The teen accused of beheading and mutilating a man in an alleged murder plot that has been described by Wayne County's prosecutor as a "thrill killing" was only acting in self-defense, according to his lawyer.
Jean Pierre Orlewicz, 18, never planned or even intended to kill Daniel Sorensen, but the 26-year-old bouncer from River Rouge pulled a gun on Orlewicz who fought back, his defense attorney told jurors today at the opening of the trial in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Panic followed Sorensen's death from a dozen stab wounds on Nov. 7, the lawyer said: The sawing off of his head with a hacksaw, burning his fingertips with a blowtorch in an effort to make him unidentifiable, calling a friend to help clean the murder scene, setting fire to the torso and dumping it in a vacant lot and tossing the severed head into the Rouge River.
Teen lifestyles of today -- its music, movies, video games and the Internet -- all contributed to the decision to hide the body instead of calling police, defense lawyer Joseph Niskar told the jury of 10 men and four women.
But Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran said statements and the expected testimony of Orlewicz's co-defendant, Alexander Letkemann, 18, of Westland, and others will show Sorensen was lured into a well-planned death trap.
Moran said the weekend before Sorensen's death, Orlewicz told friends who will testify at the trial, "I wish I could get away with murder," and, "I don't like Dan. Maybe I should just kill him."
Letkemann, who told detectives that Orlewicz jumped the larger man from behind and slit his throat, pleaded guilty on April 1 to a reduced charge of second degree murder. The plea-bargain to testify against Orlewicz could get Letkemann out of prison after 20 to 30 years. Letkemann had faced the same charges of first degree murder and disinterment and mutilation of a corpse as Orlewicz and the same possible sentence of life without parole.
According to both sides, the two teens had linked with the older man in a strong-arm plot to extort money from another teen who had recently come into an inheritance. Sorensen, who has a criminal record and a self-promoted reputation for violence, had told friends about a plan to get about $3,000 in concert with his friend "JP."
The prosecution claimed Monday that the extortion target was a ruse to lure Sorensen to his death.
According to the defense, Sorensen got angry at Orlewicz and Letkemann when the extortion target failed to show for the meeting in Orlewicz's grandfather's Canton Township garage. The place had been prepared with windows covered, tarps spread on the floor and knives, a saw and cleaning materials ready.
"We are hearing some of these statements for the first time today," Niskar told jurors about his client who has remained silent since two days after Sorensen's death when police searched the room in his parent's upscale Plymouth Township home and found the victim's .38 caliber revolver.
Orlewicz also faces a charge of felony murder because it is alleged he told Sorensen to bring his gun to the meeting, and then stole it during the commission of the slaying.
Niskar accused the prosecution of wearing blinders to the truth and "flexing their charging muscles" in singling out Orlewicz while offering deals that have convinced the others to "change their stories."
"You are here because the prosecutor is able to craft and direct the evidence any way they feel fit," Niskar said.
Moran warned jurors that Letkemann, "will give you the inside version of the plan It's not going to be pleasant testimony. It's going to be gruesome and disgusting."
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