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Revision as of 00:00, 10 April 2022
Candy Montgomery (née Candice Wheeler; born 1949 or 1950)[1][2] is an American. 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]
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 was having 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 neighbours 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
Represention
Montgomery was represented by defence attorney Robert Udashen.[1] The trial continued for eight days in McKinney.
Jury
The jury comprised 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
- ^ a b c d e f Smith, Benjamin (January 16, 2022). "Texas Church Lady Admits To Killing Friend With An Axe — And Still Gets Away With It". Oxygen.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Atkinson, Jim; January 1984 2, John Bloom (January 21, 2013). "Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery's Affair". Texas Monthly.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Duggan, Sonia (May 29, 2020). "Anniversary of an Ax Murder". In Around Mag.
- ^ a b Atkinson, Jim (January 1984). "Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery's Affair".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "A jury decided Candace Montgomery was acting in self defence". UPI. October 30, 1980.
- ^ Goodgame, Dan (February 2022). "Our New Partners in Video Storytelling". Texas Monthly. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ^ Bahr, Sarah (January 17, 2022). "Melanie Lynskey on That Chilling 'Yellowjackets' Finale" – via NYTimes.com.