DETROIT – Testimony finished Tuesday in a hearing to decide if Bob Bashara will get a new trial after being convicted of murder in his wife's death.
Judge Vonda Evans said arguments will be heard in July before she makes a decision.
Bashara, 57, is trying to have his first-degree murder conviction and life sentence in his wife's death thrown out, saying his rights were violated by an ineffective defense.
Jane Bashara was found dead in January 2012 inside her Mercedes-Benz, which was ditched in a Detroit alley just miles from the couple's home. She had been strangled.
Joe Gentz, a handyman who worked for Bob Bashara, said he killed Jane Bashara at the behest of her husband. Gentz is in prison for second-degree murder. He filed a sworn affidavit from prison that said he acted alone, and agreed to testify. But he changed in story once he got on the stand.
Both Bashara’s attorney, Ronald Ambrose, and Judge Vonda Evans asked Gentz why he signed an affidavit from prison that claimed he acted alone in the killing.
“The reason I signed it is because I was ticked off at the Grosse Pointe Park police department and the prosecutor’s office,” Gentz said. “They threw me under the bus. They used me to get what they wanted.”
He said he was promised safety in prison by police and prosecutors if they helped him “get” Bob Bashara. The promise went unfulfilled, Gentz said.
Gentz said he thought the affidavit would get him back into the court system.
Read: Man who admits to killing Jane Bashara changes his story
Gentz testifies Bob Bashara was present when wife was slain
In April, Gentz testified that Bob Bashara pulled a gun and threatened him if he didn't kill Jane Bashara.
Gentz said that he broke Jane Bashara's neck in the garage of the couple's home after Bob Bashara promised to give him cash and a Cadillac.
"He pulls a gun on me and says, ‘Shut her up.’ So, I broke her neck," Gentz said.
Prosecutors have said Bob Bashara coerced Gentz into strangling Jane Bashara.