The Price for Infidelity

We all know enough Scriptures to understand the many consequences of committing adultery. We have seen how David suffered because of the sin he committed with Bathsheba, and we probably can recall several reasons that his son Solomon gave to encourage overcoming the temptation. But this article is not about any of those 25 reasons for not committing adultery. People often affirm that truth is stranger than fiction, and in this instance—well, the reader can judge for himself.

This true account of events begins on a Friday the 13th—with an ax murder. Yes, really. No, it is not the imagination of a Hollywood screenwriter involving Jason Voorhees. The victim was, according to just about everyone, one of the nicest ladies who had no enemies. Nevertheless, with all the gruesomeness of a horror flick, she had been struck with an ax 41 times, which means that blood was splattered everywhere.

Naturally, the police first took a look at her husband, since crimes of rage (such as this one) usually involve a spouse or family member. But the husband, Allan, was out of town on a business trip. When his wife Betty did not answer the phone, he phoned neighbors to check on her. When they entered the house, they discovered the baby crying in her crib and Betty dead. They immediately called the police.

Allan was eliminated as a suspect since his alibi was valid. When he returned to town, the police questioned him, asking how his marriage was, and he told them things were good. In fact, they had recently attended a church-sponsored marriage encounter group, which had rejuvenated their relationship. Police were at a loss as to where to look for a solution to this savage crime.

Wylie, Texas, where the crime occurred in 1980 was just a small town northeast of Dallas; the town was stunned by the news—and fearful that some psycho was living among them. Who knew if another innocent citizen among them would be attacked soon?

The first person that Allan called with the disturbing news of the murder was Betty's friend, Candy. They attended the same church, and the two couples often visited with each other. In fact, Candy was the one who threw Betty a shower when her baby was born, and she was at the very time of the murder hosting Betty's older daughter, who was friends with her own daughter. Everyone in the community was shocked.

All the information for this case comes from a program on the Oxygen Channel that is titled Snapped! Many of the cases are similar, and it is amazing how many people murder for money—sometimes more than once. Others may involve custody disputes. Divorced people are more likely to be killed.

The Evidence

The police had little to go on—one fingerprint in some blood; some shoeprints in blood—but to whom did they belong? Some attempt had been made to clean up. The police questioned neighbors; only one child had anything to offer; she had seen a woman, identified as Candy, come out of the house of the victim and drive away. So, the police interviewed Candy, and she acknowledged that she had stopped by. She had left Vacation Bible School to run that errand. Betty's daughter was spending the night after VBS with Candy and her daughter, and they were going swimming; she had stopped by to pick up a bathing suit for her. One woman noted, however, that Candy had changed clothes by the time she returned to the church building, which seemed a little strange.

Meanwhile, Allan was feeling guilty; therefore, he spoke to the police again. He and Candy had been seeing each other for about seven months, but Allan put an end to their trysts after the marriage seminar. It had begun the previous year after a church volleyball game. Candy asked Allan if he didn't think they should have an affair. He was stunned to be asked such a question—especially since he was pretty much just an average-looking guy. He agreed, and they began meeting at a motel twice a month. They both said there would be no romantic involvement; the only purpose was to satisfy their fleshly lusts.

The police asked if either spouse knew; Allan said they were quite discreet—even to the sharing of expenses. They determined in advance that no one would get hurt and that either one of them could terminate the affair at any time. They even invented excuses in case they were recognized by anyone. What could possibly go wrong?

The police interviewed Candy again; she would not talk in the absence of her lawyer, but her fingerprint matched the one found in blood. Her foot size was also close to that of the killer's. They arrested her. People could not believe Candy was the murderer, but in the opening statement to the jury, her attorney, who attended the same church as the victim and the defendant, admitted that she was the ax murderer—but she acted in self-defense!

The Rationale

What actually happened between these two women? We may never know until the judgment, since Betty will remain silent until then, but here is the version that Candy presented in the courtroom. She stopped to pick up the swimsuit for Betty's daughter. The mother of two must have been suspicious; she asked if she was having an affair with her husband. Candy admitted they had been—but no longer were—lovers.

According to Candy, Betty went into the laundry room—ostensibly to get the swimsuit, but she came back with an ax. She set it down, and the two women talked. Betty gave Candy some mints for her daughter. She was learning to hold her head under water and was rewarded for each time she did so. Candy arose to leave with the swimsuit and the mints but turned back to apologize. Apparently, the apology enraged Betty, and she began swinging the ax at her. They fought over it and Candy ended up with it.

Sometime during the commotion, Betty put her finger to her lips, and said, “Shh!” Had she heard the baby crying? No one knows, but that action triggered a response in Candy that caused her to start swinging the ax and not stop until the 41st blow. Yes, a psychologist did testify that such is possible. The whisper was associated with a bad memory from her childhood. The defense rested. The jury took about four hours.

Most of the townspeople were shocked when the jury proclaimed, “Not Guilty!” Seriously? The vast majority of the time juries get it right, but most people in the town were outraged over this miscarriage of justice. We only have one account of what happened—the murderer's. No doubt the deceased woman, Betty, would like to have testified, but that possibility had been denied by the very nature of the crime.

How do we know that anything Candy said was true? Some parts of it might have been true, but most of it could have been a fabrication. She had months to think of some justification for her actions. How do we know whether or not Candy was upset over the affair ending and decided to tell Betty about it in hopes she would divorce Allan? How do we know that Candy did not pick up the ax first, if Betty insisted that she and Allan were working things out? Candy did have a cut on her toe, but how do we know that it was not self-inflicted so that she could claim self-defense? These few scenarios do not exhaust the possibilities.

What we do know is that Candy swung the ax 41 times and killed her former friend. Then she took a shower and cleaned up, changed clothes, and returned to Vacation Bible School. Oh, yes, when she left Betty's house, she also left the baby in the crib to fend for herself. Then she took Betty's child home after VBS to host for the evening until someone discovered the body. Even though a human court did not find her guilty, God will deal with her justly.

Aftermath

Betty's parents raised the two little girls left behind. Allan married again not long afterward, but it ended in divorce. Candy's family moved away to another locale, and she stopped giving interviews. Apparently, the Plano police were involved in the investigation; the courthouse where the trial occurred was in Plano, and the place where the two adulterers met was in Richardson. All of these are easily located on a map of the Dallas area.

Beforemath

People always want to know the aftermath of a situation like this one, but it might be more helpful to consider the beforemath. No, it really is a word. (your congenial editor was surprised, too). No, we are not suggesting that anyone could have predicted that what occurred would happen. But when two people contemplate committing adultery, they must know that a number of possibilities exist.

This couple knew that to some extent, or they would not have invented explanations for why they were together in Richardson, should anyone have seen them. They determined not to tell anyone about “the affair,” so that no one would get hurt. How did that work out? A person must know that the chances of discovery are great. Here's what can go wrong.

1. By chance, someone sees the cheating couple (or recognizes one of their vehicles). Or one of them gets careless.

2. One of the mates of the adulterous couple figures it out intuitively due to a lesser amount of attention, inability to speak to one's husband/wife at certain times, or some other almost imperceptible sign.

3. One of the two talks to a friend, who tells one or more others. Maybe it even gets back to the spouse.

4. One of the adulterers may feel guilt and even confess to his/her mate—despite the vow of silence. It would not be the first broken vow.

5. One of the pair may confess to the sin while sleeping. (Crystal Gayle demonstrated this phenomenon in her song, “Talking in Your Sleep,” which went to #1 on the country chart.)

When adultery is discovered, current marriages are severely damaged—some irreparably—and it is not uncommon for divorces to ensue. Close friends find out, family members find out, church members find out, and just about all of these will say, “How could you?” What answer will satisfy anyone? Some might be sympathetic if the couple said, “We never intended to do what we did, but we just fell in love.” In the case of Allan and Candy, however, they couldn't even say that (not that it would have been a valid excuse); they deliberately tried to avoid that. They took the Tina Turner approach to intimacy: “What's Love Got to Do with It?”

But as church-going people, did it never occur to them that, if no one on earth ever found out, God would still know? And had they forgotten Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge”? Did it slip their minds that “God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecc. 12:14)? And did Allan ever, in his wildest dreams imagine that his good and faithful wife would wind up gruesomely murdered by his paramour?

Not a good motive: