'Candy': True story of Texas woman who killed her friend with an ax for exposing affair with her husband
Elisabeth Moss's repertoire of television dramas is stunning, to say the least. The 37-year-old has turned out for roles in some of the most-lauded and critically acclaimed dramas this side of the 21st century, including 'The West Wing,' 'Mad Men,' and of course, 'The Handmaid's Tale'. She will soon be adding to that list with a new limited series from UCP tentatively titled 'Candy' which will follow the true story of a 28-year-old Texas housewife named Candace Montgomery who "seemingly had it all" before brutally killing her friend and fellow church parishioner. It's a story that many can't wrap their heads around even to this day; one involving betrayal of the highest order from a woman many would have told you was not even capable of hurting a fly but would go on to wield an ax with terrifying and deadly accuracy.
On the night of June 13, 1980, residents in a quaint corner of eastern Collin County were met with a scene they could not comprehend. The lifeless body of Betty Gore lay sprawled across the utility room of her home with every object around her coated with a paint of blood. A few feet away from her was the murder weapon: a heavy-handled, three-foot-long ax. Investigators knew almost immediately Montogomery was the culprit but found it hard to believe someone as small as she had the physical strength to wreak such carnage, reported Texas Monthy. As they looked into the relationship between Montogomery and Gore, they uncovered a motive and unraveled a complex dynamic between the two women that explained how a run-of-the-mill suburban housewife that everyone knew as a loving mother and devoted wife could sink to such depravity.
The two had become best friends after they were brought together by the Methodist Church of Lucas, a town that provided an escape for its residents from the havoc that was nearby Dallas. Montogomery had moved to her dream house there in 1977 with a hope of starting anew and her plan seemed to be trudging along pretty well. All that changed at a volleyball game at church in 1978, when Montgomery and Gore's husband, Allan, collided as they tried to play the same ball. While it was a pretty inconspicuous bump, Montgomery thought he "smelled sexy," and in the weeks that followed, told friends about wanting to have an affair to shake up her "very boring" life. While Allan did not seem like the type of man she wanted to fool around with initially -- he had a receding hairline, dressed blandly, and was developing a stomach -- the pair quickly realized that they both had some feelings for each other.
What started as innocent flirting at church and other social events eventually blossomed into something more when, after a night of choir practice, Montogomery confessed she wanted to have sex with him. The confession caused Allan to re-evaluate his marriage, which, like any other, had its problems. After a few weeks of wrestling with the idea because he did not want to entertain the thought of hurting his wife, Allan caved. On Montogomery's 29th birthday, he invited her out to McKinney for lunch, following which they started meticulously planning their affair so everyone else would be none the wiser. December 12, 1978, was the day they took the plunge. They arranged for a date at the Continental Inn on Central Expressway, and never looked back. For the next few months, every two weeks, like clockwork, they had sex.
But as Gore neared her due date -- she had been pregnant the entire duration of the affair -- the meetings grew more infrequent. After giving birth, she and Allan attended a marriage counseling session to work over their problems, which, in turn, resulted at the end of the latter's relationship with Montogomery. While he and Montogomery were on friendly terms afterward, he had little idea of the darkness that was brewing inside her that would spill out on Friday the 13th in June 1980 while he was away for a business trip. Montgomery, who was babysitting Allan's older daughter Alisa, had murdered Gore in cold blood while their infant daughter slept in the next room. When Allan called to raise concerns because his wife was not answering her phone, Montogomery insisted everything was okay and that she had seemed fine when she saw her earlier the same day.
A bloody footprint at the scene of the crime and Allan's confession of their affair led investigators to charge Montogomery with murder. However, she was released on bail and, surprisingly, received wholehearted support from the church. During her trial, she hired Dr Fred Fason, a psychiatrist and clinical hypnotist, who, after a few hypnosis sessions, determined she was suffering from deep-rooted childhood trauma that had triggered immense rage within her as an adult. She told the court that Gore had confronted her about her affair with Allan on the morning of the death and that she only retaliated her in self-defense after Gore attacked her with the murder weapon. Though the claim went against physical evidence as Gore had suffered 41 ax wounds, Montgomery was still found not guilty.
Moss, who can boast of a Golden Globe for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film for 'Top of the Lake' and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for 'The Handmaid's Tale,' will have her work cut out for her 'Candy' but she's not one to shy away from a challenge. "I have been wanting to play an anti-heroine for a while now and have been trying to work with Robin [Veitch] again after ‘Mad Men’ for even longer, so when she asked me if I wanted to play a housewife from Texas who, some would say, got away with murder, I simply said, ‘Where do I sign?’" she said. "Adding the opportunity to work with Nick [Antosca] after his incredible work on ‘The Act’ was like taking a delicious dessert and putting 100 cherries on top."