Trial begins for Detroit-area businessman accused in wife's murder
By Serena Maria Daniels DETROIT (Reuters) - A suburban Detroit businessman accused of hiring his handyman to kill his wife tried to point blame away from himself after her body was discovered, telling police she may have gone to a bad neighborhood to buy drugs, prosecutors told jurors on Tuesday. Robert Bashara, 56, is accused of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Jane, a marketing executive. Prosecutors say Bashara told handyman Joseph Gentz to carry out the killing. After Jane Bashara's body was found in the backseat of her Mercedes Benz SUV on Jan. 25, 2012, in Detroit, her husband blamed her death on urban street violence, prosecutors said. "He told police ... 'I don't want to narc on my wife, but my wife smoked marijuana and maybe she went out to get some and you know the rest is history,'" Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey told the jury during opening statements on Tuesday. After news broke that Gentz confessed to the murder, Robert Bashara said in media interviews that the handyman was "deranged" and not to be believed, prosecutors said. Bashara is currently in prison after pleading guilty to trying to have Gentz killed and is serving a sentence of six to 20 years. Gentz pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Jane Bashara's death and is serving 17 to 28 years. The case has captured a national audience, in part because of the bizarre nature of the accusations against Bashara, who is from the wealthy suburb of Grosse Pointe Park. Prosecutors said Bashara, a former church usher and Rotary Club president, wanted his wife dead so he could engage in a lifestyle of bondage, discipline and sadomasochism with his girlfriend. Lindsey said Bashara conspired for months to find someone to kill his wife and picked Gentz, who needed money. She said Bashara exploited Gentz's trust, gratitude and "lack of intelligence." Defense attorney Lillian Diallo argued there was no evidence Bashara wanted his wife dead. Instead, Bashara wanted Gentz killed because he was the confessed killer of Bashara's wife of 26 years, Diallo said. "This is the day, believe it or not, that Mr. Bashara has been waiting for, the day to get his side of the story out," said Diallo. Witness testimony opened with Robert Godard, who said his friend Bashara asked in 2011 if he knew anyone who could "put the hurt" on a tenant who was "making a lot of noise." The trial will resume Wednesday and is expected to last 4-6 weeks. Gentz is not expected to testify. (Reporting by Serena Maria Daniels; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Andrew Hay and Jim Loney)
