Firefighter Kills Pregnant Girlfriend, Sets House On Fire To Hide Crime: Prosecutors

A 34-year-old Illinois man has been arrested and charged after allegedly killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child and then setting her home on fire to hide the crime, according to prosecutors.

Matthew Plote, of Malta, Illinois, is currently in custody and has been charged with first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child, residential arson, domestic battery and concealment of a homicidal death, Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock announced at a news conference Wednesday.

The charges stemmed from the death of Plote’s girlfriend, 27-year-old Melissa Lamesch, who was found dead at her home in the Illinois village of Mount Morris on Nov. 25, 2020, just two days before she was due to give birth, Law and Crime reported.

Authorities initially thought that Lamesch died due to asphyxiation caused by a house fire. However, Plote is now accused of strangling Lamesch and then torching her house to conceal the crime, WTVO reported.

Following a 14-month investigation into the incident, a grand jury indicted Plote Tuesday on 10 counts, including for the homicide of Lamesch’s unborn child.

Plote, whose Facebook page identifies him as “firefighter/EMT” at the Malta Fire Department (“entirely made up of volunteer members”), was arrested Wednesday without incident and appeared in Ogle County Court, according to prosecutors.

Plote and Lamesch, who was also an EMT, “were in a dating relationship,” said state’s attorney Rock.

Rock refused to comment when asked if Plote was the father of Lamesch’s baby.

Prosecutors also would not comment on a potential motive.

The victim’s brother, Karl Lamesch, said that while the charges against Plote are a relief for their family, they won’t bring his sister back.

“I just had this gut-wrenching feeling that something was wrong and I get this call from my dad,” Karl was quoted as saying by WTVO. “He says, ‘Have you heard from or seen Melissa?’ and I said, ‘No, I’ve been at work all day,’ and he tells me the house is on fire and no one has heard from her or seen her, and right then, I knew, it was just something in my gut, that she was gone and I couldn’t feel her.”

“She did so much good and helped COVID patients and I’m sure saved a lot of lives and it’s sad to think she doesn’t have one now,” Karl said.

Karl said Plote was the father of his sister’s unborn child.

Plote is currently housed at the Ogle County Jail with a $10 million bond.