“This is a true story,” the beginning of every episode of “Love and Death” reminds viewers.
The seven-episode HBO mini series follows the case of Candy Montgomery, a 30-year-old Texas mother and churchgoer who killed the wife of a man she was having an affair with in 1980. The show is based on a series of Texas Monthly articles and the book “Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs” by Jim Atkinson and John Bloom.
Montgomery, portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen in the series, was accused of murdering her friend Betty Gore, an elementary school teacher. She allegedly stabbed her 41 times with an ax in a gruesome attack on June 13, 1980.
Defense attorneys for Montgomery argued she was acting in self-defense, as lawyer Robert Udashen recalls in an interview with the Advocate, once Gore brought out the ax from her garage after asking if Montgomery was having an affair with her husband, Allan Gore.
Montgomery was acquitted of the murder charge on Oct. 29, 1980, the Dallas Morning News reported, sending shockwaves through the small religious Texas community.
How does what happens in 'Love and Death' compare to the true story?
To understand what happened at the Gore home on June 13, 1980, “Love and Death” starts well before the crime scene.
Candace “Candy” Montgomery moved to Collin County, Texas, outside of Dallas, in 1977 with her husband Pat Montgomery, according to Texas Monthly and “Evidence of Love,” which is based on interviews with the Montgomery and Gore families.
Montgomery quickly became known as a beloved churchgoer, loving mother and devoted wife with an infectiously sweet personality. She met Betty and Allan Gore at the Methodist Church of Lucas, per Texas Monthly.
It was a summer day in 1978 when Montgomery and Allan Gore collided after going after the same ball during a volleyball game that she decided he “smelled sexy,” according to Texas Monthly.
The pair started flirting at church events, and Montgomery began telling her friends about her marital woes with her husband. One night after choir practice, she approached Allan Gore and told him about her feelings toward him.
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot and it’s really bothering me and I don’t know whether I want you to do anything about it or not,” she told him, according to Texas Monthly. “I’m very attracted to you and I’m tired of thinking about it and so I wanted to tell you.”
About a week later after another church volleyball game, Allan Gore asked her what she had in mind. “Would you be interested in having an affair?” she asked.
He said he couldn’t do it to his wife, but after weeks of discussing it with Candy, the pair ended up meticulously planning their affair, including rules such as all expenses would be paid equally and that Montgomery would prepare lunch so they’d have more time, according to Texas Monthly.
After the plans were made, they picked the date for the first day of their affair: December 12, 1978. The affair lasted for several months, but Allan Gore said he didn’t want to be with Montgomery anymore after attending a marriage workshop called Marriage Encounter.
The next day, Montgomery told him, “Allan, you seem to be leaving it up to me. So I’ve decided, I won’t call. I won’t try to see you. I won’t bother you anymore.”
What happened on June 13, 1980?
Montgomery had a packed schedule on June 13, 1980: Vacation Bible School in the morning, before she had to go to several stores to run errands, including getting Father’s Day cards, according to “Evidence of Love” and Texas Monthly.
While at church, her youngest daughter Jenny and the Gores’ daughter Alisa asked to have a sleepover after seeing “The Empire Strikes Back” that night, meaning Montgomery would also have to take Alisa to a swimming lesson the next morning — and go to the Gore home to pick up her swimsuit.
According to Montgomery’s 1980 courtroom testimony, she arrived at the Gore home and asked Betty Gore if her daughter could see the movie, and that she would take her to her swimming lesson the next morning. Betty Gore said that would be OK, and the pair made small talk until she confronted Montgomery about whether she was having an affair with her husband. Montgomery said she had but “a long time ago.”
Betty Gore told Montgomery to wait a minute, and walked into the utility room of her home. When she returned, she was holding a three-foot ax.
Montgomery said she would just head home, and Betty Gore put the ax down. As Montgomery was leaving, she placed a hand on her old friend’s arm and said, “Oh, Betty, I’m so sorry.”
Montgomery said Betty Gore then pushed her into the utility room and said, “You can’t have him, you can’t have him. I’ve got to kill you.”
From there, Montgomery said the two struggled for the ax. Montgomery got control of the weapon, and brought the blade down on the back of Betty Gore’s head.
“I didn’t think,” Montgomery said. “I didn’t think at all. I raise it and I hit her, and I hit hit, and I hit her and I hit her.”
She didn’t stop until she had reached the point of utter exhaustion, which was 41 blows later. 40 of them occurred while Betty Gore’s heart was still beating, forensics expert Vincent DiMaio later testified in the trial.
Montgomery turned herself in 13 days later, per reporting at the time.
What happened during Montgomery's trial?
Montgomery hired Dan Crowder, a personal injury attorney she knew from church, to be her lawyer in the murder case, according to Texas Monthly.
Montgomery’s trial began in October 1980, and Crowder argued she had acted in self-defense. She took the stand in her own defense. According to reporting at the time, jurors heard closing arguments and reached a verdict that same afternoon: Candy Montgomery was not guilty.
Where is Candy Montgomery now?
The last scene in “Love and Death” shows Candy and Pat leaving Texas to head to Georgia. Little is known about the couple, though Montgomery appeared to have obtained a therapist license in Georgia under her maiden name Candace Wheeler starting in 1996, according to a copy of the license obtained by NBC News.
Her license expired in 2012.
