A juror in the murder case of Dan Sorensen dismissed Thursday because he realized he knew the cousin of the defendant, J.P. Orlewicz.
The juror, who is a medical sales representative in the Metro Detroit area, said he has known Mark Orlewicz, an anesthetist, since high school.
Jean Pierre Orlewicz, 18, is on trial in Wayne County Circuit Court for the Nov. 7 slaying and mutilation of Daniel Sorensen.
On Wednesday, Alexander Letkemann, who pleaded guilty to second degree murder in the case, testified he watched Orlewicz kill Sorensen. The defense has claimed Orlewicz acted in self defense.
According to both sides, Orlewicz and Letkemann linked up with Sorenson, a bouncer with a reputation of being physical, in a plot to extort money from a teen who had recently come into an inheritance.
When the plot went awry, Sorensen pulled a gun on Orlewicz. Orlewicz then stabbed the Sorenson a dozen times, sawed off Sorensen's head, burned his fingertips with a torch, set fire to the torso after dumping it in a vacant lot and tossing the head into the Rouge River in Michigan.
Defense attorneys have said that Orlewicz killed Sorensen in self-defense.
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