The trial of Joe Gentz, the handyman charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the strangulation death of Grosse Pointe Park resident Jane Bashara, is set for January 7, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. 

The trial is scheduled nearly a year after Jane Bashara was found strangled in her SUV in Detroit last January.

Gentz was arraigned on the charges of murder and conspiracy in Wayne County Third Circuit Court on Tuesday morning.  According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, Gentz entered a not guilty plea.  If convicted, Gentz is facing up to life in prison on both of the charges.

Gentz has reportedly told investigators that he was paid to kill Jane Bashara by her husband Bob Bashara.  

Last week, Bob Bashara pleaded guilty to hiring a hitman to kill Joe Gentz while Gentz is in prison. Bashara will be sentenced on Nov. 20 and faces up to life in prison.

Bashara is identified as a person of interest in the investigation into his wife's murder but he has not been charged in connection with her death.