Jane Bashara's Death Ruled a Homicide

The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the a homicide following an autopsy performed Thursday, Wayne County Deputy Press Secretary Patrick Dostine said.

Jane Bashara was found in the back seat of her car early Wednesday after Detroit Police responded to a 911 call about an abandoned car behind a vacant house. The Medical Examiner's Office also determined that Bashara was strangled, Dostine said.

Investigators from Detroit Police and Department of Public Safety were already handling the case as if it were a homicide because of visible trauma found on her body.

She was found in the 19400 block of Annott Street, which is about 20 minutes north/northwest of her home, near 7 Mile and Hoover roads.

Additional details, including information about an estimated time of death are not being released because the investigation is ongoing, Dostine said.

Talk of Bashara's death has been sweeping through the Grosse Pointes since early Wednesday and was the topic of conversation Thursday in at least one coffee shop. She was well known in the community.

Residents, neighbors, friends and family of Bashara . A public prayer was shared among the large group.

Bashara's husband, Bob Bashara, asked for privacy from the media late Wednesday. She is also survived by two adult children, Rob and Jessica.

Patch is awaiting return phone calls from both the Grosse Pointe Park Department of Public Safety and a Detroit Police spokeswoman for an update on the criminal investigation.