Death of Jane Bashara

The death of Jane Bashara prompted a widely publicized investigation into the circumstances of her death. Bashara was a marketing executive and a resident of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. On January 24, 2012, she was found dead in the back seat of her abandoned Mercedes-Benz SUV in an alley in Detroit, Michigan. The cause of death was strangulation.

Law enforcement officials named Bashara's husband, Bob Bashara, as a person of interest. Joe Gentz, a mentally impaired handyman, was arrested in March 2012 and charged with first degree murder after reportedly telling police that Bob Bashara had paid him between $2,000-$8,000 and an old Cadillac to murder his wife. Bob Bashara was arraigned on first degree murder charges in the death of his wife on May 1, 2013. Convicted, Bob Bashara was sentenced to life without parole by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans. She denied post trial motions for relief from judgment, a decision that was affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court.