Hundreds of calls between husband, wife's killer

DETROIT (AP) -- Prosecutors say a Detroit-area man accused of hiring a handyman to kill his wife had 472 phone contacts with the hit man around the time of the slaying. The information came out at a pre-conference hearing Monday for Robert Bashara in Detroit's 36th District Court. A hearing to decide if there's enough evidence to try Bashara for first-degree murder is scheduled Sept. 9. Jane Bashara's body was found Jan 24, 2012, in her Mercedes-Benz in a Detroit alley, a few miles from the couple's home in Grosse Pointe Park. Joseph Gentz has pleaded guilty to strangling her, saying he did so at her husband's behest. Bashara already is serving up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to trying to hire someone to kill Gentz in jail. Published: Wed, Aug 21, 2013