Candy Montgomery trial: True events revisited ahead of Hulu's Candy premiere

A case of self-defense that shocked the suburbs in the 1980s is all set to make its way to the small screens in Hulu's Candy.

The series, created by Nick Antosca and Robin Veith, sheds light on Betty Gore's murder at the hands of Candy Mongomery. It will revolve around the suburban housewife accused of murdering her friend after having a love affair with her husband.

Here's everything to know about Candy Montgomery and Hulu's true-crime drama.

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The incident

On Friday, June 13, 1980, Betty's eldest daughter, Alisa, had a swimming lesson, so Montgomery offered to take her since she had stayed over at the house the night before. She drove down to Betty's house to pick up a bathing suit for Alisa as she would need one for her lessons.

After having a small talk and getting confronted by Betty about her affair with Allan, Betty attempted to kill Montgomery with an ax she had kept in her garage. Montgomery, however, triumphed after a struggle, murdering Betty with the same ax by slicing her 41 times.

Montgomery then washed up and left, leaving Betty's newborn alone in her crib. She went about her business as usual.

Allan, who was on a business trip, called up his neighbors after he could not reach his wife. A group of three men then visited the Gore house and found Betty's body in the utility room.

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The trial

Candy Montgomery was arrested after she was considered the main suspect upon Allan's confession about his affair with her to the police. On October 20, 1989, her lawyer insisted she was innocent and told prospective jurors that his client had killed Betty in self-defense.

The details shared by her did not alter her self-defense argument, nor did it change the burden of proof.

On October 23, Montgomery took the stand and shared what happened at the Gore house that day. She further talked about her affair with Allan and how they had ended it.

Candy then shared how Betty had pushed her into the utility room, where she swiped Montgomery's head and cut her toe with the ax after the confrontation. After Montgomery got control of the ax, she managed to hit the back of Betty's head, and after a few more struggles, she struck Betty again, 41 times.

On October 27, Dr. Fred Fason, a psychiatrist examining Montgomery's case, revealed her childhood trauma associated with the word 'Shhh,' which Betty had also used before she was struck with the ax. According to him, a four-year-old Montgomery cut her head with a broken glass jar after losing a race.

At the hospital, her mother shushed her. So being shushed again unleashed years of pent-up rage.

On October 29, Montgomery was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter. She then left Texas and moved to Georgia to become a family counselor.

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More about Hulu's crime drama, Candy

Hulu dropped the trailer for its series in April, and the mini-series is available to stream on the platform. It stars Jessica Biel, Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber, and Timothy Simons as the lead cast.

The synopsis for the series reads:

"Candy Montgomery is a 1980s housewife and mother who did everything right - but when the pressure of conformity builds within her, her actions scream for just a bit of freedom until someone tells her to shush. With deadly results."

The series is based on Montgomery's book, Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs. It has five episodes, which will premiere every day until May 13.

Stream Candy on Hulu.