Pregnant EMT Was Found Dead Amid House Fire: Was It Accidental, Arson or Murder?

12/30/2024 06:00 AM

The death of Melissa Lamesch is the focus of the upcoming episode of 'People Magazine Investigates,' airing Monday, Dec. 30, at 9/8c on ID

Melissa Lamesch was counting down the days.

It was Nov. 25, 2020, and the 27-year-old pregnant EMT was scheduled to be induced in two days.

She had recently moved to her father's modest ranch style house after she discovered she was pregnant with her son.

"We refinished all the [bedroom] walls," says her father Gus. "We set up everything for her to move back and had everything really, really nice in there. And we were excited for the baby to come."

On that day, she spoke to her sister Cassie for more than two hours before their conversation was interrupted by someone at Melissa's door.

Melissa got off the phone and told her sister she would call her back.

She never did — and the subsequent investigation is the subject of Monday's episode of People Magazine Investigates. Titled "Inferno of Lies," the episode airs Monday, Dec. 30, at 9/8c on ID. (An exclusive clip is shown below.)

"After I didn't hear from her, I sent her a Snapchat that I knew she would have to respond to me," says Cassie. "And I kept looking. I didn't think anything had happened at that point. Until I got the phone call."

It was around 4:30 p.m. when a woman called 911 to report that the Lamesch home was on fire.

The fire department quickly arrived and found the body of Melissa lying face down on the kitchen floor.

Authorities were quickly tasked with figuring out if the fire that gutted the family home was arson or accidental.

They also had to determine if Melissa died from smoke inhalation, a medical episode, or homicide.

Ultimately, authorities announced the fire had been intentionally set and Melissa had been strangled to death.

"That just all came as a shock," says Cassie.

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Authorities soon zeroed in on Matthew Plote, a firefighter and paramedic at the Carol Stream Fire Department.

Melissa and Plote first met around 2013 while they were both still in college. They became friends and started to meet up for casual sexual encounters.

Their relationship changed after she discovered she was pregnant.

Melissa told her family that Plote didn't want anything to do with having a child and that she would be raising her son on her own.

Related: Jury Finds Firefighter Killed Pregnant Girlfriend, Set House on Fire with Her Inside Just Days Before Due Date

"I thought Melissa was better off," says Cassie. "She was a strong woman. She could do it."

In March of 2022, more than a year after Melissa's death, Plote was arrested on charges including murder, the intentional homicide of an unborn child and arson.

During his March 2024 trial, prosecutors argued that Plote, who had been dating other women at the time, killed Melissa because he had no interest in becoming a father.

Plote, said authorities, admitted he stopped by Melissa's home that day but denied the killing.

He was found guilty on March 22 and later sentenced to life in prison.

Melissa, says Gus, would "do anything for anybody," he says. "She wanted a fairy tale ending. She's going to be missed forever."

People Magazine Investigates: Inferno of Lies airs Monday, Dec. 30, at 9/8c on ID.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.