Jean Pierre Orlewicz was arrested on November 12, 2007, and charged with the November 7 murder and decapitation of Daniel Sorensen, 26, in the Detroit suburb of Canton, Michigan.
On April 16, 2008, Orlewicz was found guilty on all counts. Due to being charged with first-degree murder, Orlewicz faces mandatory life imprisonment. Orlewicz was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and an additional 10 years for mutilation of a corpse.
The Victim
Daniel Sorensen was a registered sex offender due to a misdemeanor criminal sexual conduct charge he received at age 17, but police say that his past had nothing to do with his killing. He allegedly owed Orlewicz a sum of money, and was in possession of Orlewicz's gun.
Co-Defendent
18-year-old Alexander Letkemann was also charged, but plead guilty to second-degree murder to avoid a first-degree murder conviction. In court testimony on April 9, Letkemann claimed that while he witnessed the murder, he only helped clean up afterwards, and had no part in the killing.
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
18-years-old at time of arrest, attended high-school as a senior
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Fact:
Sorensen was murdered in Orlewicz's grandfather's garage
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Fact:
Duo reportedly invited Sorensen to the house, and then stabbed him to death with a kitchen knife
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Fact:
Stabbed Sorenson 12 times, dismembered body
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Fact:
Sorenson was a listed sex offender
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Fact:
Orlewicz claimed self-defense
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Trial lasted 7 days
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New hearings could possibly grant him a new trial
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Fact:
Public and victim's family banned from 2009 hearings
