Judge weighing re-trial for teen convicted in 'thrill kill'

Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News

Detroit -- A judge should decide this month whether to grant a new trial to a Plymouth Township teen convicted of stabbing and beheading an acquaintance.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce U. Morrow said today he will decide by Thanksgiving whether Jean Pierre Orlewicz deserves a new trial because psychiatric testimony about his past was excluded during the first trial.

No matter the ruling, the prosecutor and defense attorney have said they expect more appeals.

Orlewicz, now 19, was convicted and sent to prison for life without parole for laying a trap for Daniel Sorensen, 26, of River Rouge in Orlewicz's grandfather's Canton Township garage in November 2007. Tarps were spread on the floor; and knives, a hacksaw, a blow torch and cleaning supplies were standing ready.

The case gained national attention when Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy called it a "thrill killing."

But Orlewicz had claimed he killed Sorensen in self defense, and the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in April that Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry may have improperly barred testimony from a psychiatrist who had planned to tell about Orlewicz's past psychological problems.

Morrow has heard testimony and arguments at numerous hearings since spring. Lawyers made their final arguments today, with the defense claiming the information is essential and prosecutors saying it would have made no difference to a jury.

In the last trial, jurors heard Orlewicz and Sorensen engaged in schemes to extort money from other teens with threats of violence. Sorensen portrayed himself as a tough guy and possible mob enforcer in tales to others and on a personal Web site. Orlewicz testified at the trial that he killed Sorensen, but thought it was a matter of kill or be killed.

The psychiatrist prevented from testifying at the 2008 trial, Gerald Shiener of Birmingham, concluded Orlewicz had deep psychological reasons to fear Sorensen dating back to early childhood.

Shiener blamed Orlewicz's insecurity on his mother, Charlotte Orlewicz, concluding she had compulsive disorders. He said she verbally and physically abused her son.

Psychologist Charles Clark testified last month that his review of records and interviews with Orlewicz in prison showed he has superior intelligence. He was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder at age 8 or 9. But, Clark said, Orlewicz has no mental conditions that would prevent him from understanding his actions.

Sorensen was stabbed, beheaded and burned in an effort to obliterate his fingerprints. The torso was dumped in remote Northville Township and set ablaze. The head was tossed into the Rouge River.

A second teen testified he witnessed the slaying and advanced preparations after being asked by Orlewicz to help in exchange for forgiveness of a $100 debt. Alexander Letkemann, now 20, was sentenced to life after pleading guilty to second degree murder. Letkeman hasn't appealed his plea or sentence.

The Orlewicz family has said the hearing testimony from both their expert and the prosecution's revealed issues about their son's mental health they had hoped would have been exposed in the first trial.

dguthrie@detnews.com (313) 222-2548