Crime & Safety

Preliminary Exam Rescheduled in Joe Gentz Case

Joe Gentz, the man charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the January strangulation death of Grosse Pointe Park's Jane E. Bashara, will have his preliminary exam another time.

The preliminary exam for who is charged in the January strangulation death of , has been adjourned at the request of his court-appointed attorney Susan Reed, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. 

Gentz had been scheduled to appear before the judge Monday afternoon in 36th District Court in Detroit for his preliminary exam—the hearing in which prosecutors introduce the evidence against the accused and the judge determines whether it's sufficient enough for the prosecutor to continue pursuing the case.

Judge Kenneth J. King signed an order early Monday to adjourn the hearing following a request by his attorney, according to Maria Miller, the spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

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A new date has not yet been determined for the case but the judge is expected to release that information soon, according to Miller.

If convicted, Gentz is facing up to life in prison on both counts—first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder—in Jane Bashara's violent January death. He has told investigators that he was paid by Jane's widower, Bob Bashara, to kill her. He had been doing handyman work for Bob Bashara at various rental properties he owns in the Pointes and throughout Wayne and Macomb counties. 

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Meanwhile, has been held at the Wayne County Jail on a $15 million cash-only bond after he was . Bob Bashara was arrested in June—exactly five months after . He is accused of hiring and making partial payment to a person to kill Joe Gentz.

early on in the investigation into his wife's death by police. He has not been charged in her death, however. The conspiracy charge against Gentz suggests another person was involved, however.

, in which a judge found there was sufficient evidence for him to stand trial. .

This is not the first time the case involving Gentz has been delayed. He underwent , both of which found he is competent to stand trial and he does understand the charges against him. Both of these had to be completed before the preliminary exam could happen.


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