Candy Montgomery

Candy Montgomery (née Candice Wheeler; born 1949 or 1950)[1][2] is an American homemaker. She was accused of murdering Betty Gore, the wife of her lover. The killing took place in Wylie, Texas, on June 13, 1980. Gore was assaulted 41 times with a 3-foot long ax.[3][4][5]

Location of Wylie in Collin County, Texas

Background

Montgomery, who was 30 years old at the time of the incident,[5] was married to Pat Montgomery, an electrical engineer.[1] The couple had two children—a son and daughter.[1] They moved to Collin County, Texas, in 1977,[1] where they regularly attended the First United Methodist Church of Lucas.[1][6] Montgomery became close friends with Gore, a middle school teacher,[5] after meeting her at a church service.[6] Gore lived nearby with her two children and her husband, Allan, with whom Montgomery embarked on an extramarital affair.[5]

On the day of Gore's killing, her husband was out of town.[5] 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 Betty's corpse.[5] Her daughter, Bethany, who had been sleeping in her crib in another room at the time of the incident, was awake and crying.[5]

Investigation

The crime was investigated by Steve Deffibaugh with the Collin County Sheriff’s Department.[5]

Trial
Collin County courthouse in McKinney, Texas, 2016

Represention

Montgomery was represented by defense attorney Robert Udashen.[1] The trial continued for eight days in McKinney.

Jury

The jury consisted of nine women and three men.[7]

Arguments

Montgomery pleaded self-defense, arguing that she had attacked Gore to defend herself after the latter confronted the former about her affair with Gore's husband, Allan.[7] She submitted that she was compelled to use an ax after Gore had attempted to strike her moments before with the same weapon.[7] Montgomery underwent a polygraph test prior to the trial, which indicated that she was being truthful.[7]

District attorney Tom O'Connell argued that Montgomery could have fled the scene instead of attacking Gore.[7] He also argued that attacking 41 times was disproportionate.[7]

Judgment

District Judge Tom Ryan was appointed to preside over the case.[7] Montgomery was found not guilty on October 30, 1980.[7]

Reaction after trial

The verdict received a great deal of criticism from the community.[7] Crowds chanted "Murderer! Murderer!" as Montgomery exited the courthouse following her acquittal.[7] 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.[7]

Portrayal in film

Elizabeth Olsen will play Montgomery in the HBO series Love and Death, due for release in 2022.[8]

Jessica Biel will play Montgomery in the Hulu series Candy, also due for release in 2022.[9]

The 1990 television movie A Killing in a Small Town is based on the Montgomery case.

References
  1. Smith, Benjamin (January 16, 2022). "Texas Church Lady Admits To Killing Friend With An Axe — And Still Gets Away With It". Oxygen.
  2. "Cut Found on Ax Suspect's Leg". Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. McKinney, Texas. UPI. June 29, 1980. p. 14. Retrieved January 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Hollywood plans to tell North Texas ax-killer's story. 41 years later, why we can't let it go". Dallas News. October 27, 2021.
  4. Atkinson, Jim; January 1984 2, John Bloom (January 21, 2013). "Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery's Affair". Texas Monthly.
  5. Duggan, Sonia (May 29, 2020). "Anniversary of an Ax Murder". In Around Mag.
  6. Atkinson, Jim (January 1984). "Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery's Affair".
  7. "A jury decided Candace Montgomery was acting in self defence". UPI. October 30, 1980.
  8. Goodgame, Dan (February 2022). "Our New Partners in Video Storytelling". Texas Monthly. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  9. Bahr, Sarah (January 17, 2022). "Melanie Lynskey on That Chilling 'Yellowjackets' Finale" – via NYTimes.com.
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