Elizabeth Olsen To Play Wylie Axe-Killer Candy Montgomery in HBO Series

HBO announced Monday that Elizabeth Olsen will play Candy Montgomery, the Wylie woman who killed her best friend with an axe, in a new limited series called Love and Death.

The series is based on Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, as well as a collection of articles from Texas Monthly. David E. Kelley, Nicole Kidman, and Per Saari will produce the series and Lesli Linka Glatter will direct. Scott Brown and Megan Creydt from Texas Monthly will also be producers, according to Deadline.

Could not be more excited that THIS is happening -- what incredible company for @TexasMonthly !!!!!!!
https://t.co/2nrU90aXhM

— Megan Creydt (@megancreydt) May 3, 2021

“This is a gripping story about the frustrations and desires of two women in a small town that culminates in a terrible act of violence,” said Sarah Aubrey, head of original content for HBO Max, according to Deadline. “We are thrilled to be partnering with David, Lesli, Nicole, and Per and incredibly fortunate to have Elizabeth at the center of our story to bring out all the layers of Candy that make this story so unforgettable.”

The series will tell the story of Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore, two Wylie church-going best friends. Montgomery and Gore's husband, Allan Gore, had an affair before they ended it just a few months before the murder. Montgomery claimed in court that on Friday, June 13, 1980, Betty Gore confronted her about the affair with an axe. The two struggled before Montgomery took control and struck Betty Gore with the axe, leaving 28 wounds to the head and killing her.

“At that point, Mrs. Montgomery told the jury, she fell into a ‘dreamlike state’ and didn’t know she was striking Mrs. Gore repeatedly," a Dallas Morning News article wrote at the time. “'I hit her, I hit her, I hit her and I hit her,' a sobbing Mrs. Montgomery told the jury. 'I kept hitting her and hitting her. I stood back and looked at myself and I was covered in blood.'"

Montgomery claimed self-defense and a psychiatrist testified that when Betty Gore told Montgomery to "shhh," that unleashed a repressed childhood memory in Montgomery, causing her to lose control and hit Betty Gore with the axe. The jury deliberated for three and a half hours and found Montgomery not guilty.

The killing will also be depicted in another series starring Elisabeth Moss.