Friday the 13th. June 1980. A sleepy suburb in Texas called Wylie.
Most people don’t expect a church-going, choir-singing mother of two to pick up a three-foot splitting axe and swing it 41 times. But Candy Montgomery did. When we talk about Candy Montgomery Love & Death, we aren’t just talking about a true crime case; we’re talking about the collapse of the suburban dream in a hail of blood and wood splinters. It’s been over forty years, yet the fascination hasn't dimmed. If anything, the recent HBO Max (now Max) miniseries Love & Death starring Elizabeth Olsen has pushed this story back into the cultural zeitgeist with a vengeance.
People want to know how a woman who seemed so "normal" could snap. Or, more accurately, if she even "snapped" at all.
The Affair That Started It All
Candy Montgomery was bored. Honestly, that’s the simplest way to put it. She had the husband, Pat, who was a high-earning electrical engineer. She had the two kids. She had the respected place in the Methodist Church of Lucas. But the spark was gone.
Enter Allan Gore.
He was the husband of her friend, Betty Gore. During a church volleyball game in late 1978, Candy and Allan collided. Something shifted. Shortly after, Candy literally looked at him and asked, "Would you be interested in having an affair?" She was clinical about it. No sweeping romance. No star-crossed lovers. Just a calculated decision to find some excitement.
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They set rules. They met at the Como Motel in Richardson. They ate picnic lunches and then had sex. It was a business arrangement for pleasure. But affairs, especially in tight-knit religious communities, rarely stay tidy. Allan started pulling away when Betty got pregnant with their second child. He wanted to work on his marriage. Candy, surprisingly, agreed. They ended it. Life was supposed to go back to normal.
That Bloody Morning in the Utility Room
June 13, 1980, started out mundane. Candy went to the Gores' house to pick up a swimsuit for Betty’s daughter, Alisa, who was staying over at the Montgomerys'.
What happened inside that small utility room is the stuff of nightmares. According to Candy’s later testimony—which is the only account we have since Betty didn’t survive—Betty confronted her. She asked point-blank about the affair. Candy admitted it but said it was over.
Then, Betty allegedly produced an axe from the garage.
A struggle ensued. It wasn't a quick fight. It was a desperate, panicked scramble for survival. Candy claimed Betty told her to "shush" during the struggle, a trigger that supposedly sent Candy into a dissociative state. By the time it was over, Betty Gore was unrecognizable. Forty-one wounds. Over half of them to the head and face.
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Candy didn't call the police. She didn't scream for help. She walked to the bathroom, washed the blood off herself, put her clothes back on, and went to church vacation bible school. She went about her day. She ate lunch. She told lies.
The Trial That Shook Texas
When the police found Betty, they originally thought it might be a home invasion. But the evidence pointed elsewhere. A bloody footprint. A thumbprint on a freezer door. And then, Allan Gore confessed to the police about his affair with Candy.
The trial in McKinney, Texas, was a circus. Candy’s lawyer, Don Crowder, took a massive gamble. He brought in a psychiatrist and hypnotist, Dr. Fred Fason, who claimed that Candy had suffered a "pyscho-shush" trigger. The theory was that Betty’s "shushing" reminded Candy of a childhood trauma involving her mother, causing her to lose all control and swing the axe in a blind rage.
It was a "flicker of the mind" defense.
The jury believed her. Or, at the very least, they believed the prosecution failed to prove it wasn't self-defense. When the "not guilty" verdict was read, the courtroom erupted. People screamed "Murderer!" in the hallways.
Why the Love & Death Adaptation Hits Different
We’ve seen this story before. There was a TV movie in 1990 called A Killing in a Small Town. Hulu did Candy with Jessica Biel. But Love & Death, written by David E. Kelley, digs deeper into the psychological malaise of the 1970s housewife.
The series captures the eerie stillness of the suburbs. Elizabeth Olsen plays Candy not as a villain, but as a woman who is terrifyingly relatable until she isn't. It highlights the contrast between the vibrant, sunny Texas afternoons and the dark, cramped utility room where the violence happened.
The show also spends a significant amount of time on the legal strategy. It shows how Don Crowder—a man with no criminal trial experience—outmaneuvered the prosecution by leaning into the "polite society" optics. Candy looked like a lady. Betty, sadly, was often portrayed as "difficult" or "depressed," a common and unfair trope used to shift blame onto victims in high-profile cases.
The Lingering Questions
Was it truly self-defense?
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Forty-one swings is a lot for self-defense. Most experts will tell you that "overkill" usually signals a deep, personal rage. The prosecution argued that Candy brought the axe, or at the very least, didn't have to kill Betty to escape.
But the jury focused on the fact that Betty initiated the confrontation. In Texas, even in 1980, the right to defend yourself was a powerful narrative.
And what happened to Candy? She moved to Georgia. She became a family counselor. Yes, you read that right. She spent years helping others navigate their emotional lives. She changed her name back to her maiden name, Candace Wheeler. She lived a quiet life, far away from the prying eyes of the Wylie community that once wanted her head on a platter.
How to Process This Story Today
When you look at Candy Montgomery Love & Death, it serves as a grim reminder of a few things. First, the human psyche is incredibly fragile. Second, the "perfect" suburban life of the late 20th century often acted as a pressure cooker for those trapped within it.
If you are interested in diving deeper into this case beyond the TV shows, here are the steps to get the full, factual picture:
- Read "Evidence of Love": This book by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson is the definitive account. It was written shortly after the trial and features extensive interviews. It’s the source material for the HBO series.
- Look at the Trial Transcripts: Many archives in Collin County hold the records of the State of Texas v. Candace Montgomery. Seeing the actual witness testimonies sheds light on the technicalities of the self-defense plea.
- Explore the "Shush" Theory: Research Dr. Fred Fason’s work on repressed memory. While controversial today, it was cutting-edge (and highly effective) in a 1980 courtroom setting.
- Analyze the Victim's Perspective: Often, Betty Gore gets lost in the "glamour" of the Hollywood adaptations. Researching the impact on the Gore children—who were left in the house for hours while their mother lay dead in the next room—provides a sobering reality check to the entertainment value of the case.
The story of Candy Montgomery isn't just a "true crime" story. It is a study of how society views women, how the legal system handles trauma, and how a single decision—like asking a man to have an affair at a volleyball game—can lead to a lifetime of blood and silence.