Candy Montgomery and the murder of Betty Gore

05/04/22 • 29 min

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Suburban housewife Candy Montgomery seemed to have it all: a loving husband, children, and a best friend named Betty Gore in whom she could confide. But the 30-year-old Christian of Collin County, Texas, would grow tired of her routine. She consequently began an affair with her best friend’s husband — and killed her when she found out about it.
It was Friday the 13th of June 1980 when local cops entered the Gore home to find it drenched in blood. The 30-year-old mother of two had been slashed to bits with 41 swings of an axe, 28 of which had mutilated her head and face. As the last person to be seen with Gore, Montgomery was charged with her murder.
As dramatized in Hulu’s Candy series, her trial became one of the most controversial cases in local history. Pleading not guilty on the basis of self-defense, Montgomery was acquitted of all charges the day before Halloween.
Perhaps most shocking of all, she simply started a new life — as a family counselor.
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Sherri Papini: Gone Girl Fail?

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Six years ago, Sherri Papini's disappearance engrossed the nation. She seemingly vanished without a trace — only a few strands of her hair and a neatly placed iPhone and earbud were left behind at the intersection of Old Oregon Trail and Sunrise Drive, less than a mile away from her and her husband's Mountain Gate home in northern California (via Redding Record Searchlight). Even when Papini reappeared 22 days later, the headlines wouldn't go away. What confounded official investigators and online sleuths was the lack of motive, the absence of a ransom, and her poor memory, which did nothing to help the investigation. Detectives crossed sex traffickers off the list, and yet they had nothing else.
The easiest answer ended up being the correct one: Papini had made the whole thing up. In 2022, Papini admitted to leaving home of her own free will, and deliberately — her fake abduction was the result of several months of scheming. She stayed safely in an ex-boyfriend's apartment and returned home when she desired, per The Sacramento Bee. The "why" might never get answered; Papini was called a "supermom" who would never have deferred picking up her kids from school, per CNN. But this makes all of the strange, untold truths about Papini and her fabricated abduction more intriguing — and disturbing.
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The Jenny Jones Show Murder - Scott Amadure

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On March 6th, 1995, twenty-four-year-old Jonathon Schmitz left his Michigan home to travel to Chicago. He was contacted by the Jenny Jones Show and told that he had a secret admirer. Jonathon was looking forward to seeing who the admirer was and attended out of curiosity.
As he walked out on to the stage, he saw his friend Donna Riley and a friend of hers named Scott Amedure. Jonathon, blushing, seems surprised and hugs Donna Riley. That’s when Jenny Jones told him that Scott Amedure was his admirer. “You lied to me” Schmitz said with an awkward giggle. He then proclaims that he is heterosexual and not interested in Scott that way. The events of that day, however, started a downward spiral for Jonathon that shocked everyone.
Three days after the taping, Jonathon Schmitz found a sexually suggestive note on his door from Scott Amedure. This angered Jonathon, so he went and withdrew money from his bank account. Using this money, he purchased a gun and ammunition. He went over to Scott’s trailer and knocked on the door. He confronted Scott about the note, to which Scott just smiled. Jonathon told him he had to turn his car off, but he was actually going to get the gun.

He returned to the trailer and pointed the gun at Scott. A thrown chair suggests that Scott tried to defend himself, but Jonathon shot him twice in the chest. Scott Amedure died almost instantly.

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The LGBTQ+ “panic” defense strategy is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is to blame for a defendant’s violent reaction, including murder. It is not a free-standing defense to criminal liability, but rather a legal tactic used to bolster other defenses. When a perpetrator uses an LGBTQ+ “panic” defense, they are claiming that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explains—but excuses—a loss of self-control and the subsequent assault. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBTQ+ victims, this defense implies that LGBTQ+ lives are worth less than others.
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