On Nov. 25, 2020, the day before Thanksgiving, responders rushed to a house fire in Mt. Morris, Illinois. They discovered 27-year-old Melissa Lamesch inside, dead on the floor by the oven in the kitchen.
Initially, investigators were uncertain whether the fire was intentional or accidental. But after taking a closer look, they believed foul play was involved and that the fire was arson. They did not find any electrical issues at the house and learned that the oven and stove burners were all in the off position. The autopsy performed on Lamesch revealed no soot in her lungs and normal carbon monoxide levels, but there were signs of strangulation. Investigators concluded that Lamesch was murdered before the fire started. But why would someone want to kill Melissa Lamesch?
“48 Hours” contributor Nikki Battiste reports on the case in “The Firefighter’s Secret.” An encore of the episode airs Saturday, Jan. 31 at 9/8c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
When the fire occurred, Lamesch had been just two days away from giving birth to a baby boy. She was a dedicated EMT and was excited to become a parent. However, investigators learned there was someone who was not as enthused – the expectant father of the baby, 33-year-old Matthew Plote, who was a firefighter-paramedic…