Teen convicted in beheading gets sentenced
DETROIT (AP) - May 12, 2008 Jean Pierre Orlewicz, 18, didn't speak before being sentenced to
the mandatory term.
"I am grateful that you are going away for the rest of your
life, because in my view I believe you will kill again," Wayne
County Circuit Court Judge Annette Berry said.
Orlewicz was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the
Nov. 7 slaying of Daniel Sorensen, 26, in Canton Township.
Sorensen's father, James Sorensen, called the killing "the
ultimate act of cowardice." As James Sorensen choked back tears,
he told the court: "My son was a victim of a person seeking a
trophy."
The defense had argued that Orlewicz killed the much larger
Sorensen in self defense and mutilated the body because he feared
reprisal by organized crime figures.
Orlewicz's lawyer, James Thomas, said will appeal the conviction
and instructed Orlewicz not to speak Monday because of the appeal.
"We had a different view of this trial," Thomas said. "It was
a hard-fought case."
