Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Beloved Community Leader's Secret Life and Sex Dungeon Exposed After Wife Disappears
Bob and Jane Bashara had a seemingly idyllic life in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, until Jane was found dead and her husband's secret life and dark fantasies were exposed.
Jane and Bob Bashara lived an idyllic life in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, an upscale community with manicured lawns, beautiful homes, and old money.
“Big Bob,” as he was often called, was a well-known figure in the community, once serving as president of the rotary and a frequent guest at charity events, according to Dateline: Unforgettable.
But when Jane suddenly disappeared in January 2012, the investigation that followed would reveal that Bob was more than just a gregarious and helpful neighbor. Bob was also hiding a secret life filled with sex dungeons, a fascination with the BDSM lifestyle, and a girlfriend who had given him a “deadline.”
“I remember it as though it was five minutes ago. Seeing the steps lead down to that dungeon, a portal to a world of fetishes that made some people recoil,” Correspondent Dennis Murphy shared of what made the case so memorable for him. “It’s a journey with bizarre twists and turns.”
For more in true crime:
Famous TikTok Star Convicted of Murdering Estranged Wife and Her Friend
Former Husband of Convicted Hoaxer Sherri Papini Speaks Out: "I Was Wrong"
Days After Getting Married, Man Dies in Wife's Arms While Defending Her from Serial Killer Intruder
Detectives also learned that one woman he met through an alternative lifestyle website had played a much larger part of his life.
Three years before Jane’s death, Bob began to date Rachel Gillett, a divorced single mother working as a secretary at Wayne State University. He even traveled to attend her daughter’s wedding in South Carolina with her in 2011.
Gillett would later explain in a television interview that she believed Bob had gotten a divorce from his wife after she gave him a “deadline” and only realized they were still together when she saw him grieving in the local media.
“The divorce that I thought had happened in May didn’t happen,” she told NBC affiliate WDIV.
The clandestine couple was set to close on a house together in Grosse Pointe Park, where they had talked about moving in another woman to fulfill their BDSM fantasies, just three days after Jane was killed.
“Bob had this obsession with Rachel,” Narduzzi said. “It appeared to be a relationship based on mutual obsession.”
As for his unconventional extracurricular activities, Bob declined to go into it in detail but claimed to Dateline that he and his wife had an “understanding.”
Jane’s family, however, has staunchly denied those claims.
“We, as a family, are certain that Jane would have chosen to end her marriage rather than participate in an open marriage,” they said in a statement. “Any comments made to the contrary should be met with disbelief.”
Murphy added that the case was “one of the most curious stories I’ve ever covered.”
About Jane and Bob Bashara
Bob told Dateline: Unforgettable that he and Jane began dating after being introduced by mutual friends and “clicked pretty much right away.”
“She was out-going, a go-getter, yet she was very loving and kind and I just was attracted to her right from the beginning because she had a good heart,” Bob said.
By 2012, the couple had been married nearly 30 years and shared two children, Robert Jr. and Jessica. Jane worked as a marketing executive, while Bob made a career in real estate investment, buying commercial and residential properties in the surrounding Detroit area.
“When you play the game Monopoly, the person with the most property wins,” he joked.
The couple were regular fixtures at charity events across town and seemed to fit effortlessly into the upscale neighborhood of Grosse Pointe Park where they lived.
Where was Jane Bashara found?
Jane’s life would take a tragic turn on Jan. 24, 2012. Bob would later tell authorities that he spoke to Jane on the phone that night while she was on her way home from work.
“She sounded perfectly fine, she said, ‘I'm coming home, I’ll be home in 20 minutes,’” he told Murphy.
Bob said he was cleaning up at one of his properties at the time, but when he returned home around 8 p.m. he was surprised to find Jane wasn’t home. Hours later, after she hadn’t answered any of his phone calls, Bob called 911 to report his wife missing.
“My name is Bob Bashara…My wife is not around, and she’s not answering her cell phone…and the car, and her purse, and her are gone. And I’m just a little concerned,” he told the dispatcher.
The next morning, tow truck drivers perusing through the east end of Detroit stumbled upon Jane’s black Mercedes SUV in a rundown alley and called police.
“It’s a pretty run down neighborhood, lot of vacant homes. In the alley there’s a lot of litter, garbage,” Grosse Pointe Detective Mike Narduzzi recalled. “It was a rough part of town.”
When investigators arrived at the scene they found Jane’s body crumpled in the backseat.
“You could see heavy bruising on the left side of her face and her neck,” Narduzzi said. “It was all bruised up and purple and there was a lot of trauma and injury.”
Strangely, Jane’s car key and purse — with its contents dumped on the floor of the front passenger side — were left inside, leading investigators to rule out the possibility of a robbery gone wrong.
"It seemed like the body was taken there,” Narduzzi said.
They also noticed that the dirty car had smudge marks near the driver’s side and Jane had a broken fingernail, suggesting she may have fought with her killer in her final moments. The fingernail was sent to the lab for DNA testing.
A medical examiner would ultimately determine that Jane died of strangulation.
Bob Bashara’s Secret Life
Bob claimed to be devastated by his wife’s death, often openly talking about his grief with the local media. But the interviews that served to drum up sympathy for the father of two, ultimately helped uncover his secret life.
Those who knew Bob from the BDSM world where he was known as “Master Bob” saw him on the news and began flooding the police station with calls, exposing the dark, torrid details of a world of sex and fantasy.
Detectives learned that in the basement of one of the commercial buildings he owned, Bob had his own sex dungeon, complete with hooks, chains, and harnesses.
One woman referred to as “Lynn” spoke with Dateline: Unforgettable about a sexual encounter she had with Bob and another woman after they connected on an alternative lifestyle website. Bob served as the “dominant” person in the relationship, instructing the two submissive women on everything they needed to do
“The first thing I see in the far corner is a bed. Next to the bed there was a giant, giant web-like looking device,” Lynn recalled of the dungeon. “It looked like a giant spider web with rope.”
Lynn said the women put on collars and had their “first flogging.”
After the encounter, Lynn never met with Bob again because she had been put off by his “self absorbed” and “very, very dominant” personality.
Who was Bob Bashara’s Girlfriend?
Detectives also learned that one woman he met through an alternative lifestyle website had played a much larger part of his life.
Three years before Jane’s death, Bob began to date Rachel Gillett, a divorced single mother working as a secretary at Wayne State University. He even traveled to attend her daughter’s wedding in South Carolina with her in 2011.
Gillett would later explain in a television interview that she believed Bob had gotten a divorce from his wife after she gave him a “deadline” and only realized they were still together when she saw him grieving in the local media.
“The divorce that I thought had happened in May didn’t happen,” she told NBC affiliate WDIV.
The clandestine couple was set to close on a house together in Grosse Pointe Park, where they had talked about moving in another woman to fulfill their BDSM fantasies, just three days after Jane was killed.
“Bob had this obsession with Rachel,” Narduzzi said. “It appeared to be a relationship based on mutual obsession.”
As for his unconventional extracurricular activities, Bob declined to go into it in detail but claimed to Dateline that he and his wife had an “understanding.”
Jane’s family, however, has staunchly denied those claims.
“We, as a family, are certain that Jane would have chosen to end her marriage rather than participate in an open marriage,” they said in a statement. “Any comments made to the contrary should be met with disbelief.”
RELATED: Alaska Serial Killer Is Found Dead in Indiana Prison Cell
Who killed Jane Bashara?
The investigation into Jane’s death hit a standstill, until Bob surprisingly provided the break police needed through his attorneys.
His attorneys delivered a letter to the police department suggesting they look into a man named Joseph Gentz. Gentz suffered from intellectual delays and was described as having the intelligence of a child.
He crossed paths with Bob after they were introduced by a mutual friend and before long, Bob hired Gentz to complete odd jobs around his properties.
Police brought Gentz in for questioning and although he initially denied having anything to do with the murder, he returned to the station three hours later with a sensational story.
Gentz claimed that he had been approached by Bob to kill Jane. He initially told him “no way,” but when Bob approached him about carrying out the hit a second time, Gentz told detectives Bob “threatened my life, personally.”
“If I didn’t do it, I was a dead man,” he explained in the interrogation.
According to Gentz’s account, on the night of the murder, he met Bob at his home and the two pretended to move boxes in the garage until Jane came home. When Jane came into the garage, Gentz claimed Bob pulled a gun on him and told him to “take care of it.”
Fearing for his own life, Gentz said he threw Jane to the ground, strangled her, and then stomped on her neck.
He claimed Bob was planning to pay him $8,000 and give him a used Cadillac in exchange for carrying out the hit.
Gentz also told police that Bob had been concerned about a “deadline” he was facing and needed the murder carried out before then.
While speaking to Dateline: Unforgettable, Bob denied having anything to do with his wife’s death and insisted that Gentz must have acted alone.
"All I know is he’s admitted doing this. They have the man behind bars. Let me rebuild my life, let me move on, I miss her terribly,” he said. “The mother of two wonderful children is gone and that just absolutely saddens me.”
Gentz — whose DNA was found under Jane’s broken finger nail — was arrested, but Bob remained a free man.
Gentz Convicted in Jane Bashara’s Death
However, in another shocking twist in the case, as Gentz was sitting in jail, Bob reached out to a mutual friend to try to orchestrate a hit on him. The friend went to authorities and agreed to secretly record a meeting with Bob, where he laid out his desire to get rid of Gentz for $20,000.
Bob was arrested and charged with solicitation of murder. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to just under seven years behind bars in that case.
Gentz took a plea that allowed him to plead guilty to second-degree murder in Jane’s death in exchange for his testimony against Bob — although Gentz would later refuse to take the stand.
Bob was charged with first-degree, premeditated murder in his wife’s death. He went to trial in 2014 and was convicted on all counts against him.
Bob died behind bars in August 2020 at the age of 62.
“It’s over and I think the world’s a little bit better off with him not in it quite frankly,” Narduzzi said.
Gentz remains behind bars.
