Candy Montgomery
Candace Lynn Montgomery (née Wheeler; born November 15, 1949) is an American woman who was accused of killing her lover's wife, Betty Gore. The killing took place in Wylie, Texas, on June 13, 1980. During the assault, Gore was struck 41 times with a wood splitting axe. Montgomery pleaded not guilty to charges of murder on the basis of self-defense, alleging that Gore confronted her about an affair she had had with Gore's husband and attacked her with the axe. She was acquitted.
Background
Map: Collin County Texas Incorporated Areas Wylie highlighted
Location of Wylie in Collin County, Texas Montgomery, who was 30 years old at the time of the incident,[1] was married to Pat Montgomery, an electrical engineer.[2] The couple had two children—a daughter and son.[2] They moved to Collin County, Texas, in 1977,[2] where they regularly attended the Methodist Church of Lucas.[2][3] Montgomery became close friends with Betty Gore, a middle school teacher,[1] after meeting her at a church service.[3] Gore lived nearby with her two children and her husband, Allan, with whom Montgomery engaged in an extramarital affair.[1][4]
On the day of Gore's killing, Allan Gore was out of town.[1] When he was unable to reach his wife on the telephone, he requested that their neighbors go to investigate. After forcing their way into the family residence, they discovered Gore's body.[1] Her daughter, Bethany, who had been sleeping in her crib in another room at the time of the incident, was awake, crying and covered in her own feces after being left for 13 hours unattended.[1]
The crime was investigated by Steve Deffibaugh with the Collin County Sheriff’s Department.[1]