Gentz Sentencing Re-Scheduled Again in Jane Bashara Homicide

Wayne Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans changed the sentencing hearing for Joe Gentz from early March to Feb. 19, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

Gentz, who pled guilty to second degree murder in the January 2012 strangulation death of Jane E. Bashara, will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Feb. 19. He was originally scheduled to go before Evans Jan. 29 then that was rescheduled to March 1.

Wayne County Prosecutor's spokeswoman Maria Miller noted the change in the sentencing date in an email case update Thursday morning.

Gentz remains in custody. He was arrested in the death of Jane Bashara in March. He has consistently told investigators he killed Bashara at the behest of her husband, Bob Bashara, who offered cash to Gentz for the job.

Bob Bashara has not been charged in Jane Bashara's death but is serving a prison sentence related to hiring a hitman to kill Gentz after Gentz was arrested. He was named as a "person of interest" in Jane Bashara's death early in the investigation.

The Basharas were well known in the community and involved in a variety of activities. Jane Bashara's unexpected death was shocking to residents in the Pointes and it drew national media attention for several months following the discovery of her body in Detroit.