Alexander Letkemann

Background

Alexander Letkemann was 18 years old. He of Westland.

Jean Pierre Orlewicz was 17 years old at the time of the November 2007 killing of 26-year-old Daniel Sorensen. Orlewicz was of Plymouth Township. Orlewicz was a senior at Canton High School.

Daniel Sorensen was 26 years old and was a registered sex offender due to a statutory rape conviction at age 17 for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in 1998 in Illinois.

Letkemann played 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. Letkemann had also been due to graduate last spring.

Letkemann’s father was Peter Letkemann. Letkemann had a 13-year-old sister named Amanda Letkemann. Letkemann’s parents shared letters from a state detention center in Jackson.

Sorensen’s parents were James and Kimberly Sorensen.

Sorensen’s head was found nearly 15 miles away.

The offence

In November 2007, Alexander Letkemann and Jean Pierre Orlewicz killed Daniel Sorensen in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.

Prosecutors described the case as a “thrill killing” due to the gruesomeness of the crime and the apparent lack of serious motive. Prosecutors said the teens with no known record of violence lured Sorensen into the garage of Orlewicz’s 91-year-old grandfather.

Police and prosecutors said Sorensen died in the Canton Township garage of Orlewicz’s 91-year-old grandfather, William Orlewicz. Neighbors said he had dementia and had no idea about the butchery police claimed occurred inside.

Orlewicz repeatedly stabbed Sorensen in the back and slit his throat with a kitchen knife. Orlewicz retrieved a hacksaw and cut Sorensen’s head off with the saw. A blowtorch was used to burn Sorensen’s hands and feet to hide his identity.

Sorensen’s torso was stabbed 12 times. His hands and feet were burned with a blowtorch. Prosecutors said the torso was wrapped in tarps and placed in the bed of his 2001 Chevrolet S-10 pickup. The body was torched and his head was dumped into the Rouge River.

The charred body was found by a Northville Township utility crew Thursday morning in a secluded new subdivision near Maybury State Park. Sorensen’s severed head was found two days later in a section of Hines Park located in Dearborn Heights. Police said a tip led police to Sorensen’s head in the Helms Haven picnic area of Hines Park in Dearborn Heights.

Letkemann later led police to where he said Orlewicz threw the head into the Rouge River.

At the trial, Orlewicz admitted decapitating Sorensen with a hacksaw, burning his fingers with a blowtorch to remove fingerprints, dumping the body, setting it afire and tossing the head in the Rouge River.

Investigation

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy described the case as a “thrill kill.” She said the information came from one of the teens and perhaps another person, whom she did not identify.

Kym Worthy said: "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."

Canton Police Detective Ken Robinson testified during the pair’s arraignment in 34th District Court in Romulus. Robinson testified that Orlewicz drove the killing in the Canton Township garage and described the stabbing, throat slitting, and head cutting.

Police retrieved the evidence over the next few days.

Police and prosecutors declined to discuss the case at length until the pair’s preliminary examination Nov. 19 at 35th District Court in Plymouth.

Wayne County Circuit Court files indicated Michael D. Martin of Livonia took out a personal protection order against Sorensen in May. Martin 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.”

Martin claimed: "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."

Prosecutors and police acknowledged Sorensen owed Orlewicz a small sum of money but said that wasn’t a motive. Worthy also 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.

Los Angeles psychologist Michael L. Peck said a total lack of empathy and aggression are hallmarks of thrill killers. He also said horror movies and violent video games also can be contributing factors.

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

Police said there were three persons of interest in the case. Prosecutors said one of the teens and perhaps another person provided vital information, including the location of Sorensen’s head.

Arrest

Letkemann was in jail without bond while facing life in prison.

Letkemann was questioned by township police and released after he signed a statement attesting he was called to help lift the body from the garage. He was arrested after he returned to give more information.

Trial

Letkemann pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on April 1, 2008, and agreed to testify against Orlewicz.

Orlewicz was found guilty of all counts on April 16, 2008.

Orlewicz had testimony that Letkemann merely stood by and nervously played with his hair during the struggle to kill Sorensen. The jury didn’t believe Orlewicz’s testimony that he killed Sorensen in self-defense when the older man pulled a gun.

Orlewicz had said he and Sorensen planned to intimidate another teen into paying them some of the teen’s recent inheritance. Letkemann and others testified that Orlewicz had told them the extortion plot was a ruse to lure Sorensen into the death trap.

In a videotaped statement to police, Letkemann said Orlewicz killed Sorensen over a $400 debt. He also claimed that he was only there to help clean up after the murder that Orlewicz committed.

Sentencing

On April 23, 2008, Alexander Letkemann stood before Wayne Circuit Judge Annette J. Berry for sentencing in the death of a River Rouge man.

Judge Annette J. Berry asked: "Why?" she asked, demanding the 18-year-old's reason for agreeing to help in another teen's plan to stab, behead and burn 26-year-old Daniel Sorensen.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy called it a “thrill killing.”

Letkemann pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify in a deal to avoid the mandatory sentence of life in prison that Orlewicz would receive.

The judge sentenced Letkemann to a term recommended by prosecutors: 20-30 years behind bars.

The judge pressed Letkemann for answers on why he participated in the killing, why he didn’t stop it, and why he didn’t at least warn authorities about Orlewicz’s gruesome plans.

Letkemann told the judge: "I can't even find a reason for myself,"

The judge had received letters from Letkemann’s friends and family “painting a picture of a sweet, kind, young boy.”

The judge said: "You stood there and allowed a man's life to be taken," said the judge, adding her displeasure that others who testified that they knew of the plan or helped with cleaning up and moving the headless torso weren't charged. "Nobody says anything to stop this murder, and you have to live with that."

Letkemann answered, “That's right.”

Letkemann testified that Orlewicz lured Sorensen into a Canton Township garage, where a tarp was spread on the floor. Letkemann testified that knives, a hacksaw and a blowtorch were laid out to kill and hide the victim’s identity. Letkemann said he helped clean up and move the body to an empty lot in Northville Township. Letkemann later led police to where Orlewicz threw the head into the Rouge River.

Sorensen’s parents, James and Kimberly Sorensen, spoke Tuesday before sentencing about their loss and their forgiveness of Letkemann, and they said they will support parole for Letkemann if it is extended to him in 20 years.

James Sorensen said after sentencing: "I always felt Alex was manipulated by JP Orlewicz,"

Peter Letkemann said his son feels deep remorse, and he felt anything he might say in court would sound “lame.” Peter also said Letkemann told the judge that anything he might say would sound “fake.”

Letkemann’s lawyer, Raymond Cassar, told the judge his client was nervous in court and failed to tell her how he wakes every night wishing he had stopped the slaying.

Peter Letkemann said: "Alex always wanted a shot at redemption, and he had it," Peter Letkemann said. "The Sorensens are amazing in their forgiveness. It means a lot."

Appeals

Orlewicz was scheduled to be sentenced on May 12, 2008.

Outcome

Letkemann was sentenced to between 20 and 30 years in prison on April 23, 2008.

Orlewicz was convicted of first-degree murder and faced mandatory life in prison at his sentencing.

The plea deal allowed him to avoid life in prison in exchange for his testimony against Orlewicz.

Aftermath

Letters from prison: On May 6, 2008, it was reported that Letkemann agreed to help Jean Pierre Orlewicz murder a 26-year-old River Rouge man because he didn’t believe Orlewicz would go through with it.

In hand-written letters from a state detention center in Jackson, Letkemann told his father Peter that he wanted his last statement to the public to be of peace and love: "I want my last statement to the public to be of peace and love."

Letkemann wrote: "If I thought that any act of violence was really going to take place that day, I never would have agreed to go over there,"

He wrote: "The way the plan was discussed was in such a casual and joking context that it hardley seemed serious at all. I had been using mind altering drugs the entire week prior and had been drinking in excess the whole day before the incedent occurred. I, unlike, most people refuse to blame my actions on being intoxicated. However, it had a considerable influence over my thought-process and judment. I know that if I was sober and thinking clearly, there would have been an entirely different outcome. It all started with a debt"

Peter Letkemann said he didn’t know how bad or how fast his son’s drinking and drug use had spiraled, and within a few weeks his son had gone from a typical teenager dabbling in marijuana and alcohol to a person who had progressed to heavy drugs and heavy drinking.

Peter Letkemann said: "This turn for the worse happened just a few weeks before the murder. Looking back on it, Alex shakes his head now because it doesn't make a lot of sense,"

He said: "He's absolutely determined to make the most of this."

Letkemann wrote: "The plan, like I said, never sounded remotley serious and I figured it wouldn't happen but I might get my debt relieved anyways. It sounds rediculous, but between debt, a drug habit, and the most extreme lack of judment -- I said I would help."

Letkemann wrote: "I never would have agreed to go over there,"

In the letters, Letkemann explained his reasonings in relation to his role in the beheading and his agreement to help.

He was arrested after he returned to give more information because he was trying to help authorities and was afraid Orlewicz would kill again.

Peter Letkemann said: "J.P. had said a couple of things that really got Alex scared -- that he wouldn't make those mistakes next time," Peter Letkemann said. "It got Alex thinking 'He's going to do this again.' If Alex had gone to trial, a lot of this would have come out."

On April 29, a letter described Letkemann’s transfer to the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson. It said he was being evaluated at the facility and would then be transferred to a permanent prison after undergoing personality, health and intelligence tests.

Letkemann’s letter to his parents began: "Hey Mom and Dad"

He wrote about his first day leaving jail, getting fingerprinted at prison, and getting new prison clothes. The letter included details about clothing and his prison number: "Oh yeah, my number is 685 which of course adds up to 19 (wierd). We have new pants and shirts that actually fit because, get this they had a tailor go around and ask sizes. It blew me away. They arranged to have my court clothes and mail bag sent home to you guys too. It's been so long since an institution actually cared."

He wrote: " ... They gave us blankets and a pillow. We had an orientation -- this whole day had this very strange 'first day of school' feeling to it,"

He wrote: "When we were walking out side, everyone was getting excited and joking with each other. I can't express how happy I am that this place isn't awful, I half expected it to be. Right now its quiet and I was relaxing after a dinner of real chicken noodle soup. No one has given me a hard time -- in fact quite the opposite."

He asked about his 15-year-old sister, Amanda, requested Beatles pictures, Lord of the Rings books, and asked for anything by Jack Kerouac. He wrote: "a book on meditating would be cool."