13. George Simmons
George Simmons was one of the police investigators assisting in the case.
George Commons was one of the first investigators from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office to reach the Gore home on June 13, 1980. What he walked into was almost beyond description: a small utility room, blood on the walls, and the body of Betty Gore lying on the floor while her baby cried in another part of the house. His task was to steady himself, document everything, and build a case strong enough to survive the courtroom that would follow.
He led the forensic work, collecting fingerprints, strands of hair, and blood samples that all pointed toward Candy Montgomery. Investigators believed they had an open-and-shut case, but once Candy admitted to the killing and claimed self-defense, the story began to shift.
In trial, psychology overtook forensics. Expert witnesses spoke about hypnosis and dissociation, describing a woman who had snapped rather than planned to kill. After eight days of testimony, the jury believed her. Candy Montgomery was acquitted, and the verdict left Wylie stunned. For detectives like Commons, it was hard to accept. The evidence had been there, clear and concrete, yet the narrative of panic and trauma had won.
Years later, Commons’s role has appeared in documentaries and dramatizations, including Candy on Hulu and Love & Death on HBO. Each version shows the same image of him: quiet, steady, methodical, a man doing his job while the case around him became national theater.
Through all the retellings, George Commons is remembered as the kind of investigator who let facts do the talking. His work on Betty Gore’s murder remains a study in discipline and care, proof that truth can be built piece by piece even when justice takes another path.
