Court Hearing for Gentz in Bashara Homicide Rescheduled

A preliminary exam for , will be rescheduled as officials continue working on his competency evaluation.

Gentz is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He is the only person who has been charged in but the conspiracy charge suggests another person was involved.

At his attorney's request, Gentz has been undergoing evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial in the case. He remains in jail.

He has told officials he killed Jane Bashara at her husband's command. , which continues and remains very active within the detective bureau.

Most recently, through a search warrant requested in connection with the investigation of his wife's unexpected, violent death.

This is the second time the preliminary exam for Joe Gentz has been continued. . Normally a preliminary exam—the hearing during which a judge rules whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence to continue pursuing the case in court—happens within 14 days of the arraignment.

Defendants can waive their right to the 14-day time frame, which is the case with Gentz. His attorney, Susan Reed, requested the competency evaluation during his arraignment, during which he waived the 14 days.

He had been scheduled to appear Friday afternoon in 36th District Court but a new date is to be determined, Wayne County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Maria Miller announced Thursday.

A new date has not yet been set but will be announced when one is determined, Miller said.

Officials from the Forensic Center are still working to complete reports related to the competency evaluation, Miller said. The results of the evaluation are necessary to begin the preliminary exam, which will not happen if he is determined as incompetent to stand trial.

According to the Michigan law outlining the procedure for competency evaluations, the center performing the evaluation must include the following:

• Clinical findings
• The facts upon which the clinical findings are based upon
• The opinion about whether the defendant is competent to stand trial or about the likelihood of the defendant becoming competent through a treatment regimen within a certain timeframe

The competency evaluation and any of the information gathered for it are not pieces of information that can be used in the criminal proceedings, other than for determining competency to stand trial.

, where . A , with which she was very active when her children attended the school.