DETROIT – A jury has convicted an 18-year-old man of killing another man, then beheading him and torching the body in what prosecutors called a thrill killing.
Jean Pierre Orlewicz of Plymouth, Mich., was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 7 slaying of Daniel Sorensen, 26, of River Rouge in Wayne County's Canton Township. The jury convicted Orlewicz on Wednesday, a day after starting deliberations.
The conviction carries a mandatory punishment of life in prison without parole.
The defense had argued in Wayne County Circuit Court that the Orlewicz killed the much larger Sorensen in self-defense and mutilated the body because he feared reprisal by organized crime figures.
But prosecutors say Orlewicz carefully planned the killing.
Orlewicz testified he stabbed Sorenson after the 280-pound bar bouncer pointed a gun at him and friend Alexander Letkemann.
Letkemann, 18, of Westland, Mich., testified against Orlewicz last week after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder.
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