Candace L (Wheeler) Montgomery

Candace Lynn Wheeler was born to Perleg N. and Emma C. Wheeler. She had a sister, Elsie. Candace Wheeler was 20 years old when she married 25 year old James Patrick Montgomery on October 6th, 1970 in El Paso, Texas. The couple had a son, Ian Patrick Montgomery, in October of 1974, and a daughter. In June of 1980, a woman named Betty Gore was brutally murdered in her home in Texas. The perpetrator struck her with an ax 41 times. Subsequently, Candace Montgomery, who was a friend of Betty's, was accused of the murder. Candace had previously been having an affair with Betty's husband, Allan Gore, but the affair had ended. During the trial, Candace argued that she had acted in self-defense. She claimed that Betty had discovered the affair and attacked her with the ax. In the ensuing struggle, Candace had managed to wrest the ax away from Betty and had used it to strike back in self-defense, resulting in Betty's death. In the end, the court found Candace "not guilty" of the murder. She subsequently moved to Georgia with her children and worked as a therapist with teens and adults. By that time, she had divorced her husband James, who later went by the nickname "Pat". A book, "Evidence of Love" and a show on Hulu, "Candy", were made about the incident. See a 2022 article about both with more details about the incident at Everything To Know.