Plymouth Teen Convicted of Beheading Man

By Diane Smith
19:09, April 17th 2008
61 votes
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An 18-year-old teen was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday of killing a man, beheading him and torching the body.

Jean Pierre Orlewicz of Plymouth, Mich., was the teenager responsible for the atrocious killing. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the case of the Nov. 7 killing of Daniel Sorensen, a 26-year-old young man from River Rouge in Wayne County's Canton Township.

After only one day of deliberations, the jury has reached a verdict in Orlewicz case. The conviction carries a mandatory punishment of life in prison without parole. His defense team already announced their intention to appeal.

Surprisingly, Orlewicz didn’t seem to be bothered by the verdict, while Sorensen’s family wept in the audience.

Orlewicz’s alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Alexander Letkemann of Westland, pleaded guilty of second degree murder and testified against him. Letkemann now faces 20-30 years in jail.

According to Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran, the victim was lured to a garage and then attacked by Orlewicz, who cut his throat and stabbed him several times.

Thinking he would get away with it, the killer burned Sorensen’s fingers to get rid of the finger prints, beheaded him and took the body to a field in Northville Township where he set it on fire. Orlewicz threw the head of the victim in the Rouge River in Hines Park.

“It seems so far out of character that it’s hard to believe,” Orlewicz father, William, said.

Orlewicz defended himself by saying that he acted in self defense and after he realized that he killed Sorensen he panicked. He said he mutilated the body of the victim because he feared reprisal by organized crime figures.

However, prosecutors found out that Orlewicz had planned the crime after Sorensen, a bar bouncer, pointed a gun at him.



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