The exceptionally brutal crime committed by Candy Montgomery shocked America. Candy and her victim Betty Gore lived in the Texas town of Wylie. They were considered calm and very devoted to the family women who remained in cordial relations. They met in the same church, sang together in a religious choir, and their daughters were friends. Betty confided in Candy about her marital problems. On the day of the crime, Candy showed up at Gore’s home to pick up her daughter Alisa’s bathing suit, which she had left there after a sleepover visit. They needed it, because that day the whole family was supposed to go to the swimming pool.
She struck her friend 41 blows with an ax and, as if nothing had happened, went to pick up the children
The conversation that day started normally and covered everyday matters. Candy, however, did not suspect that Allan, tortured with remorse by Betty’s husband, told her the truth about the affair, which they had already ended. They started it on the initiative of Candy, who was dissatisfied with their marital sex life in 1978. Their arrangement lasted less than 11 months.
Meanwhile, Betty, who was pregnant with her second child, noticed that her husband was estranged from her and persuaded him to go to marriage counseling at the church. The intervention will work, and Gore has decided to end his relationship with Candy. After six months, he felt so bad about his betrayal that he confessed everything to his wife. Betty decided to confront her friend on June 13, 1980 – her husband was away on a business trip that day. She was all the more resentful that she had confided in her her suspicions about Allan’s infidelity.
Candy Montgomery later testified that Betty had indeed spoken to her about the affair. She was to hear an apology from her friend and an assurance that she “didn’t want her husband” anymore. When Candy asked her to bring her daughter’s costume, Betty actually left the room, but returned with an axe. She was about to start threatening Candy and demand that she never see her husband again, which Montgomery agreed to.
When Candy apologized to Betty, Betty was about to explode in anger – a scuffle ensued, during which Gore injured her opponent’s toe with an ax (police photos confirm this), and then they ended up in a small utility room. There, Montgomery managed to take control of the axe. As part of self-defense, she was supposed to hit her friend and, terrified by this, she tried to run away. Meanwhile, the Gore’s one-year-old daughter, Bethany, woke up in the next room. The baby started to cry and Betty started shushing Candy by saying “shh” and putting her finger to her lips.
This inconspicuous gesture was supposed to lead to Candy having a dissociative reaction, during which she went berserk. She inflicted 41 ax blows on various parts of the body, 28 of which were aimed at the victim’s head and face. This one was so distorted that later it was difficult to recognize it. Then the perpetrator took a shower to wash off the blood, left her friend’s corpse in a small room, closed the door and went to her children. Meanwhile, in the cradle, little Bethany cried all the time – she waited 13 long hours for someone to come.
Allan was concerned that his wife was not answering his calls. He asked the neighbors to check on their house. When no one answered the knock, the neighbor called the police. At the scene, officers found the body and a crying child. The investigation quickly revealed that Candy was the last time she saw Betty alive. She left a bloody footprint and toeprint at Betty’s house. She was arrested on June 27, 1980.
Candy’s lawyers quickly conclude that she must confess to murdering Betty, but point out that she did it in self-defense. The jury in Collin County McKinney Court heard that Betty’s silencing gesture brought back traumatic memories from Candy’s childhood. In the same way, she was silenced by her mother, who had abused her daughter when she was little. Psychiatrists testified during the trial that she actually had a dissociative reaction. Montgomery also passed a polygraph test, which in the 1980s was considered reliable confirmation of whether someone was lying or not.
In addition, Texas state law permitted the infliction of fatal injuries to prevent a drastic crime – and that’s how Betty’s words were read when she threatened Candy with death. The court ruled Montgomery innocent, which was opposed by members of the local community. They chanted the word “murderess” as she left the court after the verdict was announced. Candy and her family moved from Texas to Georgia soon after. Montgomery divorced her husband four years later and reverted to her maiden name of Wheeler. Until now, she lives in the same place and works as a therapist.
Movies about the murder of Betty Gore
In 1984, an extensive reportage “Love and Death in Silicon Prairie” was published, written by Jim Atkinson and John Bloom. “Candy was a loving mother, devoted wife, went to church and was friends with everyone. It wasn’t cynical. She really was a normal, likeable person. Except that she had a dark side of her soul that she didn’t know about for a long time,” they wrote about Montgomery. The first film about the crime she committed was made in 1990. It was called “A Killing in a Small Town” and Candy was played by Barbara Hershey. We had to wait over 30 years for the next production on this topic – not one, but two series about the murder of Betty were created. In 2022, the Hulu platform (Disney+ in Poland) showed the production of “Candy: Death in Texas” starring Jessica Biel. A year later HBO Max released its production on this subject – this is called “Love and Death”, and Elizabeth Olsen played Candy.
The latter in an interview preceding the premiere of the production with her participation, the ET station, that it makes no sense to compare both of these series, because they show the life of the main character from different perspectives. “There’s no need for competitions. Interesting stories deserve to be told in all possible ways and it will be something different every time,” Olsen noted. As it turns out, “Love and Death” was approved for production two months before the project with Jessica Biel. The actresses got in touch at a time when each of them was already working on the set of their production.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
