Cop: Teens Beheaded, Burned Man For Thrill

2 Detroit-Area Youths Accused Of Mutilating Adult Acquaintance, Burning Corpse With Blowtorch

(AP)  Two thrill-seeking teenagers stabbed an adult acquaintance, took a blowtorch to his corpse and threw his severed head into a river, prosecutors said Monday as they charged the pair.

Canton High School senior Jean Pierre Orlewicz, 17, and Alexander James Letkemann, 18, ambushed 26-year-old Daniel Sorenson on Wednesday in a garage owned by Orlewicz's grandfather, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. A tarp had been spread on the floor, she said.

"They lured him in the garage, where they prepared a space to kill him," Worthy said at a news conference.

Sorenson, who had worked as a bouncer, was stabbed multiple times in the back, his head sawed off and his body wrapped in the tarp, authorities said. Orlewicz and Letkemann burned his hands and feet with a blowtorch, possibly in an effort to conceal his identity, Worthy said.

"They made plans on how they were to clean up the blood," she said. "They made plans on how they were going to dispose of the body."

The teens loaded Sorenson's torso in a pickup truck, dumped it in a cul-de-sac and set it on fire using gasoline, Worthy said. A utility crew found it Thursday morning, police said.

Sorenson's head was found Saturday in the Rouge River.

His history as a registered sex offender in Michigan and Illinois and the fact that he may have owed his attackers a small amount of money appear to have had nothing to do with his death, Worthy said.

Sorenson was convicted in Illinois when he was 17 of having sex with a 14-year-old girl, said Northville Township police Lt. Greg Rhodes.

"We've all seen a lot. We've seen it all," Worthy said of the Sorenson case's investigators. "Still, a crime like this surprises us all.

"Anytime anyone kills just because they want to, and that's what the evidence seems to suggest here, is bone-chilling. Why anyone would want to do that, especially being 17 years old, it makes us think and ask a lot of questions about our society."

Other people may have been involved, Worthy said.

Raymond Cassar, Letkemann's attorney, urged the public not to rush to judgment. He said Letkemann's only other brush with the law came a couple of years ago when he was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol.

James C. Thomas, Orlewicz's lawyer, declined to comment.

Orlewicz, of Plymouth, and Letkemann, of Westland, were arraigned Monday on one count each of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder and mutilation of a corpse. Not guilty pleas were entered on their behalf, and both were ordered held without bond and are due in court next Monday.

The murder charges carry mandatory sentences of life in prison. Mutilating a corpse carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

[tcmohr]

How heartbreaking! What could have caused these two to do such a sadistic thing? What caused Charles Manson and his followers to do the horrible murders they did? The answer is simple. "Everyone" has the capacity to do evil things, because there is the capacity for evil in each and every one of us.
We are "not" born courteous or helpful or considerate or even kind. These are "learned" behaviors! Granted, "some" find it easier to be gracious or forgiving.... but those are rare. Most of us have to "learn" these attributes. If there are no consequences for our sinful actions, where is our incentive to do the right and moral thing? If we are constantly exposed to unlawful or lewd behaviors that go un-judged or are portrayed as fun and acceptable, is it no wonder that kids want to emulate those behaviors?
Todays society tells us that we have no right to discipline our kids lest we hurt their little psyche''s. Wonderful, we won''t hurt their feelings or embarrass them, instead we''ll just watch them drag their chains into prison..... and blame everyone else for what they did.

[paganwitch]

How about Leopold and Loeb?

Planned and carried out the murder of a teenager just to see if they could do it and get away with it.

No video games or violent movies in the 1920s. No GWB either. So who or what do you blame for their crime?

[georgewww]

these boys barmitzvaded or what?

[remade2]

How about demon possessed?

[mdell27]

Too many videogames? hhahaha.. You need to look up ''Jesse Pomeroy''; a young teenaged boy in 19th century Boston who killed and mutilated, long before videogames and violent music. The people back then blamed cheap detective novels for his crimes! It turned out he never even read them.
Some people are just plain born deranged.

[campingman39]

looks like the heroin problems at the plymouth canton schools had to go far enough for a death to gain the publics attention, how much longer can we do nothing about the drugs in our schools?

[crazifaerie]

Yes, see "Millennials" for further answers.

[drivelphobe]

Send these kids to the middle east. This goes on everyday there and it''s legal. Maybe they watched that new movie made by Mark Cuban and thought this was fine.

[candide777]

Are you serious? "Lets not rush to judgement"
LMAO.
When you kill someone, right then and there should be enough just to make you ask yourself, "What the f*** did I just do?"
Yet they continued to saw the guys head off from his body, and burn his feet and hands.
Grade A job little ***. You want a thrill just smoke some pot. You won''t be hurting anyone.
Posted by jshmks at 02:37 PM : Nov 13, 2007

You have to give his attorney some credit, I mean, what else could he have said on behalf of his client that would not have sounded more ridiculous? "My client is not a monster!" LOL.

[candide777]

It''s REALLY hard to take RON PAUL seriously when his supporters say stupid *** like this:

"before the gov''''t decided to tell us how we could raise our kids, began telling them,if your parents offend you, tell you no, spank you, basically do or say anything you dont like, you can call the police, and say anything you want, because anything kids dont like, is some sort of abuse on a parents behalf?
Posted by OldThought at 02:39 PM : Nov 13, 2007"

[denn034]

Those kids are psychotic. Lock them up and throw away the key!

[gskuc]

The killer teens need to be incarcerated in a secure psychiatric prison for a long time if it turns out they plea and are found NGRI (not guilty by reason of insanity), but the article doesn''t mention their plea.
And I see that, again, the light of documented events needs to be shined into the hearts and brains of those suffering from "Bush Derangement Syndrome" (BDS). The delusions of BDS (e.g., that Bush ''lied'' us into the war to free Iraq from the ethnic cleansing, WMD using, UN resolution breaking, prevaricating, wag the dogging, political torturing, women oppressing, neighboring country invading, self-aggrandizing, crimes against humanity committing, nuclear weapons program building, anti-Semitic Saddam Hussein) are ideologically based, so neither typical or atypical antipsychotic meds are indicated. Instead, the best way to deal with BDS is to expose those who have it to Leadup Speeches by Democrats (LSD) given prior to Saddam being excised from power in Iraq.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007540

Note: LSD and other antidotes to BDS may need to be applied on a PRN basis.

[radioroger]

Here we go AGAIN!
I will bet you these are simply more victims of the psyciatric dope peddlers. Wanna bet! Psycotropic drugs and failed counselling are once again guilty of a murder they won''t be charged with .. SHAME ON THE MENTAL HEALTH FRAUD IN AMERICA! Death by Prozac .. I guaranty ...Death to the dope peddlng psycotic psycologists and their ilk.

[Netterz]

Hrmmm, I wonder what some of you think caused people to commit such henious crimes BEFORE things like video games, TV, religion removed from schools, when one parent could actually afford to stay home with the kids, before the gov''t decided to tell us how we could raise our kids, began telling them,if your parents offend you, tell you no, spank you, basically do or say anything you dont like, you can call the police, and say anything you want, because anything kids dont like, is some sort of abuse on a parents behalf? Murder has ALWAYS happened, in ALL races, ALL gov''ts, ALL levels of Society, ALL types of backgrounds, and communities. And sad to say, THERE ALWAYS WILL BE. The blame is only on the shoulders of those who commit.

[jshmks]

Are you serious? "Lets not rush to judgement"

LMAO.

When you kill someone, right then and there should be enough just to make you ask yourself, "What the f*** did I just do?"

Yet they continued to saw the guys head off from his body, and burn his feet and hands.

Grade A job little ***. You want a thrill just smoke some pot. You won''t be hurting anyone.

[candide777]

"Raymond Cassar, Letkemann''s attorney, urged the public not to rush to judgment. He said Letkemann''s only other brush with the law came a couple of years ago when he was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol."

Oh, well in that case, let''s let the little b8stard go free. He might not do it again. Kids like this do need to be exterminated, but that does not absolve us of our responsibility for having failed these kids. We need to start giving children something to hope for if we don''t want them to end up like this. Without reservation, I blame republicans who argue long and hard to stop them from being aborted, but once they are born, wouldn''t lend them a penny for education, food, healthcare, etc. Is it any wonder they turn into animals?

[Netterz]

Good grief. People really amaze me. So easily blame is placed where it has no business. Bush? Detroit? Parenting? Racial? Cracks me up. People form such idiotic opinions based on a few words from CBS. Do you KNOW these people personally? Were you there watching these kids grow up, hang out with there parents? Or maybe you are related to the so called *** offender? Oh yeah thats right, none of you casting stones had *** in HS. I am sure you all live in glass houses too with perfect children perfect families & friends. Your God of choice obviously lets you & you only into all that happens to eveyrone, so you have the knwledge of the events to make such stupid comments.Could it possibly be that these kids commited such an act for no apparent reason because there mentally ill and deranged?? Nah..MUST be blamed on YOUR target of choice. Unfortunately, our constitution gives free speech, but also allows the right to be stupid. You cant fix STUPID.

[paganwitch]

kailumego1 ... I understood your comment. I was simply asking that since the victim in the story was considered a "sexual deviant" for having s-e-x with a 14 year old, should my husband be considered one as well.

In other words, if some think the killers should be heroes, would they advocate or praise the murder of my husband for having done the same thing as the victim?

[miles1102]

the youth of the US are only responding to what we have left them (which is nothing). no oil,no social security.

[Wookiee-1138]

My faith in the human race just went down a notch or two.

"Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
and the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom

For thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."