5 chilling details about Melissa Lamesch's murder

Melissa Lamesch was a 27-year-old Emergency medical technician, who was unconscious on the floor when her house in Mt. Morris, Illinois went into flames. It happened on November 25, 2020, right before the day of Thanksgiving. When firefighters from the Mount Morris Fire Protection District reached the scene, most of the evidence had already turned into ashes.

However, when the body of Melissa Lamesch was taken for autopsy, investigators found shocking results, behind the reason for Melissa's death. Originally, the authorities assumed asphyxiation from fire to be the reason, however, when the medical results came, it was found that Melissa had been murdered.

This terrifying incident behind the murder of Melissa Lamesch has been documented in a 48 Hours episode titled The Firefighter's Secret. The episode will premiere on Saturday, November 30, 2024, at 10 pm ET on CBS. The episode will be available to stream on Paramount+.

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5 key details behind Melissa Lamesch's murder

1) The fire in Mellisa's house was not an accident

Mellisa's house was intentionally set on fire (Image via Pexels)

After the fire, when investigators first reached the scene, they found Melissa's body near the oven by the kitchen. As per CBS' 48 Hours, initially, the authorities considered the fire to be a mishap. However, upon investigation, they found that none of the electric wirings in the house were faulty. Most importantly, both the oven and stove burners were shut off.

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2) Melissa Lamesch was not killed of Asphyxiation

Melissa did not die of suffocation from the smoke (Image via Pexels)

When Melissa's autopsy reports came, the investigators found that the victim's lungs were not filled with smoke. The amount of carbon monoxide found in her lungs was normal. However, as per a WIFR article, published on March 21, 2024, Forensic pathologists Dr. Mark Peters and Dr. Amanda Youmans found evidence of strangulation in the victim's body.

Both of the experts initiated their independent autopsies and found traces of

"Petechial hemorrhages on the victim’s face and neck, as well as bruising throughout her body."

As per Dr. Youmans, the hemorrhaging and contusions were the result of immense pressure from an outside source. This proved that Melissa Lamesch was already dead before the fire.

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3) Melissa Lamesch was pregnant when she was killed

Melissa was pregnant when she was murdered (Image via Pexels)

Melissa Lamesch was a 27-year-old young woman, who had been working at Trace Ambulance in Tinley Park, Illinois, since 2017. Reported on NBS Chicago, Melissa's family revealed that she was expecting a child, and had shifted from Oak Forrest to Mount Morris a few months back to stay closer to her family.

She was on maternity leave, at the time she was killed. Her brother Karl Lamesch described the incident to NBC Chicago on December 1, 2020. He stated:

“I got a phone call while I was at work from my dad," he added, “He called me up. He's like, 'The house is on fire. Please tell me you heard from Melissa today.' And I hadn't heard from her. We all just tried calling her like crazy.”

Karl said, that deep down he knew that his sister was gone. As per CBS, Melissa was just two days away from her due date.

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4) Melissa Lamesch was killed by the father of her unborn baby

Matthew Plote was a firefighter (Image via Pexels)

Melissa's boyfriend at that time was Matthew Plote, who was a firefighter paramedic working for the Carol Stream Fire District. According to Melissa's sister Cassie Baal, Matthew was not very happy when he received the news about the pregnancy. He tried to keep the news of Melissa's pregnancy a secret from the outside world.

Rob Schultz, the fire chief in the Carol Stream Fire District told CBS, that no one in the fire station knew about Matthew turning into a father. He added:

"We're here 24 hours a day," Schultz said. "It's a — just a normal, uh, course of being a firefighter … that you talk about your family, your personal life, and what's going on good, bad or indifferent."

Although Melissa agreed to take complete custody of the child, her partner Matthew was anxious and distressed about the news getting out.

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5) Matthew Plote was found guilty of the murder of Melissa and her unborn child

Matthew Plote was found guilty (Image via Pexels)

Upon interrogation initially, Matthew came out with a story saying he visited Melissa before the baby's birth to discuss their future financial plans. As per his story, Melissa was cooking lunch by the time he left, indicating that it may have caused the fire.

However, after fourteen long months of investigation, Mike Poel, from the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office, established to the jury that the smoke and burn patterns in the scene indicated that the fire was not an accident, but rather intentionally set by someone.

On March 9, 2022, Matthew Plote was arrested, and found guilty of the first-degree murder of Melissa Lamesch, her unborn child, and tampering with the evidence.

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To know more details about the murder of Melissa Lamesch, watch the 48 Hours episode titled The Firefighter's Secret premiering on November 30, 2024, at 10 pm ET on CBS.