FeedsTwo teens charged in 'thrill kill'
Two teen-agers have been charged with a gruesome murder uncovered last week in Northville Township.
Jean Pierre Orlewicz, 17, of Plymouth and Alexander James Letkemann, 18, of Westland, were arraigned on charges of first degree premeditated murder, felony murder, and mutilation of a corpse on Monday afternoon. They face life in prison.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the young men knew 26-year-old Daniel Sorenson of River Rouge, but the most likely motive for the crime was simply because they wanted to do it.
“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,” said Worthy, who has been in law enforcement for 22 years. “The evidence that the police have gathered in this case suggests just that.”
Sorenson’s decapitated and burned body was discovered Thursday morning. Police released additional details of the crime Monday morning. Citing the tremendous cooperative effort between nine different policing agencies, officials believe:
The two suspects lured Sorenson to Orlewicz’s grandfathers home on Holly Lane in Canton Township with the express interest in killing him.
“They had a space prepared so they could kill him,” said Worthy of the garage on Holly Lane, where a tarp had been spread out to gather up evidence of the crime and cleaning products stood nearby.
They stabbed the victim repeatedly and severed his head after he died, Worthy said. They used a blowtorch on his hands and feet to hide the identity of the victim, then wrapped the body in a tarp and took it to the vacant cul-de-sac in Northville Township where he was discovered. They set the body on fire there, according to Worthy.
They allegedly took the head and tossed it into the Rouge River, near the border of Dearborn Heights and Detroit in Hines Park.
Police discovered Sorenson’s identity through a fingerprint and then tracked down his vehicle, a red pick-up truck that had been abandoned at the Meijer’s store on Newburgh and Warren roads in Westland. Tips also led to the discovery of the severed head, according to Worthy.
Orlewicz is a senior at Canton High School. Letkemann attended the Wayne-Westland School District until 2004, when he left for an alternative school in Livonia.
Worthy said additional charges may be filed against other suspects in the case, but declined to comment further.
“There are other persons of interest out there,” she said. “There is no one else in custody at this time, but the investigation continues.”
“This is a horrific case,” said John Santomauro, director of Canton Public Safety. “We’re talking about 17-year-olds being charged. I think all of us are shocked by what we’ve seen.”
