A Wayne County judge this morning sentenced handyman Joe Gentz to 17 to 28 years in prison for the strangling death of Grosse Pointe Park marketing executive Jane Bashara last year, the Detroit News reported.
Gentz, 48, of St. Clair Shores, told Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda R. Evans:
"I'm very, very sorry for what happened. I'm asking for the family's forgiveness."
Evans scolded Gentz, calling the crime "senseless," according to the News.
"You knew right from wrong and good from bad," Evans said.
Gentz has said all along he carried out the murder on behalf of Bob Bashara, who has not been charged in the murder, but is serving 6 to 20 years for attempting to have Gentz killed in prison.
Law enforcement sources in recent months have told Deadline Detroit that they expected Bashara to be charged in his wife's murder shortly after Gentz was sentenced.
