The Candy Montgomery axe murders shocked the United States back in its time and that true crime story was adapted into two separate productions, one made by Hulu with Jessica Biel and one called Love & Death by HBO Max starring Elizabeth Olsen. Both series cover in their own accretions the same true crime story: One of marital infidelity, jealousy and murder.
In real life, Candy Montgomery was prosecuted and tried for the murder of Betty Gore over an infidelity in Texas in 1980. But today, setting the cinematic adaptations aside, we’re going to take a look at this true crime story. A word of warning for our readers: This post contains topics about infidelity, abuse, and gory murder, and some of you might find that sensitive. Setting that warning aside, we can move on to the story.
The Candy Montgomery Story
Candy Montgomery was a typical Texas Christian housewife, a devout churchgoer, community leader and traditional wife whose life of repetitiveness, and boredom led her to court Allan Gore, her best friend’s husband after having seeing him workout during a Church league volleyball game.
Candy approaches Allan and tells him that she wants to have an extramarital relationship with him. This shocks him due to their Christian values, the proximity and friendship between Candy and Betty Gore and the utter directness of what seems to be a traditional housewife.
As it turns out, Allan was a bit fed up with Betty and his marriage, the two were having trouble getting intimate, having trouble conceiving a child, and Betty was apparently having all the symptoms of a mild case of postpartum depression that lowered her libido and by extension Allan’s. The Gores went to some sort of couple’s therapy but that didn’t seem to work. From all angles, that marriage was on the rocks.
Candy And Allan
Considering this, Allan takes on Candy Montgomery’s proposal to have sex with him. The two draft up a series of conditions to start having sex. They agree on a mutual ending relationship clause, no romantic feelings, who pays for what and in what proportions, the periodicity and the works.
So, they start having passionate relationships going to different motels, mostly intimate interactions allegedly. Allan sneaks out from work, Candy sneaks out from home and the kids. Candy prepares tasty dinners, makes wine choices and the two go at their affair as though they were having a date.
Ending The Affair
After a few months of motel sex, infidelity and the works, Allan decided to call off the affair and work on his marriage to Betty, who had the suspicion that Allan was cheating on her but couldn’t figure out who. Betty suspected of Candy because of the way the two of them behaved in public.
The Fateful Day
One day, while Allan was out of town on a business trip, Candy offers to take Betty’s little girl to the pool with her kids after some church school, so, she goes to get Betty’s daughter a swimsuit. But then, she’s confronted by a scornful, angry, and upset Betty about how she had been sleeping with Allan.
Candy admits to Betty that she indeed had been in an adulterous relationship with Allan, which makes Betty go berserk. Betty yells at Candy but calms down a bit, gives Candy the kid’s swimsuit, some mint candy, and a towel, and excuses herself for a moment leaving Candy in the living room of the Gore house.
Also Read: Is Candy Based On A True Story?
Why Did Candy Kill Betty?
When Betty leaves Candy for a moment in the living room, she returns to the living room holding an axe, Betty Gore threatens Candy to leave her life, leave her husband and go away, and starts swinging an axe at Candy, chasing her to the laundry room where a life and death struggle ensues.
While Betty was on full berserk mode axe swinging at Candy, she manages to cut Candy in the forehead and on her toes. But then, Candy wrestles the axe out of Betty and starts hacking Betty Gore with the axe over and over in a blind rage state.
Candy Montgomery killed Betty Gore with an axe in the most gruesome way, tried to clean up after herself, took a shower and left Betty’s corpse in the laundry room and Betty’s little girl in her cradle, she left the house and went about her day, taking the kids to the pool and setting an alibi for herself.
The Aftermath
Candy went home, took Betty’s eldest daughter to her house for a sleepover, called Allan long distance to ask about Betty to cover her tracks. Allan has everyone check up on Betty but they couldn’t find her. After that, Allan cajoles his neighbors into breaking into the Gore household to find Betty’s corpse and a partially dehydrated and soiled baby in her cradle crying.
The cops come in, examine the scene, start asking questions and Candy Montgomery becomes a person of interest. She seeks legal counsel and retains a lawyer. She is arrested for the murder of Betty Gore and has a trial in which the defense alleged that Candy acted out in self-defense in a maniacal rage.
In the end, Candy was acquitted, and moved to another state, Allan left her kids to Betty’s parents and everyone forgot about the case. That is until some true crime podcasts brought the topic back on and Hulu and HBO made the miniseries.
Also Read: Why Did Allan Gore Lose Custody? The Shocking Ordeal Explained