Prosecutor: Teens killed man for thrill

Pair accused in slaying, beheading of River Rouge victim

Doug Guthrie and Paul Egan / The Detroit News

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

CANTON TOWNSHIP -- The tarps were spread in a suburban garage. The hacksaw and kitchen knife were ready. The ambush was set for what prosecutors call a "thrill kill."

Prosecutors say two Wayne County teens with no known record of violence lured a River Rouge bouncer into the garage of one of the teen's grandfathers Wednesday. When the teens were done, cops needed three days to find the last body part and much of Monday to explain a motive.

There was only one, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said: the thrill of killing Daniel Sorensen, 26. She said the information came from one of the teens and perhaps another person, whom she did not identify.

"I've seen every kind of crime, and still, the idea that there are people who would kill just for the thrill of it is bone-chilling," Worthy said at a press conference Monday announcing charges against the teens.

"The evidence that the police have gathered in this case suggests just that."

In jail without bond and facing life in prison, the pair are ordinary suburbanites, friends said.

Jean "Johnny" Pierre Orlewicz, 17, of Plymouth is a senior at Canton High School whose family founded and operates Magnum Manufacturing, a Westland auto parts supplier. Alexander James Letkemann, 18, of Westland plays guitar in bands. He was popular at Churchill High School in Livonia until he dropped out in 2006 after being charged as a minor in possession of alcohol.

Prosecutors say the teens killed Sorensen, cut off his head with a hacksaw, burned his hands and feet with a blowtorch, torched his body and dumped his head into the Rouge River.

Prosecutors and police wouldn't say how the teens knew Sorensen, but acknowledged he owed Orlewicz a small sum of money. That wasn't a motive, Worthy said. Nor was Sorensen's status as a registered sex offender over a 1998 incident in Illinois for having sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 17, Worthy said.

Neighbors such as Geri Kowaczyk described Sorensen as a "good guy" who worked briefly for a landscaper and was "nice to me and everyone."

But he had enemies -- and kept track of them, according to claims in court documents.

Wayne County Circuit Court files indicate Michael D. Martin of Livonia took out a personal protection order against Sorensen in May. Martin, then 20, alleged Sorensen repeatedly threatened his life and the lives of his family.

Martin claimed in the court filing that Sorensen telephoned him day and night and left him voice mails "describing different ways of torturing me to death."

"He carries a 'hit list' in his pocket of girls who have rejected him, and he openly would plot their deaths in front of me. This list contained 20-plus names."

'A normal kid'

Police allege Sorensen died in the Canton Township garage of Orlewicz's 91-year-old grandfather, William Orlewicz. Neighbors say he has dementia and has no idea about the butchery that police claim occurred inside.

"He doesn't know anything, and I just hope that he passes and never knows what happened at his house," said neighbor Sally Walker, 48.

She described Orlewicz as a "normal kid" who skateboarded and "loved his grandma and grandpa. But police claim the teen, who appeared at the video arraignment wearing a white Oxford shirt and matching undershirt, drove the killing.

Orlewicz repeatedly stabbed Sorensen in the back and slit his throat with a kitchen knife, Canton Police Detective Ken Robinson testified Monday during the pair's arraignment in 34th District Court in Romulus.

"Orlewicz then retrieved a hacksaw and proceeded to cut Sorensen's head off with the saw," Robinson told the court.

A blowtorch was used to burn his hands and feet to hide his identity, Worthy said. Supplies were at the ready to clean up after Sorensen's torso was wrapped in tarps and placed in the bed of his 2001 Chevrolet S-10 pickup, she alleged.

Police retrieved the evidence over the next few days.

The charred body was found by a Northville Township utility crew Thursday morning in a secluded new subdivision near Maybury State Park.

Friday, the truck turned up at a Meijer store at Newburgh and Warren in Westland.

Saturday, a tip led police to Sorensen's head in the Helms Haven picnic area of Hines Park in Dearborn Heights.

Police and prosecutors declined to discuss the case at length until the pair's preliminary examination Nov. 19 at 35th District Court in Plymouth. If convicted, the teens face life in prison for premeditated murder, felony murder and mutilation of a corpse.

Worthy said one of the teens and perhaps another person provided police with vital information, including the location of Sorensen's head. Last week, police said there were three persons of interest in the case.

"All of us are shocked and appalled," said Canton Township Public Safety Director John Santomauro.

Police and prosecutors wouldn't elaborate on a motive, but Los Angeles psychologist Michael L. Peck said a total lack of empathy and aggression are hallmarks of thrill killers.

Horror movies and violent video games also can be contributing factors, said Peck, a former deputy coroner for Los Angeles County.

Family, friends shocked

Family members, neighbors and classmates said the crimes are so shocking, they're totally out of character for the teens.

Speaking briefly to reporters after the arraignment, Letkemann's father said his family is "behind him all the way -- 100 percent."

"Anyone who knows my family and me, and Alex in particular, knows this would be totally out of character. I love him," said Peter Letkemann, according to broadcast reports.

Lawyers for Orlewicz declined to comment, but Letkemann's attorney, Raymond Cassar, said his client is cooperating.

"The family wants the public to know that their son isn't a cold-blooded murderer," said Cassar. "My client was not involved in a thrill kill. When the facts come out the public will understand that."

Letkemann dropped out of Churchill High in April 2006 to "move onto a different way to get his diploma," said Principal Joe Anderson.

He was due to graduate last spring, but friends said he left after a citation for being a minor in possession of alcohol.

"Alex was funny and fun to be around," said Matt Goralski, an 18-year-old classmate since their freshman year. "He played guitar and sang in some bands. We kind of drifted apart because he got involved in some stuff I didn't want to. He seems wild and like he would do some crazy things, but nothing like killing someone. It seems impossible to believe."

A neighbor of the Letkemanns, Joe Lorenzo, described the teen as "very polite."

Plymouth-Canton school officials were notified Saturday that Orlewicz was about to be arrested. They hand-delivered 225 letters to high school teachers Monday, directing students troubled by the killing and arrests to counselors.

The arrest was the buzz of the school and Internet on Monday. Ongoing chats on MySpace forums suggested mercy killing of the two as retribution. Michigan does not have the death penalty.

"Some people were scared, but nobody knew anything," said Justin Scott, a 17-year-old senior at Canton High. No one knew who (Orlewicz) was."

Orlewicz comes from a tight-knit family of "good people" who have conscientiously cared for their elderly grandfather, said Walker, the neighbor.

"He could have been any kid, he was just normal," Walker said. "(He and his brother) were just two cute little boys, just like he is now on TV. An innocent little face."