On June 13, 1980, Candy Montgomery struck Betty Gore 41 times with an ax. In Wylie, Texas, this “normal” woman butchered her friend in an act of defense. Or at least that’s what she claims.
Many have argued about whether the murder was truly an act of self-defense or a cold-blooded slaughter.
To understand the whole story, one has to go back to the beginning, when Mongomery and her husband, Pat Montgomery, moved to Wylie, Texas. They had two kids relatively close together, and Candy Montgomery and Pat Montgomery had a normal, happy marriage.
That was until Montgomery began to feel bored in her domestic life, she and Montgomery were living. The two were heavily involved in the local church and would attend every gathering they had. It was there that Montgomery met Allan and Betty Gore.
According to grunge.com, “The two were heavily involved in the church and became inextricably linked in the years to come. Montgomery confided in close friends that she wanted to have an affair. She was married, but she felt as though her life had grown stale.”
In the summer of 1978, Montgomery had had enough of her boring life and made an intriguing proposition to Allan Gore.
According to grunge.com, “Montgomery’s desire increased as the weeks passed and the two talked more often, casually flirting as well. After another volleyball game, she took the initiative to ask point blank, ‘Would you be interested in having an affair?’ She went on to add that she had been thinking about it a lot.”
In the weeks following, the two would meet at the Como Motel, even after Gore found out his wife Gore was pregnant with their second child.
However, after his daughter’s birth, he stopped his affair with Montgomery, leaving her in disarray.
According to allthatsinteresting.com, “On June 13, 1980, Allan was away on a business trip in Minnesota, and his daughter Alisa was at the Montgomery house to give his wife time alone with their newborn.” During this time, Gore also suffered from severe postpartum depression.
On June 13, 1980, Montgomery went to pick up swimsuits for her and Gores’s daughters so they could go swimming. However, when Montgomery went inside, Gore reportedly asked what turned out to be a deadly question.
“Are you having an affair with Allan?” Gore asked.
According to allthatsinteresting.com, “Montgomery later claimed that Gore attacked her with the axe first and only then used it in self-defense. Regardless, she hit Gore 41 times — primarily in the face. Her torso, arms, and legs were equally mutilated. Montgomery then returned home as if nothing had happened, leaving Gore’s newborn asleep in the crib upstairs.”
Soon, Allan began wondering why his wife was not answering the phone and started calling neighbors to try and check on Gore. Their neighbor Lester Gayler went into the house and found the body.
According to allthatsinteresting.com, “He also called Montgomery, who claimed she had seen Gore earlier but that everything was surely alright. Gayler recalled finding “thick, congealed reddish-brown oceans of blood glistening on the tile” leading to Gore’s body in the utility room. At 11:30 p.m., Allan called Montgomery again to inform her that Gore was dead.”
In the days following, the Colin County investigator Steven Deffibaugh found a shoeprint and suspected a woman. Mongomery was questioned imminently for being the last one to see Gore alive.
According to allthatsinteresting.com, “A five-year-old friend of Alisa’s, however, had come by to play with her and saw Montgomery leave the house at 11 a.m. By June 17, Allan Gore informed police of his affair with Montgomery, and with Montgomery refusing to take a polygraph, she was arrested on June 27 and charged with murder.”
Candy quickly claimed self-defense and hired a defense attorney named Dan Crowder.
According to allthatsinteresting.com, A psychiatrist, Dr. Fred Fason, had been referred to Montgomery. During their session, it was told that Dr. Fanson found out that Montgomery “blacked out” during the murder and was triggered by childhood trauma. It was reported that Montgomery had been “shushed” as a child, and those were the last words Gore said to Montgomery.
The jury deliberated for over three hours and eventually concluded: not guilty. They had decided it was a combination of self-defense and a mental breakdown. Currently, Candy Montgomery, who changed her last name back to her maiden name, Wheely, lives as a free woman far from Wylie and is divorced from Pat Montgomery.
All information can be further researched online and in places such as texasmonthly.com, grunge.com and allthatsinteresting.com.
