45 Axe Blows And A Shocking Verdict: The Unbelievable True Story Of The Betty Gore Murder And Where Candy Montgomery Is Now
Contents
The Key Players: A Complete Biography Profile
The tragedy of the Betty Gore murder involves four central figures whose lives were inextricably linked by the Wylie Methodist Church and a fateful extramarital affair.Betty Gore (Victim)
- Full Name: Betty Pomeroy Gore
- Born: 1950 (Approx.)
- Occupation: Elementary School Teacher
- Family: Married to Allan Gore (1970). They had two daughters, Alisa and Bethany.
- Life in Wylie: Betty and Allan moved to Wylie, Texas, seeking a quiet, family-oriented life. Betty was known as a dedicated, though often unhappy, schoolteacher who struggled with the pressures of motherhood and her marriage. Her relationship with Allan had become strained, particularly regarding their sex life.
- Cause of Death: Homicide by axe, struck 41 times.
Allan Gore (Husband & Lover)
- Occupation: Electronics Conglomerate Employee (Major Defense Contractor)
- Role in Case: Betty’s husband and Candy Montgomery’s former lover. He was out of town on a business trip when the murder occurred and was the one who asked neighbors to check on Betty after he couldn’t reach her.
- Life After Trial: Allan quickly remarried and moved away from Wylie, Texas, to escape the intense media scrutiny and community judgment. He and his second wife later divorced. As of 2025, Allan Gore is reportedly retired and living a private life in Sarasota, Florida, with a domestic partner.
Candace "Candy" Montgomery (Accused)
- Full Name: Candace Lynn Wheeler Montgomery
- Born: November 15, 1949
- Occupation: Housewife, active in the Methodist Church and community activities.
- Family: Married to Pat Montgomery, with two children (a son and a daughter).
- Role in Case: Confessed to killing Betty Gore but claimed self-defense. Her affair with Allan Gore began in 1978 and ended in late 1979.
- Current Status (2025): Still alive and 75 years old. Lives privately in Georgia and is reported to be working as a mental health counselor, sometimes using her maiden name, Candace Wheeler.
Pat Montgomery (Husband)
- Occupation: Electrical Engineer
- Role in Case: Stood by Candy throughout the trial.
- Life After Trial: Pat and Candy divorced approximately four years after the acquittal.
The Affair, The Confrontation, and The Frenzy
The path to the June 13, 1980, tragedy began with a casual glance at a church volleyball game. Candy Montgomery, bored with her marriage and seeking excitement, propositioned Allan Gore. The two began a meticulously planned affair that lasted several months. Both couples were pillars of the community, active in the Wylie Methodist Church, where Candy taught Sunday school. The affair was a secret hidden in plain sight, conducted in motels and under the guise of regular errands. The affair ended in late 1979 after Betty Gore gave birth to her second daughter, Bethany, and requested that Allan cut off contact with Candy to focus on their marriage. The relationship between Candy and Allan was over, but the friendship between Candy and Betty appeared to continue, though perhaps with an undercurrent of tension. On the morning of the murder, Candy went to the Gore house to pick up a swimsuit for Alisa Gore, Betty's older daughter, who was staying at Candy’s house after a sleepover. Betty confronted Candy about the affair, which she had learned about from a direct question to Allan. The confrontation quickly escalated. According to Candy’s later testimony, Betty retrieved a three-foot axe from the garage and threatened her. A struggle ensued, and Candy managed to gain control of the weapon.The Shocking Self-Defense Claim and Acquittal
The central, most controversial element of the case was the trial, held in McKinney, Texas, in Collin County. Despite the gruesome nature of the crime—41 axe wounds—Candy Montgomery pleaded not guilty, claiming the killing was an act of self-defense.The Defense Strategy: Hypnosis and Dissociation
Candy’s defense team, led by Don Crowder, introduced a radical argument: she had killed Betty in a dissociative state. The defense enlisted the help of Dr. Fred Fason, a Houston psychiatrist and clinical hypnotist. Under hypnosis, Dr. Fason testified that he uncovered a repressed childhood memory in Candy. The memory involved her mother "shushing" her during a moment of distress. Candy claimed that during the struggle with Betty Gore, Betty had put her finger to her lips and said "Shhh," a trigger that plunged Candy into a murderous, dissociative rage, causing her to lose control and strike Betty repeatedly. The 41 blows, the defense argued, were not premeditated murder but the result of a psychological break, a desperate fight for survival that spiraled into an uncontrollable frenzy.The Verdict and Community Outcry
After a high-profile trial that lasted eight days, the jury of nine women and three men returned a verdict of *Not Guilty* on October 29, 1980. The verdict was met with widespread shock and outrage, particularly within the Wylie community. As Candy Montgomery left the courthouse, she was met by cries of "Murderer!" from a crowd of angry citizens who found the self-defense claim, especially given the number of blows, impossible to believe. The jury, however, was convinced that while the act was horrific, the initial threat from Betty with the axe provided a legal basis for the self-defense plea.Where Are They Now? The Aftermath in 2025
The fascination with the Betty Gore murder has only intensified in recent years, largely due to two major television miniseries: *Candy* (2022) and the HBO Max series *Love & Death* (2023), which landed on Netflix in late 2025. These adaptations have brought the story to a new generation, prompting fresh inquiries into the lives of the survivors.Candy Montgomery (Candace Wheeler)
Following her acquittal, Candy and Pat Montgomery moved to Georgia. They divorced four years later. Today, Candy, now in her mid-70s, lives a quiet, anonymous life in Georgia. She has reportedly changed her name and, as of the most recent public information in 2025, works as a mental health counselor. Her long-standing effort to stay out of the public eye means her current appearance and exact location remain unknown, solidifying her status as one of true crime's most mysterious figures.The Gore Daughters: Alisa and Bethany
The two daughters of Betty and Allan Gore, Alisa and Bethany, were left without their mother and were later raised by their paternal grandparents in Kansas. Like their father, they have maintained a fierce privacy, avoiding the media spotlight that continues to follow the case. Their story is the quiet, lasting tragedy at the heart of the Wylie axe murder, a reminder of the real lives shattered by the affair and the subsequent violence.The Legacy
The case, immortalized in the book *Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs* by Jim Atkinson and Joe Bob Briggs (John Bloom), remains a cautionary tale about the pressures of suburban life, the dangers of infidelity, and the legal complexities of self-defense. The 41 axe blows delivered by a seemingly normal housewife remain a chilling, unanswered question in the annals of true crime history.Detail Author:
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