing new detail involves MMA veteran Dustin Barca, a fighter with a 4-0 professional record who is also a boxing trainer. According to criminal complaint documents obtained by TMZ, Gonzalez and Cordrey approached Barca in March 2021 with an alleged request: pressure Avery into leaving Kauai, Hawaii, where he was residing at the time. Investigators believe Gonzalez viewed Barca’s fighting background as leverage to frighten Avery during an especially volatile phase of the custody dispute.

The Barca angle matters not because of any wrongdoing on his part, but because it reveals the alleged escalation pattern: when soft intimidation failed, prosecutors claim Gonzalez and Cordrey pivoted to the dark web to find a hitman — a significant and chilling escalation in tactics.

The Dark Web Search and the Undercover Officer

Investigators allege Gonzalez’s father, Francisco Gonzalez — a civil attorney — initially paid Cordrey approximately $10,000 to locate a hitman, with a further $4,000 allegedly provided later. What the alleged conspirators didn’t know was that they had made contact with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a contract killer. Authorities say the resulting communications included payment terms, proof-of-kill demands, and a confirmed target: Jack Avery.

Francisco was subsequently arrested in Florida. The involvement of a licensed attorney in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme has drawn particular scrutiny from legal commentators, given the professional and ethical dimensions it adds to an already serious criminal case.

Consequences and What Comes Next

Gabbie Gonzalez was arrested and held on $2 million bail. A judge granted Avery’s request for a temporary restraining order and awarded him temporary sole legal and physical custody of Lavender, suspending Gabbie’s visitation rights for the duration of the criminal proceedings. Gabbie now faces three criminal charges. If convicted, the case could result in decades in federal prison — and represents one of the starkest examples of how celebrity-adjacent custody disputes can spiral into genuine criminal crises when left unchecked by intervention or mediation.