There’s an old axiom that says that confession is good for the soul, which may be why one of the teens accused in the beheading case in 2007 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Eighteen year old Alexander Letkemann is facing 20-30 years in prison for his role in the stabbing, burning and beheading of Daniel Sorensen, a 26 year old man from River Rouge late last year. As part of the plea deal he made, first-degree murder charges have been dropped and Letkemann is to be sentenced on April 23, 2008.


At this point it's unclear whether Letkemann will testify against his codefendant, 18 year old Jean Pierre Orlewicz, who is set to go to trial on a first-degree murder charge Monday in Wayne County Circuit Court.


Background of the “Thrill Kill”


The beheaded body of Daniel Sorensen was found burning in a cul-de-sac, in a suburban Detroit neighborhood early one morning. Neighbors who saw the small fire contacted authorities and township sewer and water department team found the body that Michigan State Police Officers were later able to identify through a fingerprint taken from his burned hand.


The print also revealed that Sorensen had been a registered sex offender in Illinois. The criminal sexual conduct charge stemmed from a relationship the younger Sorenson had had with an underage girl.


Two teenage boys, Jean Pierre Orlewicz from Plymouth Township, and Alexander James Letkemann from Westland, were charged with one count each of first degree homicide, felony murder, and mutilation of a corpse.


Daniel Sorensen was lured to Orlewicz's grandfather's home so that Orlewicz could kill him. Orlewicz attacked Sorensen from behind, cut his throat, and stabbed him multiple times in the back. He was beheaded with a hacksaw, and burnt to cover his prints.


Letkemann said Orlewicz stripped Sorensen to his underwear and cut his head off with a saw. He said he helped load the body into a truck only to clear a $100 debt to Orlewicz.


Letkemann wrote an eight-page statement to police and gave a videotaped statement, which was played during a daylong preliminary examination in November.