The Ax Murder of Betty Gore: Suburban Secrets, Church Choir Affairs, and the Trial of Candy Montgomery
Note: This article contains spoilers. Listen to the Love Marry Kill series on Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery
Overview
On the scorching morning of Friday, June 13, 1980, life in Collin County, Texas, revolved around the close-knit community of the First United Methodist Church of Lucas. Candace “Candy” Montgomery—a popular, energetic mother of two—volunteered to run a quick errand to the Wylie home of fellow parishioner Betty Gore to pick up a swimsuit for Betty’s six-year-old daughter, Alisa, who was staying over for the weekend.
Betty was privately struggling with severe postpartum depression and isolation. Unknown to the wider congregation, Candy had previously engaged in a months-long affair with Betty’s husband, Allan Gore. Within ninety minutes of Candy arriving at the house, Betty lay dead in her utility room, struck 41 times with a 3-foot wood-chopping axe, while her 11-month-old infant daughter remained unattended in a nearby crib. Candy returned to church activities and carried on with her day. The subsequent trial captivated the nation when Candy’s defense team admitted she wielded the axe but argued she acted in self-defense, driven by a hypnotic dissociative state triggered when Betty allegedly "shushed" her during a violent confrontation.
Timeline of Key Events
| Date / Period | Milestone & Details |
| January 1970 | The Marriage: Betty Pomeroy and Allan Gore marry in Norwich, Kansas, before relocating to Texas for Allan’s engineering career. |
| Late 1978 | The Proposition: Candy Montgomery approaches Allan Gore after a church volleyball match to propose an affair with strict logistical rules. |
| December 1978 | The Affair Begins: Candy and Allan begin meeting bi-weekly at motels in Richardson, Texas. |
| Late 1979 | The End of the Affair: Following the birth of Betty's second child and a Marriage Encounter weekend, Allan ends the affair with Candy. |
| June 13, 1980 (Morning) | The Encounter: Candy drives to the Gore residence in Wylie to pick up a swimsuit. An altercation occurs, resulting in Betty Gore's death from 41 axe wounds. |
| June 13, 1980 (Evening) | Discovery: Neighbors enter the Gore residence after Allan cannot reach Betty from a business trip, discovering baby Bethany and Betty's body. |
| June 27, 1980 | Arrest: Following physical evidence and Allan Gore's confession of the past affair, Candy Montgomery is arrested and charged with murder. |
| October 1980 | The Trial: Defense attorney Don Crowder presents a self-defense theory supported by clinical hypnosis testimony from Dr. Fred Fason. |
| October 29, 1980 | The Verdict: The Collin County jury finds Candy Montgomery not guilty. |
The Evidence Locker
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The Weapon and 41 Axe Wounds: Betty Gore suffered 41 strikes from a 3-foot cedar axe, with 28 wounds concentrated on her head and face. The severity of the injuries challenged standard self-defense claims and pointed to extreme overkill.
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The Inadmissible Garage Sunglass Lens: Investigators recovered a broken lens from Candy’s sunglasses in the Gore garage, directly contradicting her statement that she had never entered the garage. However, because a responding officer mishandled the item at the scene, the judge ruled the lens inadmissible at trial.
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Physical Injuries & Footprints: Candy left a bloody shoe print matching her size in the utility room and sustained a deeply cut toe and hairline laceration during the struggle.
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The Hypnosis and the "Shushing" Trigger: Under psychiatric evaluation by Dr. Fred Fason, the defense argued that Betty's attempt to "shush" Candy during their fight triggered repressed childhood trauma, sending Candy into a fugue state where she was unaware of the extent of her actions.
Tina & Rich’s Takeaways
Tina: "How did a jury manage to find compassion for Candy's unproven childhood trauma, but show zero empathy for the victim sitting at the center of this tragedy? With that defense theory, we have all been through horrible things—and being shushed as a child seemed like a minor incident compared to what happened in that utility room."
Rich: "If it wasn't self-defense, why did Candy do it? I can believe that maybe Betty confronted Candy about the affair, but I can't imagine Betty walking to the garage to get a heavy axe. What seems far more likely is that an argument started, Candy snapped, and in a cramped laundry room, striking someone 40 times with a full-size axe goes way beyond protecting yourself."
Sources & Further Reading
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Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs -
Candy (Hulu Limited Series) -
Love & Death (Max Limited Series) -
A Killing in a Small Town (1990 CBS Television Movie) -
Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery’s Affair
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Who Is D-FW Ax Killer Candy Montgomery, and How'd She Spawn Two Hollywood Shows? -
'Candy' Consulting Producer No Longer Believes Claim of Self-Defense -
Candy Montgomery Axe Murder Case in Wylie, Texas: What to Know -
Thomas Jefferson Alum Robert Udashen Shows Up in 'Love and Death' -
The Betty Gore Murder: 41 Stabs but No Prison -
Betty Pomeroy Gore Memorial -
A Killing in a Small Town (1990 CBS Television Movie)
What Do You Think?
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Do you believe Candy Montgomery acted purely in self-defense, or did she go to the Gore home that morning with a different intent?
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Does the theory of a childhood "shushing" trauma explain 41 strikes with an axe, or did the jury get it wrong?
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Why do you think Candy made the unannounced trip across town for a swimsuit when she had an already packed schedule and could have borrowed one?
Let us know your thoughts! You can leave a comment, send us a message on our
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