Module III-Essay

Nimrit Sohal
Composition 106
Module III
November 24, 2008
“Thrill-Kill”
Throughout the year of 2008 there have been many events that occurred within the community. An event that had a big impact on my community, Canton Township, was the murder by a student from my high school. On November 7th, 2007 the people of Canton were shocked because it is known to be a pretty safe town.
This kill was known as a “Thrill Kill”, Jean Pierre Orlewicz and his friend Alexander James Letkemann, were suspected to be the murderers of a 26 year old man names Daniel Sorensen. This was not an ordinary murder it was more of a torture and something these teenagers did for fun. Orlewicz had lured Sorenson into his grandfather’s garage and stabbed him from behind, and then he went on to behead him with a saw. He tried to make the body unidentifiable by burning the finger tips and throwing the head separate from the body. The body was found on 7 mile road and Ridge in Northville, and a couple days later investigators found the head thrown in the Rouge River. (Detroit Free Press) This seemed so unreal, because of how gruesome it was. The students at school were in complete shock, and honestly it was a pretty scary situation.
I had known Orlewicz, and a lot of my friends were friends with him too. He didn’t seem to be that abnormal or someone that would do this type of crime. Although, after this incident I felt very unsafe at school, just like many other students did. The police had come to school in the middle of the school day to arrest Jean Pierre Orlewicz after they investigated the crime scene and he was a prime suspect. The trial was schedules for April 7th, 2008 where a jury of eight men and four women deliberated for over 10 hours over two days to find him guilty of first-degree murder, felony murder, and mutilation. “I am greatful 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. (FOX News)
Many students were concerned about their safety at school, and needed the support of teachers and counselors to get through this unbelievable and scary event, some students even began to blog about how they felt. Jean Pierre Orlewicz was someone who students spent 5 out of 7 days a week with not suspecting anything like what had occurred. I spoke with a friend that had spoken to Orlewicz the Friday before the crime was committed. She stated, “He was acting real weird in class that day, and before we got out I remember him saying have a good weekend I know I will. Then he winked and walked off. I thought it was so creepy for some reason but I never suspected anything, and then the day we got back to school I got this news.”(Mizsie Gonzoles) She said she felt very unsafe because she had been pretty good friends with him, they talked during class and other times through-out the day too. More to talk to counselors for support were the students who were good friends with Orlewicz. Several students were also called into court to testify during the hearing.
This incident brought the school and student together more. There was a little bit of fear in everyone’s eyes about how a kid that seemed so normal did something so horrific. For some reason this made the whole community feel like not such a safe place anymore.

Work-Cited
-Gonzales, Mizsie. E-mail interview. 21 Nov. 2008.
-Simon, Mallory. "Teen guilty of 'thrill kill' murder, beheading." 16 Apr. 2008. CNN Headline News. .
-"Michigan Teen Gets Life Sentence for 'Thrill Kill' Beheading." FOX News. 13 May 2008. .
-ThePoliticalCat, Ms. Manitoba, Friend of TPC, and Milagrito. "Crime: Jean-Pierre Orlewicz Sentenced." Weblog post. 13 May 2008. .