Grim Findings at the Fire Scene (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Mt. Morris, Illinois – Firefighters battled a fierce house fire on Thanksgiving Eve 2020 and uncovered the strangled body of 27-year-old EMT Melissa Lamesch on her kitchen floor, just days before she was due to give birth.[1][2]
Grim Findings at the Fire Scene
Responders arrived at Lamesch’s home in the 200 block of South Hannah Avenue to heavy smoke and flames pouring from the structure. They located her remains near the oven amid the charred debris. An autopsy later revealed critical details: no soot in her lungs and normal carbon monoxide levels, signs she had died before the blaze began.[2] Petechial hemorrhaging around her neck pointed to strangulation as the cause of death. The unborn child, a boy named Barrett, also perished.[2]
Fire investigators ruled out accidental causes immediately. The oven and stove burners sat cold, with no electrical faults detected. Experts determined the fire started in cabinets above the stove, deeming it incendiary in nature.[1] This revelation shifted the case from tragedy to potential homicide.
A Complicated Affair Unravels
Lamesch and Matthew Plote had known each other for seven years, their relationship casual and intermittent since college days. Plote, a 33-year-old firefighter-paramedic with the Carol Stream Fire District, learned of the pregnancy early on. He urged her to terminate it, but she refused and grew excited about motherhood, supported by her family.[2]…