Bashara murder case returns to national spotlight Friday on Dateline

The investigation of Jane Bashara’s murder and the trial of her husband Bob Bashara are the focus of a special Dateline NBC that airs Friday at 9 p.m.

Local 4′s Hank Winchester and Marc Santia, who now works in New York, will offer insight on the case that they helped cover for years.

Judge Vonda Evans, who presided over the case against Bob and his handyman turned hitman, also was interviewed.

Bob Bashara reported his wife, Jane Bashara missing at 11 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2012. Jane Bashara was found dead the next day in the back of her vehicle parked in an alley on Detroit’s east side.

On Jan. 26, 2012, an autopsy revealed that Jane Bashara was strangled to death. On Jan. 27, 2012, Bob Bashara was named a person of interest in his wife’s death.

The special will dive into all the details of the case. Watch a preview for the episode below:

Watch “Dateline: Sex, Lies and Murder” at 9 p.m. on Local 4.


Jane Bashara murder case background

Bob Bashara, the Grosse Pointe Park man convicted of arranging his wife’s 2012 murder, died Aug. 17, 2020 while in prison.

He was sentenced to life in prison in January 2015 after he was convicted of plotting to have his wife killed in 2012. The trial against him in 2014 lasted more than two months and included more than 70 witnesses.

Here is what Bob Bashara was charged with:

  • First-degree murder
  • Conspiracy to commit first degree murder
  • Solicitation to commit murder
  • Witness intimidation
  • Obstruction of justice
  • Judge Vonda Evans dropped a charge of subornation of perjury during a capital trial

View the full timeline here.



About the Author

Hank Winchester is Local 4’s Consumer Investigative Reporter and the head of WDIV’s “Help Me Hank” Consumer Unit. Hank works to solve consumer complaints, reveal important recalls and track down thieves who have ripped off people in our community.

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