Key hearing set for August in Bashara murder case

DETROIT (AP) -- A key hearing has been rescheduled for a suburban Detroit man accused of arranging his wife's slaying. Robert Bashara's preliminary hearing had initially been planned for Tuesday in 36th District Court in Detroit. The Wayne County prosecutor's office says those involved agreed to hold it Aug. 19 instead. Jane Bashara's body was found in her Mercedes-Benz, which was left in a Detroit alley in January 2012, a few miles from the couple's home in Grosse Pointe Park. Handyman Joseph Gentz pleaded guilty to strangling her, saying he did so under orders from her husband. Robert Bashara is charged with first-degree murder. He's already serving up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to trying to hire someone to kill Gentz while the handyman was in the county jail. Published: Thu, May 9, 2013