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Grosse
Pointe
Park
businessman
Robert
Bashara
convicted
of
Murder
As
Charged
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
Thursday,
December
18,
2014,
after 12
weeks in
trial a
jury has
convicted
Robert
Bashara
of,
Conspiracy
to
Commit
First
Degree
Murder,
Solicitation
to
Commit
Murder,
First
Degree
Murder,
Witness
Intimidation,
and
Obstruction
of
Justice.
On April
17, 2013
Prosecutor
Kym L.
Worthy
charged
Robert
Bashara,
57, of
Grosse
Pointe
Park in
connection
with the
homicide
of his
wife
Jane
Bashara,
56, in
their
marital
home
located
in the
500
block of
Middlesex
in
Grosse
Pointe
Park.
Robert
Moran,
Chief of
Special
Investigations
and Lisa
Lindsey,
Lead
Assistant
Prosecuting
Attorney
prosecuted
the
case.
Bashara
will be
sentenced
before
Judge
Vonda
Evans on
January
15, 2015
at 9:00
a.m.
“We
applaud
the
jury's
time,
attention,
and
patience
during
this
very
lengthy
trial.
We are
extremely
pleased
with
this
verdict
and hope
that it
gives
the
family
of Jane
Bashara
some
respite.
This
three
year
investigation
and
prosecution
would
not have
been
possible
without
the
extreme
dedication
of the
Wayne
County
Assistant
Prosecutors,
Investigators,
and
Staff;
the
Federal
and
State
agencies
and the
Detroit
and
Grosse
Pointe
Park
Police
Departments.
May Jane
now
truly
rest in
peace,”
said
Prosecutor
Worthy.
Background
Information
On April
17, 2013
Prosecutor
Worthy
charged
Robert
Bashara,
55, of
Grosse
Pointe
Park in
connection
with the
homicide
of his
wife
Jane
Bashara,
56, in
their
marital
home
located
in the
500
block of
Middlesex
in
Grosse
Pointe
Park.
Robert
Moran,
Chief of
Special
Investigations
and Lisa
Lindsey,
Lead
Assistant
Prosecuting
Attorney
prosecuted
the
case.
On
January
24,
2012, at
approximately
11:35
p.m. it
is
alleged
that
Robert
Bashara
called
the
Grosse
Pointe
Park
Police
and
reported
that his
wife had
not come
home. On
January
25,
2012,
the
Detroit
Police
Department
responded
to a
police
run in
reference
to a
dead
female
in a
black
Mercedes
located
in the
rear of
an alley
in the
19400
block of
Annott
on the
east
side of
Detroit.
The
female
was
identified
as Jane
Bashara.
On
January
31,
2012,
Joseph
Gentz,
49, of
Grosse
Pointe
Park,
walked
into the
Grosse
Park
Police
Department
and
turned
himself
in for
the
murder
of Jane
Bashara;
however,
after
being
held in
police
custody
for 72
hours,
he was
released
by the
police.
On March
2, 2012,
Gentz
was
charged
and
arrested
for
First
Degree
Murder
and
Conspiracy
to
Commit
Murder
in the
homicide
of Jane
Bashara.
Gentz
pleaded
guilty
on
December
21,
2012, to
Second
Degree
Murder
with a
sentence
agreement
of 17
years to
28 years
in the
Michigan
Department
of
Corrections
with the
condition
that he
testifies
truthfully
in any
proceedings.
During
the
guilty
plea, he
stated
that he
was paid
by
Bashara
to kill
his
wife. He
was
sentenced
on
February
19, 2012
before
Judge
Vonda
Evans
and is
currently
serving
the 17
to 28
year
sentence
in
Michigan
Department
of
Corrections.
During
the
course
of the
ongoing
investigation
into the
homicide
of Jane
Bashara,
it was
discovered
that
'Big
Bob'
planned
to have
Joseph
Gentz
killed
while he
was
incarcerated.
Bashara
had
several
meetings
with
individuals
who he
paid to
have
Joseph
Gentz
murdered
in the
jail
between
the
dates of
June 8
and June
25,
2012. On
June 27,
2012,
Bashara
was
charged
with
Solicitation
of
Murder,
a felony
that
carries
a
penalty
of Life
or Any
Term of
Years in
prison.
On
October,
11,
2013, he
pleaded
guilty
as
charged
to
Solicitation
to
Murder
Joseph
Gentz at
a
pre-trial
hearing
before
Judge
Bruce U.
Morrow.
Bashara
was
sentenced
on
December
10,
2013,
and is
currently
serving
80
months
to 240
months
in the
Michigan
Department
of
Corrections.
Bashara
was
originally
charged
with:
• First
Degree
Murder
(Mandatory
Life
without
Parole),
•
Conspiracy
to
Commit
First
Degree
Murder
(Life or
Any Term
of
Years),
•
Solicitation
to
Commit
Murder
(Life or
any Term
of
Years),
•
Suborning
of
Perjury
During a
Capital
Trial
(Life or
Any Term
of
Years),
This
count
was
dismissed
by the
court in
a
directed
verdict
motion
on
December
2, 2014
•
Witness
Intimidation
(15
Years)
and
•
Obstruction
of
Justice
(Five
years).
The
investigation
into the
death of
Jane
Bashara
took
approximately
one year
and
three
months
because
of the
complexity
of the
case.
Numerous
tips
were
tracked
down
that
lead to
important
evidence
in the
case.
Multiple
cell
phone
numbers
and
computers
were
forensically
analyzed.
There
are
approximately
300
witnesses
and
approximately
5000
pages of
documents
that are
involved
in the
prosecution’s
case.
The
investigation
was
conducted
in
Michigan
and in
Iowa,
Illinois,
Florida,
Kentucky,
Oregon
and
Texas.
There
were 15
agencies
that
contributed
to the
investigation
of the
case:
the
Grosse
Pointe
Park
Public
Safety
Department,
the
Wayne
County
Prosecutor’s
Office
Criminal
Investigation
Division,
the
Detroit
Police
Department,
the
Michigan
State
Police,
the
Bureau
of
Alcohol
Tobacco
and
Firearms,
the
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigations,
the U.S.
Secret
Service,
the
Grosse
Pointe
City
Public
Safety
Department,
the
Livonia
Police
Department,
Michigan
Department
of
Corrections,
the
Roseville
Police
Department,
the Fort
Lauderdale
Police
Department,
Kentucky
State
Police -
Lexington,
Cook
County
District
Attorney’s
Office
and the
Chicago
Police
Department.
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