6 Horrific Details About Betty Gore's Death (& How Close Love & Death Gets To It) (2024)

discloses some horrific details about the Betty Gore crime scene, raising the question of how accurate the show's depiction of the murder is to the real-life crime. HBO Max's Love & Death is not the first show that attempts to capture the gruesome nature and the tragic circ*mstances of Betty Gore's murder as it follows Candy released a year earlier. However, what makes its portrayal of true crime stand out is its ensemble cast and its attempt to dig deeper into the motives and emotional bearings of the people involved.

Owing to its emphasis on realism, in chronological order. From the inception of Candy's affair to the violent showdown that turns her life upside down, the HBO Max series attempts to walk viewers through all the major milestones that led to the climactic Betty Gore crime scene. Even when it comes to the actual murder, Love & Death gets close to many details of the crime without sensationalizing or justifying it.

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6 Betty's Axe Murder Took Place On Friday The 13th

Candy Montgomery killed Betty Gore on June 13, 1980, which incidentally happened to be a Friday. Considering the sudden nature of the crime and how it ensued, its date falling on Friday The 13th was likely coincidental. Strangely, investigators had also discovered a newspaper at Betty Gore's place, opened at a poster featuring The Shining. Given how Nicholson's character chases his wife with an axe in The Shining, it seems like another coincidental detail of the murder that somehow happened to have a semblance of synchronicity with the crime.

While Hulu's Candy emphasizes the fact that the murder happened on Friday The 13th and even features many shots focusing on the newspaper ad for The Shining at Betty's home, HBO's Love & Death seems to intentionally gloss over these details. Unlike Candy, Love & Death follows a linear storyline and focuses less on creating mystery and intrigue surrounding the murder. Therefore, instead of shedding light on the "how" and "what" of the true crime, it highlights the "why."

Where To Watch Love & Death

5 Candy Struck Betty 41 Times With An Axe

According to reports, Candy struck Betty 41 times with an axe, out of which 28 were on her head. The condition of her head initially led to the assumption that she was shot. However, wounds on her face, head, hands, arms, torso, and legs later confirmed that an axe was used to kill her. Her body was first discovered in her home's utility room by the neighbors, who then informed her husband, Allan Gore, and reported the crime to relevant authorities.

HBO's Love & Death only features the actual murder in the form of flashbacks and avoids weighing on how many times Candy struck Betty. However, by using flashbacks and flash-forwards, it does show that Candy had a bout of uncontrollable anger during the confrontation, which suggests that her actions were a lot more impassioned than she realized. The HBO Max show also drops glimpses of the Betty Gore crime scene and the injuries she had sustained to give viewers a rough idea of the heinous nature and seriousness of the crime.

Related: What Happened To The Real Candy Montgomery

4 Betty's Daughter Was Asleep At Home At The Time Of The Murder

As accurately depicted in Love & Death, Betty's infant daughter, Bethany, was at home sleeping in her crib during the murder. She was later found by the neighbors when they showed up to investigate the house at Allan's request. Reportedly, Bethany was unharmed but had stayed unattended almost throughout the day since the neighbors showed up at the house at night. One of the neighbors even recalled (via The Dallas Morning News) how before he found the "bloody mess" in the utility room, he saw the baby crying in her crib after not being "fed or nothing" all day.

3 Candy Sustained Injuries To Her Head And Toe

According to Candy Montgomery's account of the murder, she had gone to Betty's house to pick up Betty's older daughter's swimsuit since she was staying at the Montgomery home for a sleepover. When she arrived at Betty's place, Betty questioned Candy about her affair with Allan. Candy testified that instead of denying it, she came clean and assured Betty they had called it off a long time ago. However, Betty did not take Candy's confession too well and tried to hit her with an axe retrieved from her garage. With what followed, the two had an intense back and forth during which the axe hit Candy's head and her left foot's middle toe.

As Candy testified, she proceeded to strike Betty in an attempt to defend herself after eventually gaining control over the axe. Staying true to Candy's recollection of the crime, Love & Death walks through all the moments from Betty's confrontation to her swinging the axe onto Candy's toe. Beyond that, however, the true crime show only hints at how Candy's emotions got the best of her as she went on to strike Betty 41 times with the axe.

2 Candy Attempted To Clean The Crime Scene Before Giving Up

The crime scene made it look like Candy had started cleaning up the blood inside Betty Gore's home but eventually gave up after realizing there was too much of it. Since Love & Death jumps ahead to Candy leaving Betty's house after their initial confrontation, it does not reveal what Candy did right after killing Betty. However, by highlighting traces of blood all over Betty's home, Love & Death hints that Candy was in a state of panic and might have even attempted to clean the crime scene.

1 Candy Rinsed Blood Off Herself In Betty's Bathroom After The Murder

A recurring motif in Love & Death features a terrifying image of Betty Gore's shower with blood marks on the walls surrounding it. This scene seems to indicate that Candy washed the blood off herself at Betty's place before she went back home and changed into fresh clothes. As horrific as it may seem, this Love & Death scene, too, is based on real accounts of the murder since reports suggest she took a fully clothed shower in Betty's bathroom to get rid of the bloody remains of the crime.

How Hulu's Candy Handled Betty Gore's Death Compared To Love & Death

The Betty Gore crime scene in Love & Death is recreated based on Candy's own testimony of the event and the same approach is taken in the previous true-crime miniseries on the topic, Candy. In both Love & Death and Candy, the scene plays out through a flashback as Candy testifies in court and features nearly identical aspects, including Candy apologizing to Betty and placing a hand on her shoulder before Betty initiates the altercation.

Interestingly, while both take on the event depict Candy's assertion that she initially acted in self-defense, they show her ultimately losing control and brutally attacking Betty in the end. In terms of the actual murder, Candy's is much less graphic as it uses quick cuts, hiding the gore for the most part. By contrast, Love & Death is disturbingly graphic, showing the brutal ax hits. Another key aspect that differentiates Candy is that Betty appears almost as a spirit watching Candy's testimony and responding "That's your story," hinting her version is different. It gives Betty a voice in the moment when only Candy's side is being told.

Sources: The Dallas Morning News