Inside the True Story Behind Love & Death: What Really Happened
Now on Netflix and surging into the Top 10, Love & Death hooks viewers with star power—and the unnerving truth that it's ripped from a real murder. We break down the true case behind the series.
If you just noticed Love & Death pop up on Netflix and rocket into the Top 10, there is a reason: it is a slick, unsettling true-crime story with a killer cast. And yes, the wildest part is that it actually happened. Here is what the show covers, what the real case looked like, and how it all ended.
The show you are binging
Love & Death started life as an HBO Max original from creator David E. Kelley and features a stacked lineup: Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons, Patrick Fugit, Krysten Ritter, and Lily Rabe. It premiered April 27, 2023 with three episodes right out of the gate, then rolled out new chapters weekly after that. Now that it has landed on Netflix too, it quickly climbed into the platform's Top 10.
On screen, Olsen plays Candy, a seemingly model suburban wife and mom who starts an affair with her neighbor, Allan Gore (Plemons). When Allan's wife, Betty (Rabe), turns up murdered in their home, Allan admits the affair to police, and Candy is suddenly in the crosshairs. What follows is the investigation and the trial that gripped Texas.
The real story behind it
The series pulls from the case of Candace Lynn Montgomery in Wylie, Texas. In 1980, Candy met Allan at their local church and the two began an affair. Then, on June 13, 1980, after a confrontation at the Gores' house, Betty was killed with an axe. The number that sticks with people: 41 blows. Allan was out of town that day and could not reach his wife, so he asked neighbors to check on her; they found the body.
- June 13, 1980: During a violent confrontation at the Gore residence, Candy kills Betty with an axe - 41 strikes.
- In the days after: The case explodes locally. The investigation moves fast, and Candy turns herself in at the Collin County Sheriff's Office on June 26, 1980.
- Pre-trial: With support from her church community, Candy posts bail.
- At trial: Candy pleads self-defense, saying Betty came at her first with the same axe after learning about the affair. A psychiatrist testifies that Candy dissociated into a trance-like state tied to earlier trauma.
- Verdict: On October 29, 1980, the jury finds Candy not guilty.
- Aftermath: Candy moves to Georgia and works as a mental health counselor.
Why this case sticks with people
It is not every day you hear about 41 axe blows and a not guilty verdict. The jury accepted self-defense, and the psychiatric testimony helped sell the idea that Candy lost control during the fight. However you feel about that, it explains why this story hits so hard onscreen: it is messy, human, and frankly shocking.
Where to watch
Love & Death is now streaming on HBO Max and Netflix.