Sword and Scale - Episode 108

Episode Date: February 18, 2018

When Jane Bashara was found strangled to death in the back of her SUV nobody knew what to make of it.  Things like this simply didn't happen in  Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, a wealthy community of million-dollar homes.  The Bashara's, now empty nesters in their mid 50's, also were not the type of people who were found murdered in a parking lot.  They were the type of people who volunteered for charity when they weren't hanging out at the country club.No one suspected that there were deep dark secrets between them that would end in murder.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. I'm frightened about this, to know that I could spend the rest of my life in jail, for a crime I didn't commit, is a very scary thing. Welcome to Season 5, Episode 108 of Sword and Scale. A show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. 1 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 個 Thank you. The End Gross Point, Michigan, a wealthy suburban area located just outside of Detroit. Gross Point is made up of five small cities known as the Pointes, all situated on the coast of Lake St. Clair. These communities are fueled by old money, and although Gross Point is home to a fairly substantial working-class community, it is better known for its historic red brick mansions,

private golf courses, and yacht clubs. In other words, the cities that make up Gross Point are, for the most part, stereotypically wealthy suburban communities. The pointies are the kind of cities that most people would think of as quote unquote, safe. And sure enough, the crime rates of the gross point communities stand in stark contrast to those of Detroit. Take for example, the city of Gross Point Park, which shares a border with the city of Detroit. Take for example the city of Gross Point Park which shares a border with the city of Detroit. On the southwest side of Alter Road you have a city plagued by one of the highest murder rates in the country. On the northeast side of Alter Road you have Gross Point Park, a city that has not seen a homicide in over 20 years. That is until the winter of 2012.

In January of 2012, Bob and Jane Basharra were living together in their nearly 3,000 square foot colonial home on Middlesex Road in Gross Point, Park, Michigan. Their massive five-bedroom house, which would have stuck out like a sore thumb in any middle-class neighborhood of the country, looked fairly modest next to the upscale homes on that particular street in the wealthy Detroit suburb. Like their neighbors, Bob and Jade Bashar were well to do financially. At 56 years old, Jane was making a nearly six-figure salary as a senior marketing manager for an energy consulting company in Detroit.

54-year-old Bob Bashar was making a living in real estate and reportedly owned around 50 properties in the area. The Basharers were active well-known members of the Gross Point Park community. Jane was once president of Gross Point South High School Mother's Club, and Bob was a church deacon, country club member, and former president of the Gross Point Rotary Club. They frequently volunteered in the community and participated in charitable fundraising events. Bob and Jane had been married for 26 years. Almost all that time was spent raising their

two kids, Jessica and Robert Jr. But at the start of 2012, Robert Jr. their eldest was working out of state as an industrial engineer, and Jessica had gone off to college. Bob and Jane had reached a bittersweet parental milestone. They were officially empty nesters. And for the first time in over two decades, it was just the two of them living together, just husband and wife. The Bashar home had slowly dwindled from a household of four to a household of 3, then 2, and in January

of 2012, it would go from 2 to 1. My name is Steve Miller. I'm the journalist. For a little help with this story, we got in touch with True Crime author Steve Miller. I was actually researching for another book that I was writing at the time. I guess it was in 2012. It was called Detroit Rock City. In every place I would go in Detroit because I had written several other true crime books, people would say, what do you think

about this Beshera case? And initially I had no idea what they were talking about. And I saw, well, maybe this is kind of, and then of course people always deal, well, there's your next book. And I was going, well, OK, you don't really have to work on this other book. But along the way, I just started, you know, really I was working on this other book. But along the way, I just started, you know, picking up bits and pieces of what was what it transpired. And this was in the summer of 2012. So, it became very, very interesting to me after a while. So interesting, in fact, that in 2015,

Steve Miller would release a book called Murder and Gross Point Park about this case, the events of which started to unfold on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 24, 2012. At about 4 p.m. on that day, after wrapping up a business meeting in downtown Detroit, Jane Bichera headed home for the day. According to Bob, he and Jane were planning to meet at the home at around 8pm. When he arrived home, however, she was no longer there. I went down to the basement, the TV was on there, so I knew she had been down there. I then, since I couldn't find her, I went out to the garage to see if her car was there, and it wasn't. Bob says I came home one evening and my wife wasn't there. I wondered where she was.

She usually at home because these are people who live their lives by habits. You can see it. You know, the house, the kids, the whole thing. They live their house. They live their whole life in a routine. It was out of character for Jane to miss an appointment without making contact. So Bob started calling around to see if anyone had heard from Jane. After about a half an hour I started really wondering and so I called the kids. I said, if you talk to your mother and they said no, they hadn't communicated with her. How many times are you calling Jane through this time? Oh, a dozen. I called her throughout from 830 when I couldn't find her car there to 830 when I couldn't find her car there to four in the morning.

I'm calling her cell phone. I'm calling the hospitals. It's just we were just more anxious as time rolled on. So he starts calling around. She calls relatives, people. He says, where are you? Have you seen Jane? Have you seen Jane?

And no, nobody's seen her pretty soon. Next thing, you know, the cops are coming and they're at the house at night because it's, you know, there's some local cops and this is a really responsive cops. You wouldn't have this in Detroit, of course, but you're going to go to the house. Around 11 p.m. Bob tells the defenders he called police. They came

to the house and after them walked through the house, took some notes, made a report and we gave him a picture. Police began conducting a search for Jane Bachera and her black Mercedes-Benz SUV. Early the following morning, a tow truck driver, out looking for stolen and abandoned vehicles,

spotted a vehicle that looked out of for stolen and abandoned vehicles spotted a vehicle that looked out of place in an alley on the east side of Detroit. I was driving down Pinewood between Bradford and Anna and I see number cities amongst a bunch of abandoned houses. The tow truck driver called in the license plate number to a dispatcher at his towing company, likely thinking it had been dumped there after someone had taken it for a joy ride. The dispatcher informed him that the Mercedes had been reported missing or stolen the night before, so he waited around for police to come check it out.

Police arrived, chatted with the tow truck driver, and went over to look at the vehicle. When one of the officers shined a flashlight in the rear window of the Mercedes, he spotted a woman's body lying face down across the back seat. It was the lifeless body of 56 year old Jane Bashera. The next day, the next morning, January 25th, 6am, a guy found James or Sadie's SUV in this bad area town and her body was in the back seat. Police returned to the Basharah home to inform Bob that his wife's body had been found.

I just wound up with tears and unbelievable sorrow. This is my wife 27 years. They told me she was dead, found in her vehicle. I just couldn't believe it. Jane's body was bruised. Her face and neck were scratched. Some of her fingernails were torn off in an attempt at self-defense. Her windpipe had been crushed. Very quickly you're going to find out she died of strangulation because you could tell the marks on her, under neck and so on. She had bruises and so on.

Gross Point Park had its first murder case in over 20 years. The worst kind of crime in the best kind of neighborhood, a place where pedestrians wave and kids ride bikes and residents take comfort in the almost complete lack of violent crime statistics. But all it took was one murder to up in this community to inject fear and suspicion and spark a debate on whether the threat came from outside

or within you know again this is what makes you know these stories i mean people die every day they're murder every day but uh... they don't happen in routinely they don't happen in very very on claves, especially something like this. In place where dead they have no murders. No, something happening where it's not supposed to, that's news. The setting for this crime, a wealthy, carefree town in the shores of Lake St. Clair, a place where this kind of thing just doesn't happen, was unexpected. Perhaps even more surprising, however, was the victim of this crime.

A 56-year-old mother of two who didn't seem to have a single enemy in the world. You know, when I do these books, I always go into the victims and so on and so forth. James truly the victim. And rarely you just go into and you look at somebody, you go, wow, she really didn't do anything bad, you know, anything really outrageously wrong ever. And so there was nothing that you could find that would speak to Jane as being some sort of anything other than an average normal person. That night, hours after Jane's body was found, community members organized a vigil. Overcome with grief and barely able to cope with a sudden and tragic loss, friends of 56-year-old Jane Bashera embraced her husband Bob and other family members

tonight at a candlelight vigil that no one ever expected to need because of course no one ever expected that Jane would be murdered. Just an absolutely wonderful, wonderful person. And yeah, there's no words. There's no words to say when, you know, she was one of my best friends. She was a wonderful, loving person to all of us. She can't be replaced. I think we're all here at a shock and grief and to support Bob and her children. Bob Basharra stayed at the vigil,

sharing memories of his wife with his friends and family until all the candles were out. God bless you all. Thank you very you. In the coming days, the reality of the situation started to sink in. When there were no obvious suspects, investigators turned to those closest to the victim for answers. With Bob's full cooperation, police decided to bring him in for questioning. They have a job to do and I want to help them find whoever did this to my wife. So I fully cooperated with them. They have to start.

They usually start, they said, start closest to the home and then spread out. And so I'm doing what I need to do to cooperate with the authorities to find who did this to my wife. On January 27, Bob agreed to take a polygraph test and left the police station at around 9 p.m. Although the results were not yet available, Kros point-part police chief David Hiller

provided the media with an update. He has continued to cooperate with our investigation. He is a person of interest with our investigation. Well, almost immediately, Bob was a suspect. They used that term person of interest for the iron investigation? Well, almost immediately Bob was that was a suspect. They used that term person of interest, which is which is bullshit. You know, it's just easy. He's a suspect. But the gross point part police again, they were way over their heads. They didn't know what they were doing in terms of how to how to handle this. So, you know, they said person of interest which is a suspect. This is, I mean, within two days. The

following day, the results of Bob's polygraph test were reported. He had taken a, he took a lie detector test and failed. Sources say Bob Bashera failed the polygraph test given at the Gross Point Park Police Station. That is timeline, didn't add up. Since failing a polygraph test and being named as the person of interest in this case, Jane's husband Bob has been under strict scrutiny.

In the state of Michigan, polygraph tests are generally not admissible in court. In fact, they aren't admissible in almost all US states. Polygraphs, which are commonly referred to as lie detectors, make for great TV drama, but their scientific validity is questionable at best. In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report calling the majority of research surrounding polygraphs unreliable, unscientific, and biased. In other words, a failed polygraph test is not grounds to charge someone with murder. Even so, investigators seem to be circling their suspect, waiting until they had enough

evidence to charge Bob Basharra with the murder of his wife. But on the evening of Tuesday, January 31, just hours after Jane Bashar is funeral. The case took an unexpected turn. When a six foot four two hundred and sixty pound local handyman named Joseph Gents walked into the Gross Point Park police station. We later a guy named Joe Gents who was a handyman. He did some work for Bob Bashar. He came I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to

get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to

get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to

get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. I'm not sure if he's going to get the police. is breaking news involving Joseph Gantz. He is the man who walked into this police department. And as we understand it now, multiple sources telling us that he has been arrested for having a serious and significant role in the murder of Jane Basharra. So he went in there and said, this is what happened. He confessed to basically committing the murder. We asked Steve Miller who had a chance to talk to Joe Gents while writing his book to tell us about this 48-year-old man Who showed up out of nowhere and told police that he was involved in the murder of Jane Basharra Yes, it was a really big dude. I mean a real big

Burleigh Burleigh guy he'd live kind of an interesting life There were contention that he was used somewhat mentally handicapped. I spoke with him, I didn't find him at eight, you know, I didn't find him, I think. You know, he was a oddball, he was a street guy. They grew up in a working class area and worked on a ship, you know, for a while and so on.

And he was kind of a roust about, you know, he'd been married a couple times. I had a kid, a daughter. He was, I'd say he was a rost about. He was kind of a handyman. So what's the story that Joe Gents was telling the police? Initially it was simply that he had killed her, but it was that he was paid. I mean, he didn't, he, terribly immediately said, you know, that he had been paid to do this.

In his confession, Joe implicated Bob Bashera as the man who had hired him. And against told police early on in the investigation that Bob Bashera offered him thousands of dollars to kill his wife. And when the day came,

forced him at gunpoint to strangle her in the garage of their gross point park home. So at that point, you had, you know, you now you had the murder but there's a little more to that. It wasn't so easy. It wasn't just done some reason. You think right in a normal situation. OK, here's the guy who did it.

He confessed, but the idea that he had it, he was a paid to do this. Now, Bob Bisher is in on this. Joe Gents was placed under arrest, giving police up to 72 hours to file criminal charges against him. The next day, Bob Bisher gave a statement to the media outside of his home on Middle Sex Road. This is my mother Nancy Bisherra. My son Robert, my daughter Jessica, had to go back to school to resume her studies. I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer and people who have shown their love and respect for my Jane.

This is an un conceivable tragedy. Everyone needs to know how absolutely wonderful and how much this is meant that they'll never know. How wonderful this has been for us. Bob pauses, takes a tissue out of his pocket, and dabs his eyes using the tissue before continuing his statement. We have cooperated with law enforcement agencies, and will continue to do so. Both our families, grieve, and in the light of this horrific event, ask for your continued prayers,

continue prayers, ask for your support, and respect of our privacy as we deal with this heartbreak. And try to cope. Thank you very much. Bob, what do you have to say about this? I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of you said, I have a lot of Joe Guy, who is a topless in your life. I really support our dad throughout all of this. We just miss our mom so much. We're just trying to get through this.

Thank you. Bob, we have none of his name about this, Joe Guy. No thanks. He says he was paid to kill your wife. What do you have to say about that? Have a good afternoon. Thank you. That's our state.

You know what I'm saying? How did you know, Joe, Bob? In subsequent interviews, Bob denied having any knowledge of a murder for higher plot involving Joe Gets. And of course, there was good reason for investigators to doubt that aspect of Joe's confession. And you're talking about a guy who's just confessed to murder. Of course, you're going to try to push that off on someone else, right? So you're going to take that right away.

Bob says, I didn't have no idea what he's talking about. And I think anybody in law enforcement is going to say, sure, sure. Okay. Because you're saying that to save yourself. At the advice of his attorney, Bob took another polygraph test. This test, however, was not administered by the Gross Point Park Police Department. According to Bob's attorney, David Grimm, the second polygraph test showed dramatically different results than the first. The key questions in that polygraph were, did you kill your wife and did you have anything to do with the death of your wife? And in talking to the polygraph examiner early last evening, it's his opinion that Mr. Basharra had no role in either.

Back at the police station, interrogators were making little progress with their new suspect, Joe Gents. As they were quickly discovering, Joe wasn't exactly the most reliable witness. He had a long history of mental instability and a reported IQ of 67, which is roughly the same IQ as a typical third grader. According to records obtained by the investigators, Joe Gans is a potentially dangerous and unpredictable man, a guy who needs medication to control a slew of mental problems that have

been diagnosed by numerous professionals over the last 24 years. The record show Gens has refused to take medication to control his mental issues. Over the years, Gens has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, intermittent explosive personality disorder, seizure disorder and anti-social traits. Reports also indicate Gens has borderline mental retardation and is blind in the left eye from a birth defect. He was also hospitalized three times between 1998 and 2001 for psychiatric problems and suicidal thoughts.

Now, the only thing that I find out as we start going through this was he also had some violent tendencies. So, you know, he'd get angry. He was just, you know, a lot of people like this, you know, and have a little bit of anger, some anger management issues or so on. So that was part of his background. Joe's confession was seeming less and less credible. 72 hours ran up, and on February 3, 2012, Joe Gents was released from police custody.

Let me repeat that. After confessing to murder, Joe Gents was released without charges. Friday, the man called Joe was released from police custody in Gross Point Park. Police said they are continuing their investigation. After Joe's release, local reporter Mark Santiago tracked him down and got him to answer a few questions. I have a heart. Yes, I have a heart of gold. And I'm honest, I'm a caring person. I don't do harm. I don't break the laws. In his only sit down interview since being released from custody, Joe says he wants Metro Detroiters to know he turned himself into police.

He wanted a talk, all for one reason. I just want the truth to come out. That's all. In a second interview, Joe attempted to explain his side of the story, claiming that Bob had asked him to help move some boxes before forcing him to kill his wife at gunpoint. He would later tell the same story in front of a courtroom. And he says, do it now. So I broke her neck. Yes, I did do that. Of course, there was more than one side of this story. Bob's lawyer, David Grimm, offered a different theory.

And today, Bashar's attorney told reporters that his client and Joe had been arguing about how much money Bob owed him. David Grimm suggested that Joe Gant may have had an act to grime when he went to police. The first day that Joe Gens walked into Gross Point Park, Police Department, that I think Bob, Bob Bishara, jumped from a person of interest to the number one suspect. Grim says the dispute was about 2000 dollars and he says when Bob the sheriff

was asked about Joe Gens' possible motive to implicate him in the murder of his wife. Bob responded that anything that where Joe Gens implicated him was untrue, completely untrue and a fabrication to get back at Bob. Mark Santia, the reporter who interviewed Joe Gents, also sat down for an interview with

Bob Beshera. What do you believe happened to Jane? I have no idea. Talk to me about your marriage. How was your marriage with Jane? 27 years? Almost 27 years. Those 27 years, how were they?

We had great years together. We were a team. We worked together on community service projects for rotary and big and rotary. We worked together in the schools. Like any marriage, you have your ups and downs. You have your rough patches that you come across. About a year ago, we did go to a merit counselor to sort through some things, and we loved each other.

We cared for each other, and we were there for the kids. Bob patiently answers every question, even addressing speculation about his involvement in the murder. The fact that they've named me the person of interest is unthinkable to me, that they think I could harm my sweetheart. Some amateur armchair detectives have been spreading theories online. Many of them pointing out that when Bob dabbed his eyes with a tissue while giving a statement in front of his home,

he didn't appear to actually be crying. And people have talked about it, and we watched it, it and you're out there and you dabbed your eyes, but we didn't see tears. You know, I have cried so much these past week and a half that I have emotions that well up in me and the emotions are so strong and so distraught that I don't know if I can cry anymore. I mean I've cried so much. I've let myself go. I didn't want there to be tears. I didn't want to show. I don't know. I just dab my eyes because I thought there wasn't here. I don't know. I didn't even think about that.

It's just a natural knee-jerk reaction. Over and over, Bob states that he had nothing to do with the death of his wife. Did you kill your wife, Jane? Absolutely not. I had nothing to do with it. Did you hire someone to kill your wife, Jane? No, I did not. Bob's family members also continued to defend him and stand by him.

I looked my brother right in the eye and I said, did you kill Jane? He said, no, I did not. Of course I didn't. Do you believe your son had anything to do with you? Absolutely not. I don't think he would hurt her in any way, shape or form. What is the one thing you want people to know who are watching right now?

About my brother, about what him and Jane have done for this community, they were a team, and again, he was service above self. He helped people, he was there for anybody that asked, and he's a wonderful man. That he is innocent of this crime. I look back and all the years and what a wonderful family we have. And Jane was a part of it.

And now it's, this is a whole new ball game, just and it's just shocked us. And in the meantime, we've lost Jane. We've got two kids in there that are the glossed their mother and they have such faith in their father. Jessica Bouchera has been mourning the death of her mom and dealing with the fact police are investigating her father. It's been no doubt a torturous time.

Now the 20-year-old is speaking out and answering that very tough question. Without a doubt in my mind, I know that he did not do it. There's no way, no fight ever. No, absolutely not. In a separate interview, Bob is asked if he thinks it was Joe Gents who killed his wife. Based on what I know, yes, I do believe he's the one that did it. Joe Gents who killed his wife. who admitted doing this allegedly. Yeah, I'm scared, but I know the truth will come out, and I know that we'll get past this." Joe was pointing the finger at Bob,

and Bob was pointing it right back at Joe. While the media circus played out, the investigation proceeded without any arrests. arrests. It's been almost two weeks now since Gross Point Park, wife and mother Jane Beshera was found dead in her SUV here in Detroit. The police investigation has taken some unexpected twists and

turns. No one's been charged with murder. There's not much information that's been released so far, and we're eager to hear what happened, and hopefully get the perpetrators brought to justice. As time goes on, your chances of solving homicide diminishes, and anybody that's worked any investigation on a homicide will tell you that.

Who killed Jane Boshera? That question now 21 days old. It has been three weeks now since Jane Bisher was first reported missing by her husband Bob and her body was found the next day in Detroit and despite a confession from Joseph Gents, there's still no charges in the

case. We don't know everything that's going on behind the scenes and we're not supposed to know everything. They need to figure out why, who, and what was the motive. Just who killed Jane Beshera was discovered, strangled to death, in the back of her Mercedes SUV. Since the body was discovered, her husband Bob Beshera was named a person of interest.

He took two polygraph tests, the results of which conflicted with each other. On January 31, Joe Gents, a handyman who worked for Bob, confessed to killing Jane as part of a murder for higher plot orchestrated by Bob. However, Joe's third grade IQ cast doubt on his confession, and he was released without charges. Who are we supposed to believe? The handyman with a laundry list of mental diagnoses, below IQ and a history of instability and violence, are the upstanding former Rotary Club president who spends his time raising

money for charity. The answer seems pretty obvious. However, as the investigation continued, rumors began to circulate that Bob may be hiding a few things. Reports came out that Bob had been cheating on his wife Jane, with a woman named Rachel Gillette. Rachel Gillette was one of Bob's girlfriends. She was a local clerical worker who worked over at Wayne State University. That was a girlfriend he'd had to eat matter for, you know, and it's nice to be known for a little while.

In interviews, Bob insisted that he had been a faithful husband. Were you having an affair? No, I was not. I loved my wife. I loved my children. And I would do nothing to hurt them. And I just...she meant everything to me. So the reports and the other woman by the name of Rachel, you would characterize that as. She was a good friend. That's it.

It soon became clear, however, that Rachel was more than just a good friend. But Bob Bichere was not only hiding unfair. He was hiding an entire second identity. A lifestyle completely unknown to his family members or his high-brow friends in Gross Point Park. He was living a dual lifestyle. On the one hand, he is the pillar of the community,

Mr. Dugutter, Mr. Provider of Charity. On the other hand, he was living an alternate lifestyle. He was lying and manipulating people to his will. When you were living a double life, as he was, you're going to get found out. Rumors were spreading that Bob Basharah was involved in BDSM, a term that combines the acronyms for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. Were you involved in an accident? No.

And you know what? I don't want to get into that because I have my children to worry about there are so many peripheral issues that have been brought up so many of them that I can't comment on that and say anything because of my children. And let me ask you that because of my children. And let me ask you that, because of these other reports, what have you said to your children? Your son and your daughter? I mean, because of talks of extramarital affairs, SNM, what have you said to your son and your daughter?

Don't believe what you hear. Don't believe what you hear. This has been sensationalized. This has been things have been brought up that are true. Just focus and the focus needs to be on finding James killer. As more and more reports came out, the rumors were found to be true. And Bob's dual life was exposed. Bob DeShira would go online, Bob DeShira would go online, on BDSM websites, and present himself as MasterBob. He was a dominating male figure to women who wanted to be disappointed. In the world of BDSM, Bob is known as MasterBob. MasterBob pointed out the following about himself on a BDSM website. Welcome to my world, I am MasterBob, a complete trainer. I will open, train, and guide you in this lifestyle. If what you seek is learning through doing, then I am here, and look for you to come to

me, Neil, and have all your desires and cravings open to you. Are you ready for Master Bob? I will make you love and enjoy the lovely mix of moderate pain and pleasure. No, I am true and skilled in this lovely life, so I await you. Come to me, master Bob. Oh, and I trained several, so being tied to another is a wonderful thing. Bob's dedication to the BDSM lifestyle did not stop with internet posts. A local dominatrix named Lady Gianna told media outlets that according to one of her clients, Master Bob had a secret dungeon in one of his properties, where he would host BDSM parties. Bob owned a residential building on Mac Avenue, and rented out the first floor to a bar called

the Hard Luck Lounge. Hard Luck Lounge is kind of a hipster place. It was just one of those little dark lounges, a great name for it too, because it was kind of a hipster place. It was just one of those little dark lounges, a great name for it too, because it was kind of a lounge rather than a bar. And it was just a place to go in and drink. And it had a fairly decent client tell. It wasn't some sort of low down place.

Topps would go in there on occasion to drink and it was just to hang out. And yeah, it was definitely not a low down place like you expect. Patrons of the hard luck lounge had no idea what was hidden underneath the trendy establishment. Well, that was a Bob's sex dungeon was underneath the hard luck lounge.

At the back, you go, there's an alley behind it. You could go down the alley and then there's a stairway to trick you down in a big steel door. Industrial strength steel door. And behind that was the uh, was the dungeon. Open this door in the basement and you're now inside Bob Acherra's secret sex dungeon. This is the first time cameras have captured what's in this space. And are surprised the dungeon that made headlines that Bacherra denied exists and is still stocked. Take a look at the bed in the corner, here on the floor in Acts.

Up on the wall you'll notice a sword is still in place, a mirror looks down over the bed. These hooks were used along with rope to tie people up. There's a motorized device on the floor. Use your imagination. And then there's this cabinet which is filled with rope, candles, and other items we can't show you on TV. Ironically, for a guy who owned and operated a sex dungeon, Bob Beshera was basically impotent. I mean, it just spoke to his, I guess really, it spoke to his level of weirdness, you know, to me. It was like, wow, you've got this whole lifestyle based on sex and you can't even engage

in sex. For Bob, BDSM was not necessarily about sexual gratification. It was about power and control. Well, that's the idea of being Mr. Bob, yet, have some power. Mr. Bob, without any companies, just Bob. Bob had apparently met Rachel Gillette, his mistress, through a BDSM website called alt.com. And they went to a BDSM events together.

They were BDSM buddies. And of course, Bob was not exactly forthcoming with Rachel about his marital status. Bob was evasive about his marital status. Initially he said he was divorced and then he'd say, oh well, you know, we're on the way out. So that's probably the same thing. Every married guy tells his girlfriend. At the beginning of our relationship when I first met Mr. Bishara online, he actually, on his profile, had said that he was widowed and was raising a teenage daughter by himself.

After we began dating, I found out that that was not true, that he had lied. But then he told me that he was separated and the marriage really was, for all intents of purposes purposes over, that they were separated, that they lived their own very separate lives, and they weren't a process of getting a divorce. On multiple occasions, Rachel attempted to leave Bob, but Bob would say anything to get her back. How does this female swear at? How does she direct you?

Hello and good morning, my slave. I do not understand how you can love someone, stay with me, and now as we are about to be us, you wish to leave. I cannot imagine and will not do so in life without you, plain and simple. Know this, what we have, and what we will be about is so special. We cannot let it go. It has almost been two years and I'm sorry if you have been tortured. I like to think of us as evolving and growing. I am ready to make a life-changing event for you and for us. And at the time it is happening, you again wish to leave me. If in the Bible it says love conquers all, then it will bring us to

where we want to be, where you want to be, in a home with a man you say you love. I am here and will not release you. I am your man. You are my woman. I remain Master Bob." After that email, will you again say an relationship? Yes. In May of 2011, Bob told Rachel that he and Jane were officially divorced. Based on that lie, Bob and Rachel's relationship started becoming more and more serious. And he began house shopping with Rachel in gross point part. While showing a home to Bob and Rachel, a local real estate agent would later recall overhearing Bob talking about how he would convert different parts of the house into punishment rooms and dungeons. According to the real estate agent, Bob was also interested in how many people would be

able to fit in the shower. Imagine being that real estate agent. What do you do? In addition to house hunting, Bob and Rachel were also searching for another potential housemate. Master Bob referred to Rachel as his slave, and the two of them were searching for another slave to round out a dominant submissive three-way relationship. Their search for a new slave was documented by blog posts published by Rachel on all.com. A knowledgeable source says the post you're about to see were put up by Rachel Gillette using

the screen name MBS underscore Bella MBS stands for master Bob slave and Bella means beautiful. August 2011 MBS Bella post we are looking for a special girl, a third to round out our relationship, someone who would live with us on a full-time permanent basis, who was free to commit to being part of a loving, nurturing, male-dominated home. Master Bob is the head of our relationship. The post show that for years they were seeking out another woman for a three-way relationship known as a triad. Here's a post from MBS Bella from September of 2010. We are looking for one unique individual who

can fit with us and our personalities. An attractive female ages from late 30s to early 50s must be able to relocate to us, willing to obey his directions concerning finances, health issues, and self-growth. Gainfully employed. According to the blog posts, Bob Bashera and his mistress found the woman they were seeking. Last November, posting as MBS Triad, Rachel Gillette writes, we are a true D-slash S-Triad, a group of three. Master Bob is the head of our home,

respected and cared for by his two lovely slaves, Bella and J. In mid-January of this year, blog posts say Basharraf flew to Oregon to meet the third female slave in the triad. So they contacted this one woman in Oregon and Janet. And so she was just curious person. She wasn't exactly on. I don't know how into it she was, but Bob went out there and visited her and it was a disaster, predictably. And so, you know, this is just stuff that was going on peripheral to Jane's murder. Although things didn't really work out with Janet Lehman, their new slave.

Bob and Rachel picked out a house on Kensington Avenue and Gross Point Park during the winter of 2012. Apparently tired of creeping around in the shadows, Bob was planning to become master Bob full-time. The only thing that stood in his way, though, was Jane Basharah. His wife. A source close to Jane Basharah says if she was aware of Bob's alternative lifestyle and his plans with these other women, she did not share it with her friends. If Bob was planning to set up shop with these women in a new home, how would Jane fit into the picture? Just two days before Bob and Rachel were set to close on their new house,

Jane Basharah's body was found strangled to death in the back of her SUV. On March 5, 2012, 41 days after Jane Bishera was murdered, Joe Gents was arrested for the second time. He came in on a, there was something on a, a child that he had to a custody deal with a, on his daughter. So he had a, hearing it, another salty and he came in for that and they, they arrested there. Handyman Joe Gents is under arrest for the murder of Jane Beshera. The 48-year-old handyman, whose confession a month prior was not taken seriously, was now charged with murder.

This office charged Joseph Gents with her murder as well as conspiracy to commit murder on March 5th of this year. Mr. Gents has since been held in the Wayne County jail and is currently awaiting his court date on his competency hearing the schedule for July 23rd in the 36th district court. Bob Bishera was still a person of interest, but no charges had been brought against him. Nevertheless, public opinion on Bob had shifted. His family members were no longer defending him, and Rachel Gillette, his mistress, wanted

nothing to do with him. Then on April 26th, Bishera's former mistress, Rachel Gillette, filed for a personal protection order. She claimed she is terrified of Basharra and feared she could end up dead like his wife. In her personal protection order, Rachel wrote the following. I'm very concerned about my safety, in and around my home due to the harassment of Bob Basharra. Since the time of his wife, Jane Basharra's death, I have tried to distance myself from him.

I have told him repeatedly that I want to know further relationship with him and I've asked him to stop contacting me and to leave me alone. He has refused to respect my repeated request and has contacted me via email, phone calls, through friends and has come to my house and invited on more than one occasion. He has delivered enough to drive different vehicles when he comes to my house and will park on nearby streets rather than in front of my house. As a result of his conduct, I'm under doctor's care and I've been prescribed several medications to help me control anxiety and the stress of the trauma caused by Bob Basharra. During the three years of our relationship, when I tried several times to break up with

him, he stalked me both at home and at work. Also, he has consistently stated if I were to move, he would find me. After his wife's death, I realized this is much more of a danger to me than I ever imagined before. And I'm terrified that he will hurt me. His actions and the fact that he refuses to listen to my pleas for him to leave me alone

makes me intimidated by him. And I feel threatened and frightened that he will escalate his behaviors if he becomes angry. More importantly, the fact that his wife was found strangled terrifies me because I think it could happen to me. He knows that I'm a potential witness for the prosecution for the case regarding James Basharra's murder, and I'm afraid of what might happen to me if he is charged because he won't leave me alone. Now, I'm terrified of what he'll do if or when I'm called as a witness for this case. But Rachel Gillette was not the only potential witness that Bob Besher was growing worried about.

During this time, Joe Gents was still awaiting trial in Wayne County jail. While he was waiting for the final disposition of his case, he was in the Wayne County jail and Bob decided, this is June 2012, Bob decided that he should probably put out a hit, put out a hit because Bob, of course, experienced hitman, put out a hit on Gants in the jailhouse. So he goes to some guy who sells used furniture and appliances and he says, hey, you know, anybody that can do a hit for me? This guy, the youth furniture salesman, goes to the cops and says, hey, some guy just asked me to help him put out a hit on somebody.

And so in World Wire, and got Bob on tape asking about how this hit would go down on Gents in the Gale House. And that was it, Bob was caught, soliciting the murder of Gale Gents. On June 26th, 2012, Bob Bashara was arrested. So from June the 8th through and including June the 25th, we are alleging that this defendant, Mr. Bashara, met with another person, not a law enforcement official,

on several occasions for the purpose of hatching a plan to kill Mr. Gentson the jail. Our evidence will show that Mr. Bershar paid, there was an exchange of money, this other individual to kill Mr. Gents. Further investigation shall with this was not the only person that Mr. Bershar solicited to kill Mr. Gents. Further investigation show that this was not the only person that Mr. Bashar is solicited to kill Mr. Gents. Accordingly, we are today charging Mr. Bashar with one count of solicitation to murder. That's any term of years up to life in prison. We expect that Mr. Bashar will be arraigned today at the 36th District Court at 1 o'clock PM. Bob attempted to explain his actions as those of an angry grieving husband seeking revenge on his wife's murderer. Bob's explanation was she's you know some guy killed your wife when she won him dead when she won

revenge okay well it's possible right and so Bob put out to that he said yeah that's I did that thinking wow this is all I'm gonna get ideally this is all I'm guilty of this but I'm sure not guilty. Ideally, this is all I'm guilty of this, but I'm sure not guilty of murder. On October 11th, Bob pleaded guilty to solicitation to murder. Here is a man who hires someone to kill a witness in a case that's going to be a witness potentially against himself during the course of an investigation into the investigation of his wife's murder. Bob Settancing hearing was held two months later on December 10th.

Joe Gents, who was still awaiting trial for the murder of Jane Basharra, provided the following impact statement for his attorney to read in court. His statement to the court is as follows. I have been telling the truth from the beginning. Bob has used me and threatened me. He told me he had friends in the mafia and would have me killed. Bob tried to make me look bad so no one would believe me. I was afraid for my life because he said he could get to me anywhere, even in jail.

I went to the police. No one believed me. I am still in fear and don't feel safe anywhere. This is Mr. Gensers, thanks for the impact statement. Thank you. Bob Basharra was sentenced to a minimum of 80 months in prison with a maximum sentence of 20 years. 11 days later, Joe Gens accepted a plea deal in his own case. Joe Gents pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Jane Basharra. Anything you want to say, Mr. Gents? Yes, ma'am. Well, I'm listening. I am very, very sorry for what happened.

I'm asking for a family forgiveness. When I have done my family for forgiveness, what I put them to, my friends, and everybody else. Very good. The court of the investigation, this case is about power and control. On Tuesday, February 19, 2013, Joseph Gents was sentenced to between 17 and 28 years in prison. Finally, in April of 2013, over a year after Jane Beshera was strangled by Joe Gents in her garage, her husband, Bob Beshera, was charged in connection with her murder. As you all know, the death of Jane Beshera Beshera took place one year and three months ago on January the 24th of 2012. Today Robert Weshara has been charged with one count of first degree premeditated murder

which carries a mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bob Bashara was also charged with conspiracy to commit first degree murder, solicitation to commit murder, witness intimidation, and obstruction of justice. Bob's trial began in October of 2014, and although most of the footage of the trial was never released to the public, the pieces of testimony that were released are both revealing and disturbing. With each new witness, Bob's actions, as well as the underlying motivations

of those actions, become more and more clear. During her lifetime, you knew Jane Boshara, and what was her relationship to you? No, not at all. And do you know the defendant Mr. Robert Boshara? Yes. In his relationship to you? My father. On October 23rd, 2013, Bob's daughter Jessica was called to the stand. Additionally, during high school, I found him on

pornographic websites. OK, when you found him on pornographic websites, did that cause trouble in the household? Yes, it upset me a lot, because I was in the same room when it happened. You weren't, OK, let me get this straight. You guys had a room where everybody worked on computers together.

Yes. OK. Who had computers in that room? My brother, myself, and my parents shared a computer. OK. And so you were in the room working on your computer? Yes. And your father also was in the room working on the computer?

Yes. And you spotted something on the computer while you were in the room? Yes. The words all. computer. Yes. And you spotted something on the computer while you were in the room. Yes. There is all.com. Okay. All.com. Okay.

Bob was surfing BDSM websites with his daughter in the same room. And when Jessica started to doubt his innocence, Bob berated her in a phone call, yet another one of his mistresses, a woman named Teresa Griffin. A call which was eventually played for the jury. In the phone call, Bob and Giffin trashed his daughter for apparently turning against him. On October 28, Jane's sister testified that she had once found a journal entry written by Jane titled, Why We Fight. It read, Bob makes plans, doesn't tell me.

Bob says he says things he doesn't. Can't trust what he says. Bob says things without talking to me, selling house going out with guys. Janet Lehman, the woman from Oregon who Bob and Rachel wanted to move in with them Testified that Bob came to visit her He was violent and abusive to her even by the standards of the BDSM community According to her testimony Bob forcefully introduced her to something called breath play also known as erotic

Exphyxiation thing called breath play, also known as erotic expixiation. The trial stretched on for over two months. Equaintances, friends, and family members continued to provide small pieces of testimony that, when pieced together, revealed a sickening and detailed portrait of Bob Bishara. Assistant Wayne County prosecutor, Lisa Lindsay, used all of the evidence to make the argument that Bob had hired Joe Gents to kill Jane

so that he could be free to pursue a life with Rachel Gillette. It was a reality different from his financial struggles. It was a reality where he did not feel his life was overly critical of them. It was a reality he created with his words of a man who was not a master-related asset saying to Janet Reumann and to Rachel Gillette, hisas, like they can fill a mass weight. With his words, he named himself. He named himself Master Bob and therein created another world.

In this girl, as he says, Janet Lehman in one of his emails, soon you will fill my strength and passion. That's not the man who has a reptile dysfunction. That is a man who feels powerful, loved, adored, and needed. That was different than the reality of his face. So he created a life as a BDSM master, master by any had a life as a BDSM master, Masterbot, and he had a life as a glory president in Virginia.

He created one world, he was living in another, and those two worlds ended up colliding. It was those two worlds colliding. On December 18th, 2014, master Bob was found guilty on all five counts. So, thank you, Mr. Fourth Person, so thank you, members of the jury. I do. While writing his book, Steve Miller held a number of conversations with Bob himself. We asked him based on those conversations and his indefinology of the case, what exactly he thought drove Bob Bashara to kill his wife?

People are complicated. You know, the motive, you know, you're going to say the modem is, is that he wanted out of his life and use the in the courtroom. People are tested by the mob and said it's going to cost me a lot of money. Other people would say, well, Jane made all the money. And so, he couldn't, you know, divorce her because they need to have no money. But this happens to a lot of people and nobody is that showing their wife or their spouse, I mean rarely, and when they do it gets in a book. But no, I, there's, you think about reasons you think somehow that was bred in him over the years. You're brain, you're psychic develops. You can develop in a really positive way or in a really negative way. In Bob's case,

something went really, really wrong with his development process. To the point where he thought that homicide was okay. At his sentencing hearing, Bob put his arrogance on full display and went down swinging. Number one, throughout my life that I knew Jane, I loved her. I comforted her. I delivered both of our children. I loved my Jane dearly and had done absolutely nothing to harm her. I did not murder her. I did not conspire with anyone, especially Mr. Gents, nor did I solicit him for this crime. But I want to say to James family, I want to say to my mother and my children that I will never, ever stop fighting for justice and the truth until my hands are

raw, the world comes from my eyes and I take my last breath. I will appeal these charges as I am innocent of anything to do with my wife's death. I will never forgive myself for exposing this man to my family and specifically to Jane. For that, my heart is sad and it breaks. My heart is sad and it breaks. This prosecution and these law enforcement agents have negatively affected my family by using the media to attack me. They have turned everyone away from me. And I remind you, Your Honor, of the story of Job. Now, I will admit clearly

that I have no where near as blameless as Job was before the Lord. I have done things in my life that I look back and'm not 100% proud of. But I had absolutely, and I hope my mother lost listening to this, I had absolutely nothing to do with my wife's death. Judge Vonda Evans proceeded to tear him apart, exposing him for the predator that he really is. Jane was physically destroyed on January 24, 2012, but she was mentally and emotionally destroyed by you a long time ago. Not only did you orchestrate and participate in taking her life, you tried to destroy her soul long before she was murdered.

Cheating, bringing women into your marital bed while she was away with your children, looking for schools for them to attend. Line, your lies were your truth, saying and doing anything to get what you wanted at her expense. According to the medical examiner, her windpipe was broken, and her death was like drowning on land. Orchistrated by her husband which she loved and adored, I can only imagine the heartbreak she felt

to know that the man that took a vow to protect her would be the one that would destroy her. And just like that, Bob was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His appeals have all been denied. Well, that's going to do it for this case, because Master Mike's got to run. If you'd like to show please leave us a friendly review on Apple podcasts and join us on Facebook, Twitter and Insta. Until next time, don't join a triad and stay safe. I'm going to go to the next one. you