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Bashara's Death has Drawn National Attention

A variety of media outlets have descended on Grosse Pointe Park following the death of a resident who was strangled to death and left in the backseat of her small SUV.

 

The hum of generators can be heard on Middlesex Road in Grosse Pointe Park, disrupting the normal quiet atmosphere of the street that leads to Windmill Pointe, after some media outlets have set up outside the Bashara home following the death Jane Bashara.

The news of Bashara's death was hard to hear and accept for the many Grosse Pointers who knew her. The media attention her death has gained is not what the close-knit community where everyone knows each other is accustomed to, and conversation related to her death can be heard nearly any where ones goes in the community.

Grosse Pointe Park is one of the five Grosse Pointe cities along Lake St. Clair that has more than 11,000 residents, most of whom are families with children. The median age in the Park is 41 years 8 months old, according to a the 2010 U.S. Census Data, and the median income is $114,453.

As Bashara's family, friends and neighbors prepare for services to remember her vibrant and positive spirit, the Pointes have been swamped with representatives from a variety of media outlets—most recently gaining the attention of Good Morning America.

Bashara's death was ruled a homicide last week the day after her body was found in the backseat of her small SUV near 7 Mile and Hoover roads in Detroit. Her husband had reported her missing about 12 hours before her body was found.

At first it drew the attention of the Detroit area television stations and major daily newspapers, The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press. Representatives from at least one of the television stations essentially camped out during the weekend in front of the Bashara home. Some camped out near the Grosse Pointe Park municipal building, where Bashara's husband Bob offered comments to media following his initial interview with police.

He did not offer comment following his second interview, after which Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Director David Hiller identified him as the sole "person of interest" in Jane's death.

The media attention grew throughout the weekend as the families of both Bob and Jane spoke with various media outlets. Then early Monday, the case was featured on Good Morning America.

Friends and family of the couple have been stopping at their home since the discovery of her body last week. They have also expressed their support for Bob, saying he could not have murdered his wife.

Meanwhile, the investigation into Bashara's death continues. Hiller said early Monday detectives from Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park are still evaluating and going through evidence gathered from the Bashara home Friday night. It will likely take some time to evaluate all that was gathered, Hiller said.

A visitation scheduled for this afternoon at A.H. Peters Funeral Home in Grosse Pointe Woods is expected to draw hundreds as well as a memorial service scheduled for Tuesday at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church.

To add to the sensitive situation involving the couple, who had been married for 26 years, is their high profiles within the Grosse Pointes. Both were active in the community, volunteering and supporting charity organizations. Jane Bashara was also active at Grosse Pointe South High School when her children were in school there.

News of her death followed by only a week the death of another Grosse Pointer, James Scott Ivers, 46, who was also known to those active with Grosse Pointe South High School. His children both attend South.

His body was found behind the Nature Center on Belle Isle in what police believe was accidental related to some sort of disorientation Ivers had following a crash. The cause and manner of his death is still pending with the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

Many of the same people were friends with the Basharas and the Ivers.

Related Topics: Good Morning America, Grosse Pointe Park, Homicide, Jane Bashara, and Media Coverage

Bette Prudden

7:00 pm on Monday, January 30, 2012

I just wish the media would let these people alone. Really heartless the way they push the camera in their faces while they are grieving. There should be laws against this sort of thing.

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Christopher King

6:02 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012

I don't know about the facts of this particular case so I will not condemn her husband as a person of interest. I will say, however, that the system too often tolerates abuse from woman and men, in this particular case it is a man giving it in Harrisburg, PA as the Mayor sits on her hands. Watch my short film and read the link in the description for details:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0O5m1KfJC8

Peace. I mean it. And if not peace, at least no violence.

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