Candy Montgomery

Candace Lynn Montgomery (née Wheeler; born November 15, 1949) is an American woman who was accused of killing her lover's wife, Betty Gore. The killing took place in Wylie, Texas, on June 13, 1980. During the assault, Gore was struck 41 times with a wood splitting axe. Montgomery pleaded not guilty to charges of murder on the basis of self-defense, alleging that Gore confronted her about an affair she had had with Gore's husband and attacked her with the axe. She was acquitted.

Background
Map: Collin County Texas Incorporated Areas Wylie highlighted
Location of Wylie in Collin County, Texas

Montgomery, who was 30 years old at the time of the incident,[1] was married to Pat Montgomery, an electrical engineer.[2] The couple had two children—a daughter and son.[2] They moved to Collin County, Texas, in 1977,[2] where they regularly attended the Methodist Church of Lucas.[2][3] Montgomery became close friends with Betty Gore, a middle school teacher,[1] after meeting her at a church service.[3] Gore lived nearby with her two children and her husband, Allan, with whom Montgomery engaged in an extramarital affair.[1][4]

On the day of Gore's killing, Allan Gore was out of town.[1] When he was unable to reach his wife on the telephone, he requested that their neighbors go to investigate. After forcing their way into the family residence, they discovered Gore's body.[1] Her daughter, Bethany, who had been sleeping in her crib in another room at the time of the incident, was awake, crying and covered in her own feces after being left for 13 hours unattended.[1]

The crime was investigated by Steve Deffibaugh with the Collin County Sheriff’s Department.[1]

Trial
Image of Old court house with cars parked outside
Collin County courthouse in McKinney, Texas, 2012

Candy Montgomery[5] was represented by civil law attorney Don Crowder and defense attorney Robert Udashen.[2] The trial, over which District Judge Tom Ryan was appointed to preside,[6] was held in McKinney, Texas, and lasted just eight days. Montgomery pleaded self-defense, alleging that she had defended herself after being attacked by Gore following a confrontation about Montgomery's affair with her husband, Allan.[6][7] She stated that she was compelled to use an axe after Gore attempted to strike her moments before with the same weapon.[6]

Montgomery underwent a polygraph test prior to the trial, which indicated that she was being truthful.[6][8] District attorney Tom O'Connell argued that Montgomery could have fled the scene instead of attacking Gore.[6] He also argued that attacking 41 times was disproportionate.[6] Montgomery was subsequently found not guilty on October 30, 1980, by a jury consisting of nine women and three men.[6]

Reaction after trial

The verdict received a great deal of criticism from the community.[6] Crowds chanted, "Murderer! Murderer!" as Montgomery exited the courthouse following her acquittal.[6] The victim's father, Bob Pomeroy, said:

As far as I'm concerned, justice will be served. She has to live with it ... I wouldn't say I was happy with the verdict. We don't know what happened and we never will know what happened.[6][9]

Portrayal in media

A book examining the case and events following the trial, titled Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, was written by Dallas-based journalists John Bloom and Jim Atkinson. It was released in January 1984. [10]

The television movie A Killing in a Small Town is based on the case. It was released on CBS in 1990.

Jessica Biel portrays Montgomery in the Hulu original series Candy, which debuted in May 2022.[11]

Elizabeth Olsen portrays Montgomery in the Max original series Love & Death, which debuted in April 2023.[12][13]

References
  1. Duggan, Sonia (May 29, 2020). "Anniversary of an Axe Murder". In Around Mag.
  2. Smith, Benjamin H. (January 16, 2022). "Texas Church Lady Admits To Killing Friend With An Axe — And Still Gets Away With It". Oxygen.
  3. Atkinson, Jim (January 1984). "Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery's Affair".
  4. "Affair had ended, suspect says". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. June 30, 1980. p. 3. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  5. AlphaNewscallAuthor (July 15, 2022). "Candy Montgomery: The Real Story of The Texas Ax Murderer". Alpha News Call. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  6. "A jury decided Candace Montgomery was acting in self defence". UPI. October 30, 1980.
  7. "Verdict of not guilty stuns ax murder trial". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 30, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  8. "Witnesses say intent to kill missing". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 28, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  9. "Accused murderer found innocent in ax killing". El Paso Herald-Post. October 30, 1980. p. 5. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  10. Rogers, Tim (January 31, 2017). "Book About 1980 Wylie Axe Murder Is Re-released Digitally: Evidence of Love is a classic true crime tale". D Magazine. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  11. Longeretta, Emily (June 1, 2022). "How Jessica Biel Found Empathy for Candy Montgomery in Hulu Series: 'You're Still Kind of With Her at the End'". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  12. Goodgame, Dan (February 2022). "Our New Partners in Video Storytelling". Texas Monthly. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  13. Singer, Dan (October 27, 2021). "Hollywood plans to tell North Texas ax-killer's story. 41 years later, why we can't let it go". The Dallas Morning News.
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