Did an Illinois firefighter have a secret he was willing to kill for?

[ad_1] On Nov. 25, 2020, the day earlier than Thanksgiving, responders rushed to a home fireplace in Mt. Morris, Illinois. They found 27-year-old Melissa Lamesch inside, lifeless on the ground by the oven within the kitchen.

Initially, investigators had been unsure whether or not the hearth was intentional or unintended. However after taking a better look, they believed foul play was concerned and that the hearth was arson. They didn't discover any electrical points on the home and discovered that the oven and range burners had been all within the off place. The post-mortem carried out on Lamesch revealed no soot in her lungs and regular carbon monoxide ranges, however there have been indicators of strangulation. Investigators concluded that Lamesch was murdered earlier than the hearth began. However why would somebody wish to kill Melissa Lamesch?

"48 Hours" contributor Nikki Battiste studies on the case in "The Firefighter's Secret," airing Saturday, Nov. 30, at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Melissa Lamesch Pictures by Angel Studio

When the hearth occurred, Lamesch had been simply two days away from giving delivery to a child boy. She was a devoted EMT and was excited to turn out to be a father or mother. Nonetheless, investigators discovered there was somebody who was not as enthused – the expectant father of the infant, 33-year-old Matthew Plote, who was a firefighter-paramedic.

When Lamesch let Plote know she was carrying his child, she was shocked by his response, says Lamesch's sister, Cassie Baal. "Melissa thought he would need one thing to do with the infant. To that time, she thought he was a reasonably good man," Baal instructed "48 Hours." "She noticed a distinct aspect of him and that actually upset her."

Investigators discovered Plote saved the truth that he was going to turn out to be a dad a secret, together with from his dad and mom and his co-workers. Rob Schultz, fireplace chief on the Carol Stream Fireplace District the place Plote labored, defined to Battiste how uncommon it was for somebody to not discuss a giant life occasion on the firehouse. "We're right here 24 hours a day," Schultz mentioned. "It is a — only a regular, uh, course of being a firefighter … that you simply discuss your loved ones, your private life, and what is going on on good, dangerous or detached."

Matthew Plote Carol Stream Fireplace District

Though Plote appeared disinterested in changing into a father, Lamesch had sporadically saved in contact with him, even sending him sonograms. "Generally he would reply just a little bit, however she did not know actually the place he stood precisely," Baal mentioned.

Lamesch, although, was able to handle the infant on her personal, with the assistance of her household. Regardless of Lamesch not asking Plote for any kind of help, investigators imagine that as her due date drew nearer, Plote turned more and more involved that having a baby was going to change his life-style and that is why he had saved that child a secret.

"He was conserving a secret — the truth that he fathered a child within the hopes that the kid would not be born," Ogle County Assistant State's Lawyer Allison Huntley instructed Battiste.

The state started constructing a case in opposition to Plote. He was arrested on March 9, 2022, on expenses together with homicide, the intentional murder of an unborn little one and arson.

There was proof that Plote had been at Lamesch's home the day of the hearth – one thing Plote admitted when he spoke with investigators. "He instructed them the whole lot … about his presence there, he did not cover any of that," protection legal professional John Kopp instructed "48 Hours." He says his consumer went there to debate plans for being concerned within the child's life. "They mentioned their funds," Kopp mentioned. "After which Matt left as she was making some lunch."

Prosecutors suspected Plote was mendacity about Lamesch being alive when he left and that he set the home on fireplace to attempt to cowl his tracks. "I imagine from the very starting he was attempting to arrange a narrative that there was an unintended home fireplace, that she had been cooking one thing," mentioned Ogle County Assistant State's Lawyer Heather Kruse. "Which might clarify why her physique was discovered within the kitchen."

For Chief Schultz, the considered a firefighter inflicting hurt was unthinkable. "It would not chime with what a firefighter is," he instructed "48 Hours." "We put fires out. We do not begin fires. We assist individuals. We do not damage individuals."