Dateline: Unforgettable - Where was Jane Bashara found?

The 56-year-old marketing executive, Jane Bashara, was reported missing by her husband, Robert "Bob" Bashara, only to be found murdered a few hours later. She was last seen by her colleagues stepping out of a meeting in downtown Detroit on January 24, 2012.

Jane Bashara was discovered the next morning in the backseat of her 2004 Mercedes-Benz ML350 on the east side of Detroit, near Pinewood Avenue and Annott Street, according to Detroit News. She was found with a crushed windpipe, extensive bruising on her upper body, and broken fingernails.

The Dateline: Unforgettable episode titled S*x, Lies & Murder sheds light on the highly sensationalized murder case of Jane Bashara. It airs on June 27, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis reads:

"When a woman is found dead in her SUV, the investigation into her murder reveals a tangled web of s*x and lies. Dennis Murphy looks back on his unusual interview with the lead suspect."

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How was Jane Bashara killed? Details explored

Episode 4 of season 4 of Dateline: Unforgettable covers the murder of Jane Bashara, which became one of the most notable cases from Detroit, Michigan, in the years to come. Jane was allegedly expected home, and when she failed to return, her husband of 26 years, Robert "Bob" Bashara, reported her missing.

Bob shared with Detroit's WXYZ-TV:

"I got home about five after eight and she wasn't around and I relaxed and figured she was out running an errand. As nine and nine-thirty approached, I became much more concerned and I got more people involved."

He further added:

"I called my kids to see if they had heard from her and they hadn't. I had been calling her cell phone to find out and then, as time got on, I involved the police because I was concerned there might be something wrong."

Even though he initially cooperated with investigators, Bob was named the person of interest due to an inconsistent alibi and unsatisfactory polygraph test results.

As the autopsy results revealed Jane's cause of death to be strangulation, Bob shared with WDIV-TV:

"I lost my girlfriend and my partner, and it's just absolutely unthinkable."

Joe Gentz's confession to the Grosse Pointe police officers strengthened the case against Bob Bashara and led to his conviction in December 2014. Gentz, a developmentally challenged handyman with an IQ of 64, was asked for help to move boxes.

The Detroit News reported that Gentz shared:

"They got into an argument and I was in the middle. He pulls a gun on me and says 'shut her up.'"

According to CBS News, Gentz reportedly broke Jane's neck and helped Bob load her body into her SUV. Bob offered Gentz $8,000, plus a Cadillac and a ring, but threatened to kill him if he ever talked about the murder. Per CBS News, Gentz also shared that Bob apologized to Jane's corpse, saying:

"I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean it."

The investigations further revealed that Bob lived a secret life with his mistresses as Master Bob and operated from a dungeon close to the Detroit-Grosse Pointe border. As Joe Gentz was arrested for the murder, Bob also ordered a hit on him in prison, which was unsuccessful.

Robert "Bob" Bashara passed away in prison on August 17, 2020, according to the Detroit Free Press.

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Watch all the details of Jane Bashara's death on Dateline: Unforgettable as it airs on Investigation Discovery on Thursday.