Murder by nature

The True Story Behind Love & Death: The Murder of Betty Gore

• Jazmin Hernandez • Season 1 • Episode 31

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If you're into true crime shows, we have all watched the Love & Death series on Max starring Elizabeth Olsen. In this week's episode, we will dive into the true story of Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery. 


In the 1980s, The American suburb, with neatly mown lawns and white picket fences, children at home with their mothers, fathers at work, and friends that felt like family has long been used in pop culture as a facade of normalcy, concealing chaos and violence. This suspicion of the suburbs was partly fueled by books and real-life cases of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a cheery suburban businessman who murdered more than 30 people in the 1970s. Though in this story, we have betrayal, adultery, and murder. Two families who seem to have it all decided they might want more. This will be a four-part series on our show; I advise you to listen cautiously as we will go into different details surrounding this case. I want to ensure we cover the events of the case. 


In 1977, when Candy was 28, she and her husband, Pat Montgomery, moved to Wylie, TX, a suburb about 30 miles northeast of Dallas. Pat was an electrical engineer, and Candy was a stay-at-home mom to their two children. The center of their social world was the local Methodist church, where Candy and Pat befriended a local couple named Betty and Allan Gore. Betty was an elementary school teacher; Allan worked for an electronics conglomerate and principal defense contractor. From the outside, they seemed to be living the picturesque American Dream. 



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“Welcome to Murder By Nature, where we discuss True Crime, Mystery disappearances, and unsolved cases! I’m Jazmin, your host!


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If you're into true crime shows I'm sure we have all watched the Love & Death series on Max starring Elizabeth olsen. In this week's episode we will dive into the true story of Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery. 

In the 1980s, The American suburb, with neatly mown lawns and white picket fences, children at home with their mothers, fathers at work, and friends that felt like family has long been used in pop culture as a facade of normalcy, concealing chaos and violence. This suspicion of the suburbs was partly fueled by books and real-life cases of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a cheery suburban businessman who murdered more than 30 people in the 1970s.  Though in this story, we have betrayal, adultery, and murder. Two families who seem to have it all decided they might want a little more. This will be a four-part series on our show, I do advise to listen with caution as we will go into different details surrounding this case. I want to ensure we cover the events of the case. 


In 1977, when Candy was 28, she and her husband, Pat Montgomery, moved to Wylie, TX, a suburb about 30 miles northeast of Dallas. Pat was an electrical engineer, and Candy was a stay-at-home mom to their two children. The center of their social world was the local Methodist church, where Candy and Pat befriended a local couple named Betty and Allan Gore. Betty was an elementary school teacher; Allan worked for an electronics conglomerate and major defense contractor. From the outside, they seemed to be living the picturesque American Dream. 


Now let's take this back to the beginning. Born in 1950 as the first of three children, Betty Pomeroy always led a rather good life making her the center of attention. She was pretty with an innocence about her and a beautiful smile. This aspect didn’t waver while she was in college either, where Betty fell in love with the teacher’s assistant in her math class, Allan Gore, only to marry him following a short yet sweet romance in 1970. When she and Allan Gore decided to get married, her family and friends were surprised. They couldn’t see what she saw in him. Allan was a small, plain man with horn-rim glasses and puffy cheeks and, even at a young age, signs of a receding hairline. He was also shy, which often made him come across as stern or aloof or even snobbish.But the Norwich, Kansas native then moved around a bit with her growing family before settling down in Collin County, Texas. When their first child was born, Allan was working for Rockwell International, an electronics conglomerate and major defense contractor. In 1976 Betty took a job teaching at an elementary school in the small town of Wylie, about ten miles east of Plano, Betty wanted to make a difference in the lives of her students. She went above and beyond to create a supportive learning environment for the students, she was creative and knowledgeable and she wanted to bring that to the classroom. As she continued to teach it started to take a toll on her mental health, with Allan’s work he had to travel a lot and this left Betty alone for days at a time, and her own job as an elementary school teacher was starting to leave her exhausted. 


In spite of her unhappiness, Betty had decided, as a new school year began in the fall of 1978, that they should go ahead and have their next child, but this time she wanted the pregnancy planned 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. This was especially difficult, since the Gores’ sex life had dwindled to almost nothing, and when they did have sex, just movements instead of enjoyment. Now that there was a plan with schedules Allan was required to have clinical sex with Betty every night during her estimated fertility period. As this continued Allan started to  feel a little resentful; He wanted to make his wife happy but this wasn't exciting or thrilling as he would like it to be. The passion and spark was gone. One thing Allan Gore always believed in was that marriages are forever. When their sex life started to become routine and unimaginative, he wanted to know why. They enjoyed sex previously and there was nothing wrong with them when they were happy. But lately there was not much excitement in the bedroom. Allan was working hard, even though he didn’t travel any longer because Betty had a deep-seated fear of being alone. Yet she frequently came home from school full of tension, and would spend most of the evening grading papers for the next day’s classes. When you don’t spend a lot of time together in the evening, Allan thought, there’s usually not much interest in spending a lot of time in bed, either. Allan was afraid they were in danger of falling victim to complete boredom.


When Pat Montgomery married Candy Wheeler in the early seventies, he was one of the brightest young electrical engineers at Texas Instruments. Candy had been working as a secretary; she was petite and blond, with a thin, pointed nose and a contagious high-pitched laugh. She was an Army brat, the daughter of a radar technician who had spent the twenty years after World War II bouncing with his family from base to base. Candy seemed born to the wandering life, she was a free spirit who made friends easily and had the confidence that taught her at an early age what power women could have over men.


When Candy and Pat moved to the country in 1977 with a son and a daughter, by then, their marriage had settled into a routine. Pat was providing everything Candy had ever expected from him. Candy did not mind taking care of the children and their house, but she was growing bored of her life with Pat and had started talking openly with friends about the possibility of having an affair. She was explicit about the kind of affair she was interested in: transcendent sex. She wanted fireworks, passion, and excitement, something she was not getting right now. 


On a late-summer day in 1978. Candy and Allan both tried to make a play on the same ball and collided. It was a harmless bump and went unnoticed by everyone else on the court, but for Candy, it brought a revelation: Allan Gore smelled sexy. When she bumped into Allan Gore, she wondered, “Could a man like that make the earth move?” At first glance, he didn’t look like it. Allan had a receding hairline and the beginnings of a paunchy midsection, and he dressed blandly, to say the least. But in other ways, he was the kind of man she might be able to have a good time with. She had known Allan for only nine months, but it seemed much longer. He was a lot like her: active in the church, a lover of kids, the outgoing, personable half of a mismatched couple. Allan sang in the choir, helped organize the sports teams, and did everything that Betty never seemed to want to get involved in. He had a sense of humor. It was only natural that he and Candy would see a lot of each other. Candy Montgomery was Betty Gore’s opposite in almost every way. She was perky and easygoing. She was friends with everyone, active in church activities, and a loving mother in her own right. 


Candy and Allan were both outgoing and extroverted, unlike their counterparts. But like Allan, Candy Montgomery was bored with her sex life, and at 28, she felt that she was too young to deny herself exciting sexual experiences, and a tiny, insistent voice in the back of Candy’s brain kept telling her that Allan Gore was as anxious to express his feelings that he was having too. 


It had begun with little things that, unless you knew what was happening, you wouldn’t have guessed. Allan was seeming to joke with her more than he joked with the other women at church. He started to tease her about her volleyball skills, and every once in a while, he would wink at her as though they shared some little secret. After choir practice, the two of them would occasionally chat a little longer than necessary or hang out in the parking lot while the others were getting into their cars. The flirting started out very subtle. Sometimes it was so much like Allan’s natural friendliness with everyone that Candy doubted it was a real flirtation. But then Allan would do something that was unmistakably designed to get her attention, and she would start wondering all over again. As the weeks went by, she started fantasizing about sex with the man who smelled so nice. 


As the two continued on with their lives, they couldn't shake the idea of each other, and one night after choir practice, Candy approached Allan and told him that she had to talk to him about something. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot, and it’s really bothering me, and I don’t know whether I want you to do anything about it or not,” she said. “I’m very attracted to you, and I’m tired of thinking about it, and so I wanted to tell you.” And with that, she jumped out of the car, slammed the door, and hurried across the parking lot.


Allan felt shocked and flattered and a little ridiculous. He wasn’t shocked by Candy’s directness; he had known her long enough to realize that she spoke exactly what was on her mind but he was shocked as he couldn’t imagine someone like Candy finding him attractive. He was also surprised and secretly pleased that it was Candy. Even though she wasn’t what you would call a classic beauty, she was one of the most attractive women in the church, in his opinion, and she was certainly the most fun to be with. Then a wave of doubt overtook him: maybe Candy was just flirting, in her own way, because all she had really said was that she had been thinking about him. But even then Allan couldn’t get Candy out of his mind. He couldn’t shake the idea that sex with Candy Montgomery would certainly be more exciting than the sex he was having with his wife.


Allan thought about Candy a lot over the next few days and wondered whether she would say anything else the next time they were together. He thought about calling her but then felt silly and awkward. He also felt a little guilty of how different Candy was from his wife. Betty was as sour as ever; Candy was always up, always busy, self-confident, easygoing, and warm. But one thing was certain, the conversation with Candy planted a seed in Allan’s mind, but no one knew how dangerous this conversation would turn out to be. 



As the week went on, they both thought about one another and didn't really know how to handle what they were feeling, but a week later, Candy and Allan would see each other again at choir practice, and this time Allan would walk Candy to her car. When the two made it over to the car, Candy asked Allan if he wanted to have an affair. Taken back just a but Allan told her that he wasn’t sure if this was something that he would be able to do because they had just found out that Betty was pregnant with their second child. Unphased by this news, Candy told him she only wanted to sleep with him once. She just wanted to know what it felt like, and shockingly, Allan leaned over and kissed Candy for the first time in her car and left. 


Nothing else happened with the two as they processed what had happened and where to go from here, but On Candy’s 29th birthday, he called her, “Hi, this is Allan. I have to go to McKinney tomorrow to get some tires checked on the new truck I bought up there. I wondered if you’d like to have lunch, you know, to talk a little more about what we talked about before.” It had been two or three weeks since the last time they had talked, in the parking lot outside the gym. Those weeks hadn’t been easy for Candy. She felt foolish after throwing herself at him and then being so calmly rejected. Besides being embarrassed, she was afraid that Allan would think less of her. She wanted to put the whole incident out of her mind, and the only reason she couldn’t was the kiss. If Allan were so dead set against the idea, why had he given her that kiss before he left? And it didn’t help Candy’s peace of mind that she and Pat had been arguing more than usual lately. She had brought home some A+ papers from the writing class she was enrolled in, but all Pat just seemed to act like he cared and this infuriated her and which led her to say some not so nice words. In Pat’s mind they were arguments over nothing, but to her they represented everything wrong with their marriage.


Allan and Candy met at an auto repair shop in McKinney. Allan broke the ice right away by surprising her with a birthday card. On the front, it read, “For the Last of the Red Hot Lovers.” She opened it to find a small plastic bag of Red Hots inside. It was the kind of gag card that Candy loved, and she was instantly touched. They got into her car and drove to a quaint little teahouse, where they talked about everything except themselves for the better part of an hour. Allan talked about Betty. Candy talked about Pat. They compared notes on their children, and chatted about church matters. Candy got Allan to talk about his work for a while, and he, in turn, seemed interested when she discussed her creative writing course. Then, after the meal was cleared away and they began to sip their coffee, Allan said, “I’ve never done anything like an affair before.” “I haven’t either,” said Candy. “I would never be able to forgive myself if Betty ever found out about something like that. I think it would just be devastating to her.” “I feel the same way. I wouldn’t want to see anyone hurt by this, Pat or Betty. We would have to be so careful that no one would ever know except us.” “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said, about not wanting to get emotionally involved. That would be very important for me.” “Me, too, Allan. I just want to enjoy myself without hurting myself or anyone else.” “Well, let’s think about it some more, and maybe we should think about the hazards some more and whether we want to take that risk.” “Fine. I think we should.” After they were done talking they parted ways, nothing else was done. 


Within a week Allan called Candy again while Pat was at work. They chatted more about the risks of having an affair, their fears of doing something that would ruin their marriages, but they also talked about their mutual attraction and were obviously excited by the prospect of an affair. “You know, if you don’t go to bed with me pretty soon, Allan, then you’ll never be able to live up to the expectation I have of you in bed,” Candy said, giggling. “I know,” he said, “I’ve thought of that.” 


The next month consisted of strategy sessions for what must have been the most thoughtfully planned affair in the history of time. It began with tentative phone calls from Allan, asking about this or that. “When would we do it?” “What if somebody saw us?” Soon after the lunch at the teahouse in McKinney, they arranged to meet for lunch again, this time at the parking lot of Allan’s office in Richardson, from which they drove to a nearby restaurant. Allan was accustomed to making his own hours at work, so a long lunch break was no problem, but they could save time if Candy picked him up. From talking about the hazards of the affair, they moved quickly to a consideration of ways they could possibly avoid those hazards. They talked a great deal about emotional involvement. They agreed that there would be none of that; it was too dangerous. They thought as long as they could limit the affair to sex, they were safe.But as time went on Allan started looking forward to his daily call to Candy from work and as Candy continued to fantasize about the affair and affection she started to look forward to getting calls from Allan daily. Allan was growing much more comfortable with the idea of an affair, mainly because he discovered, to his surprise, that he could go to lunch with Candy, talk with her intimately on the phone, and then go home to Betty and always be completely normal. Candy always felt completely normal around Pat, perhaps because she was confident he would never suspect a thing. Still, Allan and Candy hesitated to take the plunge. They knew by now this is something that they wanted to do but they were also nervous of what might happen if anyone found out. They were living in this bubble by themselves that no one knew existed and they questioned if they were ready to burst that. 


At the end of November Candy came up with the best strategy of all: she invited Allan to her house for lunch. She fixed her famous lasagna for the occasion. She was starting to grow frustrated with the situation and the lack of decision. She told herself before Allan arrived, that if nothing happened soon, she wouldn’t spend any more time on this. She had done what she could to make it happen and it was Allan’s decision to make now. As soon as Allan walked into the Montgomery house that day, he broke into laughter, as the first thing he saw, hanging above the room, was a huge piece of butcher paper. On it, in Magic Marker, Candy had made two columns. The column on the left was headed “WHYS.” The column on the right said, “WHY-NOTS.” When she said she was inviting him over to discuss the pros and cons, she wasn’t kidding. From their last few phone conversations, Allan was letting Candy know that he was leaning toward a decision not to have an affair. 


After eating, they sat in the living room and went over the list one line at a time. They took the why-nots first, beginning with the most important one: fear of getting caught. “But that really shouldn’t be a problem,” said Candy, “if we’re careful.” Allan was much more concerned about one of the why-nots farther down the list: the possibility that they would become emotionally involved. “We need to think about what we’re getting into,” said Allan. “Allan, as far as I’m concerned, this is just for fun. I’m not serious about it. It’s just a companionship thing, and we shouldn’t be afraid of it. Whatever happens, we’ll do it for a while and then it will be over.”

“I’m afraid that I might get emotionally involved.” he told candy “We just won’t let that happen.” she snapped back. As the lunch continued they started on the whys. 


The whys on the list were a good deal easier: a sense of adventure, a need for companionship. Candy hadn’t gone so far as to put sex on the list, but they discussed that one, too. “We’ll always wonder if we don’t do it,” she said. “I know,” said Allan. “It’s up to you, Allan. I know I can do it. I know I can act in an adult fashion and not take unnecessary risks. I’ve made up my mind, so just tell me if you want to do it.” Although they strategized this list there was still no final decision made that day. After Allan left, Candy thought to herself, “How much farther can you go?” They had already made too big a deal of something that should have been more natural. It wasn’t as though Allan Gore was her fantasy man or anything.


A few days later Allan called again. “I’ve decided I want to go ahead with it,” he said.This made Candy excited, she knew this was what she wanted and decided at that moment there needed to be ground rules established, and logistical problems to be worked out. This affair was to be conducted properly. As Candy was getting ready to jump head first into this she wrote down a list of rules that they must follow and agree on before anything physical happens. The rule came easy for her as she didnt want an emotional connection, just a physical one. The rules went as followed:


  1. If either one of them ever wanted to end the affair, for whatever reason, it would end. No questions asked.
  2. If either one became too emotionally involved, the affair would end.
  3. If they ever started taking risks that shouldn’t be taken, the affair would end.
  4. All expenses, food, motel room, gasoline would be shared equally.
  5. They would meet only on weekdays, while their spouses were at work.
  6. Candy would be in charge of fixing lunch on the days they met, so that they could have more time. They figured they would need all of Allan’s two-hour lunch.
  7. Candy would be in charge of getting a motel room, for the same reason.
  8. They would meet on a Tuesday or a Thursday, once every two weeks. That was because Candy was free only on days when her little boy attended the Play Day Preschool at The Methodist Church. She took him each Tuesday and Thursday, from nine to two, but she figured that she would need three out of four of those school days for all the other errands and church and school duties in her hectic schedule.


Finally having checked off every possible precaution, they set the date for the affair to begin: December 12, 1978.

That brings us to the end of this episode!  As always, thanks for listening to Murder By Nature. If you enjoy our show, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any streaming platform you are currently on, and be sure to come back Saturday for our new episode. Until then, I am your host, Jazmin, don’t forget to stay safe! Don’t get murdered or murder people!



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