‘Love and Death’ true story: Candy Montgomery, Betty Gore, and Allan Gore—what really happened and where the case stands today
Interest in Love and Death has spiked again in recent days, sending viewers back to the real 1980 killing that stunned suburban Texas. Here’s the definitive, plain-English guide to the facts, the trial, and what’s known about the people at the center of the story—Candy Montgomery, Betty Gore, and Allan Gore.
Candy Montgomery and the Wylie, Texas case at a glance
The true story begins in the North Texas community of Wylie, where church friends and young families shared carpools, potlucks, and youth activities. Candy Montgomery, a homemaker in her early 30s, embarked on an extramarital affair with Allan Gore, a fellow congregant whose wife, Betty, was a middle-school teacher and mother of two. Months after the affair ended, tensions lingered.
On June 13, 1980, Betty Gore was found dead in the utility room of her home. She had been struck 41 times with an axe. Betty’s infant daughter, left alone in a crib, was discovered alive when neighbors entered the house after Allan—away on a work trip—couldn’t reach his wife.
Police soon focused on Candy. She admitted she killed Betty but insisted it was self-defense during a sudden, violent struggle that began after Betty confronted her about the affair.
The trial: self-defense, hypnosis testimony, and an acquittal
The eight-day trial in McKinney, Texas, became a regional sensation. Candy’s defense argued that Betty initiated the confrontation with the axe, that a chaotic fight ensued, and that Candy—experiencing a dissociative reaction unspooled in courtroom testimony—continued striking long after the initial clash. Prosecutors countered that Candy could have fled and that the number of blows was far beyond reasonable self-defense.
After closing arguments, a jury of nine women and three men deliberated for just over three hours and, on October 30, 1980, returned a verdict of not guilty. Outside the courthouse, angry crowds jeered as Candy left under protection. Inside the courtroom, the acquittal cemented one of Texas’s most debated legal outcomes: a confessed killer, found to have acted in self-defense.
‘Love and Death’ vs. the record: what the series dramatizes
Dramatizations compress timelines, stage private conversations, and build composite scenes to show motive and psychology. Still, several anchors in the series align with the record:
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The suburban church setting and social circle that brought the families together.
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The affair between Candy and Allan, arranged with ground rules and scheduled around everyday life.
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The fatal confrontation on June 13, 1980, while Allan was out of town.
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The core trial narrative: self-defense, expert testimony about Candy’s mental state, and a swift acquittal.
Creative license appears most in reconstructed dialogue, interior monologues, and the exact choreography of the struggle—areas where no complete, independent record exists beyond testimony.
Where are they now? Privacy—and a few confirmed turns
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Candy Montgomery (born Candace Wheeler) left Texas after the trial, later living in Georgia and working in counseling under her maiden name. She and her then-husband, Pat Montgomery, eventually separated. She has kept a low profile for decades.
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Allan Gore rebuilt life away from Texas; Betty’s daughters were raised by family members. Public details about his later years have been sparse by design.
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Pat and Candy’s children have remained out of view. Their identities were shielded when the case resurfaced in modern dramatizations.
Recent coverage has largely revisited these established facts rather than unveiling new legal developments; there is no active criminal proceeding today linked to the 1980 acquittal.
Timeline of the Candy Montgomery–Betty Gore case
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1979–1980 | Affair between Candy Montgomery and Allan Gore; later ends. |
| June 13, 1980 | Betty Gore killed at home in Wylie, Texas; struck 41 times with an axe. |
| Late June 1980 | Candy arrested and charged with murder. |
| Oct. 21–30, 1980 | Trial held in McKinney, Texas; self-defense argued. |
| Oct. 30, 1980 | Jury returns not-guilty verdict. |
| Early 1980s onward | Families relocate; principals maintain privacy. |
| 2020s | Case resurges in books and limited series; no new charges. |
Why the story endures
1) The collision of ordinary and unthinkable. Church choirs and cul-de-sacs frame an act of extreme violence, challenging assumptions about what “looks safe.”
2) A rare self-defense acquittal in a domestic homicide. The number of blows complicates instinctive views of proportionality; the jury still found reasonable doubt.
3) Media afterlife. Re-tellings invite re-litigation in the court of public opinion, especially around trauma, dissociation, and how memory functions under threat.
Key questions viewers still ask
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How did the jury reconcile 41 blows with self-defense? Jurors weighed the start of the fight, the weapon’s presence in Betty’s hand, and testimony about Candy’s mental state. In short: they weren’t asked to approve the outcome—only to decide whether the state proved murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Was Allan Gore charged? No. He was a central witness whose affair with Candy was part of the motive context, not a crime.
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Could the case be retried? Double jeopardy bars a new prosecution for the same offense after an acquittal.
The Love and Death true story is, at its core, a brutal killing, a polarizing self-defense claim, and a verdict that has defied public consensus for 45 years. Candy Montgomery admitted to killing Betty Gore; a jury said the state hadn’t proven murder. Allan Gore’s affair set the fuse, but the courtroom outcome turned on what happened in a locked utility room—and whether jurors believed they could be certain of anything beyond a reasonable doubt.
