The Candy Montgomery story is one of the most notorious true crime stories of the 1980s. On June 13, 1980, Candy Montgomery, a housewife and mother of two from Texas, brutally murdered her friend and neighbor, Betty Gore, with an ax. The case quickly gained national attention and was the subject of a book and a television movie.
The story began when Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore became friends in the small town of Wylie, Texas. The two women had a lot in common, including their religious beliefs and their children. However, their friendship soon became strained when Candy began to suspect that Betty was having an affair with her husband, Allan.
On the night of June 13, 1980, Candy drove to Betty’s house and confronted her about the affair. During the confrontation, Candy picked up an ax and struck Betty multiple times, killing her. Candy then drove home and called the police to report the crime.
At her trial, Candy pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. However, the jury found her guilty of murder and she was sentenced to life in prison. She was released on parole in 2005 after serving 25 years.
So, what happened to Betty Gore? Her family was devastated by her death and her husband, Allan, was never able to move on. He died in 2006, still grieving the loss of his wife.
As for Candy Montgomery, she is now living in Texas and is a born-again Christian. She has spoken publicly about her crime and has expressed remorse for her actions. She has also written a book about her experience and has become an advocate for prison reform.
The Candy Montgomery story is a tragic reminder of the consequences of violence and the power of forgiveness. It is a story that will continue to be remembered for years to come.
Betty Gore’s 1980 murder is the subject of the film Candy, which stars Melanie Lynskey and Jessica Biel. Learn everything there is to know about the actual tale that provided the inspiration for the Hulu limited series.
Hulu’s short series Candy, starring Jessica Biel and Pablo Schreiber, retells the story of an adulterous affair between Candy Montgomery and Allan Gore.
Sources told Texas Monthly that Candy (Biel) enjoyed spending time with other churchgoers in her little Southern community. A charismatic member of the Lucas First United Methodist Church named Allan changed her life.
They were both active in the church’s choir and weekly volleyball match, where they would stay afterward to catch up on the events of the week. First, their discussions were harmless, but Candy soon found herself pulled to Allan, wishing for someone to fulfil the sexual demands her husband, Pat (Timothy Simmons), could not. She gained enough self-assurance, then, according to Texas Monthly, to ask him whether he’d be interested in having an extramarital relationship.
At first, Allan was apprehensive. A sibling for Alisa, his daughter with Betty Gore (Melanie Lynskey), was a top priority for him and Betty (Melanie Lynskey). Texas Monthly’s sources, however, claim that Allan felt that his marriage lacked the passion he desired.
Candy and Allan’s relationship began in 1978 and has been going strong ever since.
Their demands were met and some ground rules were established in place. Allan and Candy decided that their romance would just be about sex, and that they would meet once a week at a local motel to have sex, the Dallas Morning News said. Even though they had agreed to keep their relationship platonic, if they began to develop feelings for each other, they agreed to call it quits.
Even though Allan revealed to Candy in February that he was in love with her, Texas Monthly’s sources say that he wanted to continue seeing her. Betty gave birth to Bethany in July and they kept having sex until late 1979, when the shame engulfed him. After much deliberation, Candy agreed to cease their bi-weekly habit.
Candy Is Confronted by Betty on June 13, 1980:
It appeared like the couple had gotten away with their romance, which had been going on for months. Candy, on the other hand, went to the Gore house on June 13, 1980, to retrieve Alisa’s swimming suit, which Betty’s daughter had unintentionally left behind for a sleepover.
According to Candy’s statement, what happened after that was a complete and utter surprise to her. As reported by Texas Monthly, Candy testified before a jury in October 1980 that Betty approached her and inquired if she had slept with Allan, to which Candy said affirmatively. Candy, on the other hand, acknowledged to having an affair when Betty inquired a second time.
Candy related to jurors what happened next: Betty proceeded to the garage and got an axe, before heading back to Candy and instructing her not to sleep with Allan ever again. They chatted some more, and Candy apologised, but Betty was enraged, and she repeated, according to Candy, “I’ve got to kill you.” Candy was adamant that she would not murder Betty.
Candy claimed that Betty continued to swing the axe despite Candy’s repeated pleas for her to stop. The struggle continued inside the washroom, where Betty’s corpse was discovered some hours after it occurred.
Neighbors Find Betty’s Body:
Allan was gone on a business trip to St. Paul, Minn., but he realised something was wrong when Betty didn’t pick up the phone when he called her on the way home from the airport.
Betty was going through a difficult time following the birth of their second daughter, and she despised the fact that he was leaving her home alone. She sobbed in the morning that day, pleading with him to come back and stay. Despite the fact that they had reconciled, Allan still felt awful for abandoning her.
His concerns escalated when he arrived in St. Paul and she failed to return his phone call for the second time. Then there’s a third.
Allan eventually made some phone calls to their pals, including a call to the Montgomery house. Candy answered the phone and informed him that Betty appeared to be well, if a little worried.
After that, according to Texas Monthly, Allan phoned a nearby resident by the name of Richard Parker, who unsuccessfully knocked on the Gores’ door twice. Following the second tap on the door, Richard and two other men discreetly approached the home to see if Betty and baby Bethany were doing OK.
“We went down the hall to the bathroom, turning on lights,” Lester Gayler told The Dallas Morning News. “A little old baby raised its head up out of the crib, out of the baby bed. It began to cry. It’d been there all, nearly all day, hadn’t been fed or nothing.”
The three men then walked to the washroom, where Gayler said they found a “bloody mess.”
During a Contentious Court Trial, Candy Claims Self-defense:
According to several stories, Betty was hit with an axe 41 times.
Before departing for St. Paul that afternoon, detectives suspected that Allan could have killed her. Candy, on the other hand, claimed to be the last living witness to Betty’s death. Investigators also discovered a shoe print, which provided the first hint to former Collin County detective Steven Deffibaugh: “We were searching for someone petite in height, whether it was a child or a lady,” he told Snapped.
Based on the fingerprints and footprints recovered at the site, investigators were eventually given an arrest warrant for Candy. Candy was “strip-searched and stripped off all her clothing and that’s when they see all these bruises and also a cut on her toe,” according to Deffibaugh, when she was being booked into detention on June 27, 1980.
Psychiatrist Dr. Fred Fason, who practises in Houston, was retained by defence attorney Don Crowder. The hypnotherapist Dr. Fason worked with Candy to help her recall the events of that day in question. When Betty told Candy, “Shhh,” as she was hitting her, Candy was sent into a psychotic frenzy. She discovered this via their numerous sessions together.
As Dr. Fason put it, Candy’s mother said the same thing when she was young, causing a “dissociative reaction.” Candy felt compelled to speak after a lifetime of quiet.
Candy reportedly sobbed on the stand, “When I glanced in the mirror, I was covered in blood. I felt bad and unclean.”
By Virtue of Self-defense, Candy Is Acquitted:
The jury “never” considered the amount of blows—41—because Candy’s attorneys said she wasn’t aware of what she was doing in her dissociative condition, according to juror Alice Doherty Rowley. “This woman wasn’t on trial for adultery,” Rowley said of Candy and Allan’s affair.
Candy was found not guilty by self-defense in less than five hours, per the Dallas Herald. “[The prosecutor] couldn’t establish to me that she ever intended to kill,” Rowley told the Herald in 1980.
They went to Georgia three months later. “The issue will never really evaporate until she departs,” Crowder told the Dallas Morning News, standing in front of the Montgomerys’ house as the family packed off.
But Betty’s family remembers the crime’s severity and wonders how jurors could have let Candy go. Richard Pomeroy, Betty’s brother, told Snapped: “I don’t believe justice was done. Were they murdered?”
Candy and Pat subsequently divorced, and Candy changed her surname.
Watch Candy on Hulu starting May 9th, with new episodes every evening until May 13th.
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