Where are Pat and Candy Montgomery’s children now?

On June 13, 1980, Candy Montgomery hit her friend with an ax 41 times – a murder that forever changed her family’s lives.

The Montgomerys were a seemingly normal suburban family before this shocking murder. Candy and her husband, Pat Montgomery, had been married since the early 1970s, according to Texas Monthly, and moved to Wylie, Texas in 1977 with their young son and young daughter.

But everything changed a year later when Candy became embroiled in an affair with a married member of their church, Allan Gore. Their secret romance lasted for several months until Allan’s wife, Betty Gore, gave birth to their second child in July 1979, and he ended things with Candy to focus on his marriage.

Nearly a year later, police found Betty dead in her home, killed by multiple ax wounds. Candy eventually confessed to killing Gore in rage, but initially claimed to defend herself. The mother of two was acquitted in October 1980.

Although this brutal murder has inspired several Hollywood projects, including HBO Max’s 2024 series Love and deathwith Elizabeth Olsen — Candy, Pat and their children stayed away.

Here’s everything you need to know about the current whereabouts of Pat and Candy Montgomery’s children.

Pat and Candy share two children

Candy and Pat welcomed two children during their marriage: a son and a daughter. Their children’s names and personal information have never been shared publicly, but they were likely born in the early 1970s.

In 1977, the family moved to the suburbs. Pat worked as an electrical engineer at Texas Instruments and Candy, a former secretary, settled into life as a housewife. According to Texas Monthlyshe was bored out of her mind taking care of the children.

Their mother was accused of killing her friend with an ax

On June 13, 1980, Betty was found dead in her home by a neighbor. Allan, who was away on business, had asked the neighbor to check on his wife after she did not answer several of his phone calls.

Although Candy initially had an alibi for the timing of Betty’s murder, she turned herself in only to be arrested two weeks later after Allan told police about their affair, according to Texas Monthly.

According to the outlet, before her trial, Candy’s attorney hired a psychiatrist and clinical hypnotist who claimed her unresolved childhood trauma triggered her rage the night of Betty’s murder. The mother-of-two told the court Betty launched the attack after confronting her about her affair with Allan.

According to Candy, the two women fought for a while until Betty told her to “shush.” She claimed this triggered her into a blind rage and she hit Betty 41 times, only stopping when she was physically exhausted.

Family moved to Georgia after Candy’s trial

On October 29, 1980, Candy was found not guilty of Betty’s murder. The family withdrew from the scene and, in 2010, Dallas Morning News indicated that they had moved to Georgia. When the outlet asked for comment in 2000 on the anniversary of the murder, she declined, saying: “I’m telling you in big bold letters, I’m not interested.”

Shortly after their move, Pat and Candy separate. The mother of two returned to school to study counseling and began going by her maiden name, Candace Wheeler.

“The fact that she thought she could advise after what she had done still amazes me to this day,” said Ron Pomeroy, Betty’s brother. People magazine investigates Candy and Betty in September 2022.

The children were given pseudonyms in Love and death

Although the HBO Max series Love and death brought Candy’s gruesome crime to the small screen, some details of the miniseries were changed, including the names of Pat and Candy’s children.

In the limited series, the Montgomery children’s names are Jenny (Amélie Dallimore) and Ian (Liam Pileggi). Candy – Hulu’s 2022 miniseries that chronicled the crime and starred Jessica Biel as Candy – starred Aven Lotz and Dash McCloud as Becky and Jason Montgomery, respectively.

Love and death creator David E. Kelley said LeWrap in April 2023, he considered the project not as a real crime but as “a real life story where [a] a horrible crime has occurred.”

“The fact that if this story were not true, we would not be able to understand the circumstances [was] so unusual,” explained director Lesli Linka Glatter in the same interview. “We wanted to stick to those facts, but have it be a character piece.”

Where are Pat and Candy’s children now?

In the 40 years since their mother’s acquittal, the Montgomery children have stayed out of the spotlight. Both children eventually left Texas for Georgia with their parents, who separated shortly after their arrival.