Prime Crime: Solved Murders - “Grosse Pointe Murder” Jane Bashara

Episode Date: January 19, 2022

In January 2012, the body of 56-year-old Jane Bashara was found in the back of her SUV. Almost immediately, police start zeroing in on her husband – known as “Big Bob” around the neighborhood, and “Master Bob” in his underground sex dungeon. As the details of Bob’s secret life come to light, a twist in the case marks it as one of Michigan’s most sordid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of violence, murder, and sexual situations. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. In 2012, Gross Point Park, Michigan was a safe suburban community. Just outside Detroit, the affluent city was home to real estate moguls and corporate professionals. People rubbed shoulders at the local rotary. club, hung out in swanky bars, and walked along carefully manicured streets. On the surface, the town appeared pristine. But just like anywhere else, Gross Point Park had secrets. When the sun

set and shadows overtook the city's many winding alleyways, the darker sides of human nature took hold. Eventually, that sinister undercurrent rose to the surface, and one of Michigan's wealthiest communities became home to a grisly murder. Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case.

You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. Today's episode covers the 2012 murder of Gross Point Park mother and wife, Jane Boucherra. We'll talk about how her husband's secret life drew scrutiny from the public and the law. Then we'll hear about how the killer's confession made this already disturbing case into one of Michigan's most twisted murder stories. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us.

It was January 25th, 2012. The city of Detroit, Michigan was in the midst of an unusually warm winter, but this day was cold. The icy air cloud against the windshield of a lonely tow truck as it rolled through the streets in the early morning hours. The driver trawled East Detroit in search of a few final pickups before the end of his shift. Out here, the city gave way to a no-man's land of abandoned homes and garbage piles. Although Detroit had a population of over half a million, The truck driver found more graffiti than people in this urban wilderness. Just before 6 a.m., the driver struck pay dirt.

Parked in an alley beside a derelict garage piled with trash, a black luxury SUV rose like the Eiffel Tower in a junk heap. Troublemakers sometimes jacked cars in the city for a joyride before they abandoned them. For a tow driver, this was easy money. He parked behind the vehicle and called his dispatch. Hey, dispatch. I got a black Mercedes SUV in East Detroit, near 7-mile road in Hoover Street, probably another jacking. Go on, read me the details.

Black Mercedes ML350, probably 2004 model, license plate EL 231. Hold on. Say that again? Sure. It's a black 2004 Mercedes ML350, license plate EL231. License plate EL231. The whole city's been looking for that vehicle. Don't touch anything and keep watch. Police are on their way. Police arrived within minutes, an officer stepped through the frosted grass to reach the SUV, then shone a flashlight into the front windows. He saw an overturned purse on the floor of the passenger side. A woman's car keys, lipstick, and credit cards lay scattered on the mat. Then the cop shone the light into the back and gasped at the same.

sight. A woman's body lay face down across the seat. There was fresh blood on the back of her head. The officers already knew who she was. 56-year-old Jane Bischera. This was her SUV and she had been reported missing seven hours ago. Police towed the truck to their forensic lab with Jane still inside. That way they preserved the crime scene as well as her body for an autopsy. Body belongs to white female, middle-aged, light brown hair. The officer said they could bend her fingers when they found her. She wasn't dead long then. The face sustained multiple traumas with severe trauma to the back of the skull. Elaceration runs from the left ear down to the neck. Doesn't look like the cause of death, though? No, it doesn't. The neck has severe bruising. Coensides with strangulation. Her windpipe is crushed.

The cause of death looks like asphyxiation. By the size of the bruises, the attacker had to have big hands and a lot of power behind them. Or maybe it wasn't hands. Could have been a foot that made this impact, a boot. By the looks of the car, she was murdered and moved. Several fingernails are missing. Anyone find them at the scene? I don't think so.

If she fought her attacker, they could have torn off in their skin. What was the deceased's name again? Jane Bashara, 56, from Gross Point Park. Those are real nice homes out there. That name sounds familiar. What did she do? Says here, she's semi-retired, worked as a senior marketing manager for an energy consulting company.

She's a mother of two, married to Bob Bashara, 54, real estate guy. Big Bob? Excuse me? Don't you know Big Bob? I hear he throws some crazy parties in Gross Point. Bob Beshara, or Big Bob, to his friends, was a judge's son turned real estate tycoon. He was a robust community man and a father of two. Everyone wealthy in Detroit knew Big Bob and his now late wife.

They gathered with him that evening for a candlelight vigil for Jane. Bob wore a plain rain. coat and baseball cap. Among the glow of candles, neighbors and friends wanted to hear what Big Bob had to say about his wife's tragic end. He was clearly grieving, but he didn't say much. However, they wouldn't have to wait much longer for more details as Jane's story spread across the nation. The next day, around 1 p.m., Bob arrived at the Gross Point Park Police headquarters. An officer led him into an interrogation room.

Bob sat before the same detectives who had delivered the news that his wife had been found dead. Hello again, officers? Afternoon, Bob. Hope there weren't too many reporters outside. No, that's not a problem. We'll get you out of here in no time. We just have a few questions for you. Have a seat.

You need anything, just ask. Thank you very much. I just want to say I appreciate everything you're doing. Thank you. We're working really hard. We only want to bring justice to J. Mr. Bashar. No, please.

Call me, Bob. Mr. Boshara, you called our department at 11.30 p.m. on January 24th to report your wife missing. What made you think something was wrong? She'd only been gone a few hours, no? Maybe she just needed a break and cut loose for a night. What? No, I've been married for 26 years. I know my wife.

Why would she... Let's not worry about that yet, Bob. We want to hear your side of the story. Help us through the events that evening. Anything you can remember leading up to when you reported your wife? wife missing? Okay. I arrived home at 8 p.m. that night. The TV was on, but Jane wasn't home, and her car was gone. It seemed strange, but I didn't think too much of it. To kill some time, I went to the hard luck lounge, one of my properties. I had a drink with a buddy. When I got back

home around 8, Jane was still gone. By that point, I was getting really worried, so I called one of my wife's friends to see if she knew where Jane was. She said no. I kept waiting, but by 1130, I knew something was seriously wrong. So I called the police and filed a missing person report. I kept waiting, and the next day you two showed up. Okay, help me understand the timeline. You got home at 8 p.m. Where were you before that, between 6 and 7?

Also, the hard luck. I owned that spot and pretty much everything else there on Mac Avenue. At that time, I was probably sweeping up out back. I'm a hands-on kind of landlord. Right, okay. Is there anything else you can tell us about Jane? Well, everybody loved her. But there is something you should probably know.

What's that? She, um, enjoyed marijuana. It helped her sleep. She might have been meeting someone to buy her drugs. I never asked where she got it from, you know? She did her thing and I never asked. I understand. Thank you for your time.

We'll keep in touch. Bob's statement to the police seemed solid enough. However, later on, he spoke to reporters. He told one journalist that when officers told him his wife had died, he fell to the ground crying. But the detectives who interrogated Bob were the ones that delivered the news of Jane's death. They knew for a fact that Bob was lying to the press. He didn't collapse into tears of the news.

In fact, his reaction. had been remarkably muted. It seemed like Bob was embellishing the truth, and that made officers suspicious. Wondering what he might be hiding, the police ordered a polygraph test. But before they questioned Bob again, the detectives needed to gather more information.

Meanwhile, Jane Besheera's death became front-page news. The city and the national press took to the story like wildfire, A woman from an affluent neighborhood slain and dumped in an abandoned lot. What they didn't see coming were the revelations about Bob. As the widower's face flashed on the news, the internet went ablaze. Chat rooms and adult meetup sites lit up with recognition. You see that guy on the news? I know him. I met him on this site. I went to his sex dungeon. At first I thought he was too self-absorbed.

I was ready to leave, but a blonde name Rachel was there, and she disrobed immediately. So I stuck around. I was talking to that guy last summer. He wanted me to meet him at a bar on Mack Avenue. You think he killed his wife? That's not Big Bob. That's Master Bob. Coming up, Big Bob's secret life unravels.

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Jane's widowed husband, 54-year-old business owner Bob Bichera, appeared on the news. The man who many viewed as a community pillar was suddenly revealed as an... an avid BDSM enthusiast. The BDSM lifestyle was a tricky topic for the buttoned-up broadcast news. Still, reporters use this aspect of Bob's life as fodder for their speculation into Jane's gruesome murder. Bob Bashara, a beloved community man and real estate owner, was apparently unfaithful to his wife, murder victim Jane Bashara. Not only did Bob have multiple secret partners, but he had a taste for the unseeked.

Whips, restraints, and dog collars. Bob Bashara enjoyed cheating on his wife and getting down and dirty with multiple women and obscene one-night stands. Could the unfaithful husband who enjoyed inflicting pain on random women be somehow involved in his wife's death? Did his seedy second life lead to his own wife's demise? More on this as the story unfolds. The public was aghast to learn of the other women in Bob's life. and a subculture of violence that orbited the tragedy.

Detectives could not leave any of these stones unturned. In an effort to learn more about Bob's life away from Jane, they set their sights on the hard luck lounge. The detectives traveled to Mack Avenue to visit the bar. They wanted to see if anyone had useful information about Bob. As it turned out, gossip about the local landlord was traveling fast. You heard all this racket about Bob? I heard it.

I was here the night they say it all happened. Did he seem, you know, suspicious? You was here at about 7 p.m., but he kept coming and going. I couldn't tell you where he went. Apparently he wants the police to think he was out cleaning. Bob, cleaning? Yeah, right. Exactly.

He's the landlord, not the manager. He's got no reason to clean. I remember Joe Gents came in looking for him. You know, Bob's handyman? Big fella. Not all there if you know what I mean. Yeah, I know him. Well, I guess they were together.

Then at one point, I saw Bob leave out the back door, like he was headed down the alley towards the basement. People say he's the only one that's got a key. And I'm sure you've heard the rumors about what he does in there. Detectives had heard whispers about Bob's basement, too. It was more than a storage facility. Apparently, it was also where he went to party. Officers knew they needed to figure out a way to get inside.

But first, they summoned Bob back to the station to finally take the polygraph test. While Bob was strapped in answering questions, police raided his home with a search warrant. They searched the house, pulled hard drives, and K-9 units walked around the property. In the garage, they stumbled on what looked like a recently cleaned up blood stain. The forensics team took a sample for analysis. Meanwhile, the detectives finished their questions and dismissed Bob from the station.

He'd failed the polygraph test, meaning police had even more reason to believe he was hiding something. As detectives scoured Bob's emails and hard drives, the press did their own digging. A journalist gained access to the basement of the Hard Luck Lounge and recorded footage with a hidden camera and a flashlight. The video depicted a single, small room with no windows. It was mostly empty, but a bed sat in the corner. Web-like netting hung from the wall, which also held a sword in medieval-style lighting fixtures.

Elsewhere in the room was a collection of whips, chains, and sex toys. the local news soon aired the footage. This glimpse inside the hard luck basement gave the detectives a little more juice, and the footage spurred more recognition from those familiar with Bob's underground affairs. Several women revealed their experiences with the man known as Master Bob. Many of them used aliases to protect their identities, and one even wore a disguise as she gave a televised interview. Around this time, one of these women contacted the police.

She wanted to discuss her secret relationship with Master Bob. Detectives met with a middle-aged woman who went by a pseudonym. I hope you're not like those reporters buzzing around. They just want to talk sex. Well, we're interested in hearing everything. Right now, we want to learn about Bob and the company he kept. How did you first meet him? I met Bob online.

I needed something new, something freeing. I connected with a guy by the screen name Master Bob 1000. He said he would train and guide me. We arranged to meet. Before you met in person, did he mention he was married? No. He actually claimed he was a widower at first, but as time went on, I could tell something was up. I asked him about his wife again, and he changed the story, saying he was divorced.

Later, he admitted he was married, but said he and his wife weren't intimate. But who knows? I felt horrible for Rachel. Who is Rachel? His long-term girlfriend. He'd been telling her for years that his wife was out of the picture and that someday they could get together for real.

He even gave her a promise ring. Rachel Gillette approached the police on her own, hoping to clear Bob's name. She confirmed her three-year relationship with Bob and said that they planned to buy a house together, and Bob had given her a ring. Rachel may have wanted to make Bob look innocent, but by then news about his failed polygraph test had reached the press.

Bob lawyered up. His attorney asked him if he suspected anyone of killing Jane, and Bob named his handyman Joe Gents. He said that Joe recently became disgruntled over a pay dispute. Bob and his lawyer wrote a letter to detectives that described a phone call he received from Joe before the murder. The letter claimed that Joe had demanded $1,500, and then he talked about Jane's death before his rants turned to gibberish.

Bob urged the detectives to look into Joe. Two days later, on January 31st, Bob and hundreds of family and friends held a funeral service for Jane at a local church. That same morning across town, Joe walked into the Gross Point police station. His statement to detectives would turn the case completely on its head. Coming up, Joe the handy of the hand-y-and-y-lawed. man reveals the killer. Now, back to the story. On January 29th, 2012, four days after Jane Bichera's body was found, Bob Bichera and his lawyer sent a letter to Gross Point police.

The letter expressed Bob's suspicion that his handyman, Joe Gince, was connected to Jane's murder. Two days after that, Joe approached the police on his own. Joe's white hair and goatee shown under the interrogation room lights. He sported a gray suit. Joe had a below-average IQ and a developmental disability. He reportedly struggled with alcohol use and was said to have an uncontrollable temper. While speaking with the detectives, Joe was sometimes hard to follow. He rambled and at times contradicted himself. Detectives knew that they would have trouble getting a straight story out of him. It took some time, but finally, Joe revealed an even darker side to Bob that no one saw coming. According to Joe, he met Bob in 2011 through a mutual friend named Steve Tobato.

Joe had a hard time keeping stable work, and Bob agreed to hire him for a few odd jobs. After they got to know each other better, Bob began venting to Joe about his marriage to Jane. Those complaints darkened in tone over time. Soon, Bob made gruesome demands. I need you to off my wife, but it's got to look like an accident. Can you do that for me? Joe was disturbed. At first, he wouldn't agree.

But Bob offered him several thousand dollars and a used Cadillac, and Joe needed the money. Not to mention Bob would not take no for an answer. Are you going to do it? When can you do it? Why haven't you taken care of it? Joe maintained that he wasn't up to the task, but that only angered Bob more.

Eventually, Bob threatened Joe. Either you kill my wife or I kill you. You understand me? One of you has got to go. Joe remained uncertain, not to mention downright scared, but he couldn't avoid Bob forever. At 6.30 p.m. on January,

January 24, 2012, Bob summoned Joe to his house. He claimed he needed help moving boxes in the garage. While Joe was there, Jane entered the garage. She and Bob began arguing. She demanded that the two men take care of the boxes and told Joe how to arrange them. When her back was turned, Bob faced Joe and gave him an order. Take care of it. Take care of it now. Joe didn't move. As he hesitated, Bob pulled a gun on him. Now, or I'll kill you too. Joe panicked.

He could tell Bob meant it, so he stepped forward and struck Jane in the head. She fell hard to the ground. When she looked up and uttered a plea for mercy, Bob urged Joe on. Joe complied, but Jane fought back, raking her nails into his side. While Bob watched, Joe kept her on the ground, choking Jane until she stopped moving.

Then he pressed his heavy work boot into her neck and crushed down. With that, Jane was gone. Bob tossed her purse into the passenger seat of the SUV and had Joe help him haul her body into the back seat. Then Bob gave Joe one final set of instructions. Joe took the keys to the SUV and drove out to East Detroit. He abandoned the car and Jane in an alley. A mix of emotions filled the detectives. Joe had not only confessed, but implicated Bob in a murder-for-hire plot.

And the evidence corroborated the story. The blood found in the Bashara garage matched both Jane and Joe. Bob's phone records also showed hundreds of calls to Joe, including many on the day Jane was murdered. Astonishingly, however, the police released Joe after three days. It was the longest they could hold him without an official charge. Soon, the story of the murder-for-hire plot reached the public. Bob maintained his innocence when he spoke with reporters.

He claimed Joe's story was a lie. He called his former handyman deranged and questioned why he still walked free. Things went on that way for a few weeks. Then, on March 2nd, 2012, Joe received word that authorities were ready to arrest him. Rather than fight it, Joe once again made his way to the police station. With Joe in custody, Bob felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He told reporters he felt good.

But three months after Joe was arrested, Bob approached Steve Tobato, the same Steve who introduced Bob and Joe. Bob feared that Joe would testify against him. He told Steve that he was innocent, and he was worried Joe's confused lies would get him sent to prison. Since Steve was known to have ties to seedy circles, Bob asked him to help execute his next move. He wanted Joe murdered in prison.

Steve didn't bat an eyelash. He said he could get it done. He'd either hire someone he knew who was already on the inside. or hire someone to get arrested. He requested $20,000 for the job with a refund if he failed. The two met several times in June to discuss the murder. As they brainstormed methods, Bob's paranoia dissipated. But it wasn't long before Bob's sense of safety was shattered again.

He walked in on Steve on the phone with the county prosecutor. When Bob confronted him, Steve denied Bob's suspicions and claimed to be on the phone with a friend. Bob backed down and told Steve he'd get the money soon. A few days later on June 25th, the two men met again. Bob immediately patted Steve down, checking his chest and collar. Then he whispered to him. Are you wearing a wire?

Steve told Bob he was being crazy. Okay, I just want you to know I had nothing to do with Jane's death. I just need Joe to shut up. Steve told Bob not to worry. He'd do the best he could. The two parted ways. Not long after Bob went to Dylan's raw bar for a drink. At one point, he stepped outside and made his way down the back alley towards the basement.

But Bob didn't make it to his dungeon. An unmarked car pulled up at the far end of the alley, then another at the opposite end. officers spilled out, accosted Bob, and cuffed him. Bob Bashara, you're under arrest for solicitation of murder. Bob's mistrust towards Steve had been valid after all. Although Steve would normally do anything for a friend, murder for hire was a step too far. He had contacted police after his very first conversation with Bob on the matter.

Law enforcement coached and wired Steve, and Bob fell right into him. the trap. Bob was optionless. His wounded dog act couldn't help him now. On October 11, 2012, Bob pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder Joe Gents. The judge sentenced him to a maximum of 20 years.

Two months later, Joe Gince pled guilty for second-degree murder and was later sentenced to 17 to 28 years in prison. Bob was arraigned on charges connected to Jane's, murder in spring of 2013, and a lengthy trial process began. In December of 2014, prosecutors finally charged Bob for hiring Joe to kill Jane. Numerous women, including Rachel Gillette, took the stand against him. They painted Bob as a selfish liar and a gas lighter. His family, who once stood by his innocence, no longer supported him.

On December 18th, he was convicted of first-degree murder and given a life sentence. Two years later, in 2016, Bob and Joe faced each other in court. Bob hoped for a retrial, but after Joe retold his story, it was decided that Bob would not receive a retrial. The two men returned to their separate jail cells. Bob continued to assert his innocence for years. He planned to seek exoneration, but on August 17, 2020, Bob Bichera died in prison. He was 62. Although the cause of death has not been released, Bob had been unwell for weeks in the prison hospital. His death became a full stop in the ongoing saga of Jane's death.

It's unclear how Bob's family, including he and Jane's children, reacted to his death. Jane's family, however, did make a statement to the press. Her sister, Julie Rowe, said, I am disappointed he only spent eight years in prison. That is just not long enough for all that he ruined. Thanks again for tuning into solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with a brand new episode. For more information on the murder of Jane Beshara,

amongst the many sources we used, we found Steve Miller's book, Murder, Inc., Gross Point Park, privilege, adultery, and the killing of Jane Beshara, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Yeah, if we live till next time. Solve Murders True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler.

Sound design by Michael Langsner, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Travis Clark. This episode of Solve Murders was written by Daniel William Gonzalez, with writing assistance by Sarah Batchelor and Giles Hofsef. Fact-checking by Claire Cronin and research by Mickey Taylor. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tom Bauer, Tiana Camacho, Drew Lawn, Julian Smith, Rebecca Thomas, and Jen Wong. Solve Murder stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.