Cop: Teens Beheaded, Burned Man For Thrill

(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.

[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!