Inside the Gory True Story of Love & Death: What to Know About Candy Montgomery's Real-Life Slaying of Her Friend By Kelsie Gibson and Samantha Stutsman

Love & Death brings Candy Montgomery’s dark, jaw-dropping story to life.

Created by David E. Kelley, the HBO Max miniseries, which premiered in April 2023 and made its Netflix debut on Dec. 1, was inspired by the true story of Candy (Elizabeth Olsen), a seemingly ordinary Wylie, Texas, housewife whose quiet suburban life unravels after she begins an affair with a fellow church member, Allan Gore (Jesse Plemons).

What begins as a strictly scheduled, emotion-free arrangement steadily grows more tangled as feelings deepen — especially as Allan’s wife and Candy’s friend, Betty Gore (Lily Rabe), becomes increasingly suspicious. Everything explodes on a summer day in 1980, when Candy strikes Betty 41 times with an axe following a confrontation. The series traces the affair, the shocking killing and the sensational trial that follows.

When developing the series, Kelley drew heavily from the book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson. The same reporting originally appeared as a 1984 multi-part feature in Texas Monthly titled “Love and Death in Silicon Prairie.”

“When the project was first brought to my attention, there was a presumption against it because I like to make the facts up. So I thought, if the facts are already coming to me fully baked, what’s the point?” Kelley told the Herald Sun in May 2023. “But when I read the [Texas Monthly] articles, and I read the book, it was just too juicy, too rich, too delicious to turn away from.”

Here’s everything to know about the true story behind Love & Death.

Who is Candy Montgomery?

As detailed in Texas Monthly articles titled “Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery’s Affair” and “Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part II: The Killing of Betty Gore,” Candy was considered a “normal suburban housewife.” She was married to a man named Pat Montgomery (Patrick Fugit), with whom she had two kids: a son and a daughter.

In 1977, Candy and her family moved to Wylie, where they resided in her “dream house in the country.” While Candy and Pat seemed to have a picture-perfect life to outsiders, Candy considered her marriage “very boring” and longed for something more.

After settling down in their new home, Candy began attending the Methodist Church of Lucas, which Texas Monthly said was the “center of [her] universe.” It was during a church service that she first met Betty, and the two became close friends.

Who is Betty Gore?

Like Candy, Betty was a wife and mother in the suburbs of Dallas. In January 1970, she married Allan. When their first child was born, Allan took a job at an electronics conglomerate called Rockwell International.

In 1976, Betty took a job teaching at an elementary school, “but she didn’t enjoy her work for very long.” As Texas Monthly stated, “She couldn’t control her unruly students, and at the same time she couldn’t bear to be left alone at home when Allan had to travel.”

Despite this, Betty decided the two should try to have their second child. She began planning her pregnancy “down to the exact week, so that the baby would be born in midsummer and she wouldn’t have to take any time off from teaching,” the outlet stated.

This reportedly made Allan “resentful,” as he felt their sex had become “completely mechanical.” As his marriage to Betty became strained, he and Candy grew close after colliding at a church volleyball game in 1978.

Is Love & Death based on a true story?

Love & Death is based on the true story of the 1980 killing of Betty and the subsequent investigation involving her friend and fellow church member, Candy.

On June 13, 1980, Betty’s husband, Allan, was away on a business trip and became worried when Betty wasn’t answering his calls, according to Texas Monthly. He asked a neighbor to check on her, but Betty didn’t answer. He then called Candy, who was watching their daughter, Alisa, at the time, and she assured him Betty was fine.

However, after several more attempts to contact Betty, Allan grew more worried. A few hours later, a neighbor entered the Gores’ home to find their infant daughter, Bethany, in her crib and “oceans of blood” leading to the utility room door.

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The neighbor informed Allan that Betty was dead. Distraught, Allan called Candy again at about 11:30 p.m., informing her of Betty’s death and asking if she could continue watching Alisa. She agreed.

The next morning, the police reported that Betty was murdered with an axe and that they found a bloody footprint in the home. Upon learning this news, Candy used a pair of garden shears to cut up her rubber sandals.

Did Candy Montgomery and Allan Gore have an affair?

During the church volleyball game in the summer of 1978, Candy and Allan quite literally crashed into each other as they both tried to make a play on the same ball.

According to the Texas Monthly articles, Candy thought Allan “smelled sexy” and began to fantasize about having an affair with him. One night after choir practice, Candy approached Allan in his car and said she’d been thinking about him a lot and wanted to know if they should act on her attraction. The attraction was mutual, as Allan, too, had reportedly considered Candy “one of the most attractive women in the church.”

Allan initially rejected the offer, noting that Betty had just gotten pregnant again and that it would “be unfair to her.” Shortly after, however, he gave Candy a kiss.

A few months later, they met up again on Candy’s 29th birthday, where they discussed the details of their planned affair, establishing a rule that if either of them started getting “emotionally involved,” they would end things.

They officially started having an affair on Dec. 12, 1978, which continued for several months. Candy and Allan continued the affair after Betty gave birth in July 1979; however, shortly thereafter, Allan and Betty decided to work on their marriage, and Allan ended his affair with Candy, according to Texas Monthly.

Did Candy Montgomery go to jail?

As the last person to see Betty alive, Candy became the main suspect in her murder. The police questioned her several times, and although her alibi seemed airtight, that all changed when Allan admitted to having an affair with Candy, giving the police a motive for the killing.

Candy surrendered for arrest on June 26, 1980, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and was later charged with Betty’s murder. She was later released on bail and given full support from her church, where she hired lawyer Don Crowder (Tom Pelphrey) to represent her. Crowder later enlisted a psychiatrist and clinical hypnotist named Dr. Fred Fason (Brian d’Arcy James) to uncover Candy’s memories from that night.

Through several hypnosis sessions, Fason claimed he discovered that Candy had experienced childhood trauma, which reportedly led to her rage as an adult. He was also able to piece together what happened the night of Betty’s killing, which Candy later recounted during her October 1980 trial, where she pleaded self-defense in Betty’s murder.

During her testimony, she alleged that on June 13, 1980, Betty confronted Candy about her affair with Allan. When Candy admitted to the affair, she claimed Betty went into her utility room to grab an axe, which Betty then used to attack her. Candy said she eventually gained control of the axe and hit Betty as the two continued to struggle. Candy proceeded to hit Betty 41 times; Texas Monthly added that she only stopped “at the point of utter exhaustion.”

On Oct. 29, 1980, the jury acquitted Candy of murder.

Where is Candy Montgomery now?

Candy has stayed out of the public eye since the trial. The Dallas Morning News reported in 2010 that she and Pat eventually moved to Georgia, where she began working as a certified family counselor.

Candy and Pat split shortly after their move, according to the outlet. Betty’s brother Ron Pomeroy told People Magazine Investigates: Candy and Betty that Betty’s parents, Bob and Bertha Pomeroy, ultimately raised her and Allan’s daughters, Alisa and Bethany, in Kansas.