Kriti Mehrotra
When 27-year-old Melissa Lamesch was found dead inside the kitchen of her burning home in Mt. Morris, Illinois, on November 25, 2020, it left the entire community shell-shocked. She was actually just two days away from giving birth to her first child as firefighters responded to the 911 call for her address, as profiled in CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Firefighter’s Secret,’ unaware of the chaos they would find. After all, they were initially unsure if the blaze was accidental or not, but once her autopsy revealed signs of strangulation and investigations pointed towards foul play, it was ascertained that her killer was Matthew Plote.
Matthew Plote and Melissa Lamesch Were Once Casually Involved
It was around 2013 when Matthew Plote first encountered Melissa Lamesch while they were both attending college, only for them to develop a rather tight-knit friendship despite their 6-year age difference. However, over time, their friendship evolved into a mutual casual relationship of sorts so as to help them satisfy their needs without any attached strings or exclusive romantic expectations. This was working great for them, that is, until she unexpectedly fell pregnant in early 2020 – according to reports, she was excited for this new chapter despite it being so sudden, but he was admittedly far from ready.
As per reports, not only did Matthew and Melissa’s connection fizzle out following the pregnancy, but they also found themselves at odds because he allegedly wanted her to get an abortion. The young woman didn’t want to go down that path and was happy to raise the baby by herself, albeit with the help of her family, and she hoped he would one day come around to at least be a little involved. With this desire, she sporadically texted him with updates or sonograms even after he had ghosted her. Yet, the most significant aspect of this entire ordeal remains that he kept her pregnancy a secret. The firefighter-paramedic did not tell anyone in his life that he was about to become a father, not even his best friends or parents, let alone those at his workplace.
Then came the fateful day of November 25, 2020, when both Melissa and her unborn child died. In the aftermath of the fire, detectives had questioned Matthew almost immediately, and he openly admitted that he had indeed gone to visit her that morning. According to his statements, with her due date coming up, he wanted to discuss their finances for the future and show that he wanted to be involved in their child’s life. He then claimed he left in the afternoon while his baby mama was talking about preparing lunch. Per the timeline, it was not long after that there was the fire, but as investigations continued, it became evident that it was actually arson. Not only were there no electrical issues, but the stove burners were also all off. So, with Matthew being the last person to see her alive and him keeping her pregnancy a secret, he quickly became the primary suspect.
Matthew Plote Has Since Been Convicted and Sentenced For Murder
Matthew was interviewed several times throughout the course of the official investigations, with him remaining rather emotionless throughout and even making some strange statements. During one of his first interrogations, he said there was a “deadline” to pregnancies and that he went to see Melissa before it because he wanted to contribute to the life of their unborn child. Both parts of this seemed odd to officials since not only was the phrasing weird, but he had also shown no signs of wanting to be involved previously. That’s when they hypothesized he likely killed her because he didn’t want to be a father and have his life change in any way, shape, or form. They even openly accused him of this in a 7-hour interview session on August 28, 2021, but he remained calm and quiet throughout – he did not even comment on the allegations, let alone outrightly refute them.
However, it wasn’t until March 9, 2022, that Matthew was arrested on charges of murder, the intentional homicide of an unborn child, and arson. This is because the investigators were awaiting the fire marshal’s formal report as well as forensic analysis. While the former confirmed “the fire cause is most likely incendiary in nature, possibly the result of a fire being intentionally set in an effort to conceal a potential homicide,” the latter gave them the evidence they needed – Matthew’s DNA was underneath Melissa’s fingernails. Following this, the former firefighter-paramedic pleaded not guilty and was held on a $10 million bond, which was later reduced to $500,000.
Matthew’s trial for the charges against him commenced on March 18, 2024, more than three years after Melissa and her unborn child’s deaths. The prosecution painted a picture of him taking matters into his own hands because he didn’t want to be a father, even though he had the option not to be involved in his child’s life. They even played the tapes of his interrogation, wherein he never once denied murdering Melissa or killing their unborn child. With this, after a week of testimonies and 2 hours of jury deliberations, Matthew was found guilty of all counts. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder, with an additional 60 years for intentional homicide as well as 15 years for arson, on June 27, 2024. Therefore, today, at the age of 38, he remains incarcerated at the maximum-security Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois.
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