Illinois firefighter accused of staging a house fire to cover up a murder — and a secret

Before the fire that set Melissa Lamesch‘s home ablaze on Nov. 25, 2020, the day had started with excited anticipation. Melissa was due to give birth to a baby boy in just two days, and Thanksgiving was a day away.

Cassie Baal: She was gonna have a nice private Thanksgiving with dad. So, I gave her a call the morning of the 25th and we talked for about two-and-a-half hours.

Cassie Baal and her sister Melissa had lots to chat about.

Cassie Baal: We talked a lot about the future. We talked about what was gonna come with the baby. … The conversation ended because she looked outside the window. … She said, “you gotta be kidding me.”… She’s like, “he’s freaking here again. I told him he’s gotta stop doing this.”

At the door was 33-year-old Matthew Plote, the expectant father of Melissa’s baby.

Cassie Baal: She said … “I’ll tell you what he wanted. I’ll give you a call right back, bye.” Hung up.

Nikki Battiste | “48 Hours” contributor: Did she ever call back?

Cassie Baal: No, my sister never called back.

Melissa Lamesch and Matthew Plote met and became friends seven years earlier, while each was in college. They maintained a casual relationship. The friendship, says the Lamesch family, cooled off once Melissa let Plote know about the pregnancy. Melissa told her family he did not share her interest in becoming a parent.

Cassie Baal: He wanted her to get an abortion. She didn’t want that. He blamed her, ghosted her. … It did come to … upset Melissa because they were friends for so long.

Nikki Battiste: She thought he’d at least wanna — be involved a little bit?

Cassie Baal: Yes. Melissa thought that he would want something to do with the baby. To that point, she thought he was a pretty nice guy. … then she saw a different side of him and that really upset her.

MELISSA LAMESCH LOOKS FORWARD TO BECOMING A MOTHER

Deanna and Gus Lamesch were fully prepared to help their daughter with whatever she needed for the baby.

Deanna Lamesch: I had said, if he doesn’t wanna be a part of the baby’s life, you know, don’t push, the baby is your child.

Gus Lamesch: I told her, whatever you needed, I’ll help you financially.

Deanna Lamesch: She knew she had plenty of family support. Everything would have been fine.

The Lamesch family was a large one. Melissa had four siblings, she was already an aunt, and was known for following her own path.

Cassie Baal: Melissa was … unapologetically herself, and that is what she was. … She’s a perfect mix of sugar and spice. … Not too spicy, not too sugary, it was just perfect.

Deanna Lamesch: Melissa was strong. She was fierce. She was a go-getter.

Melissa liked to reinvent herself — through hairstyles — and careers. Most recently, the 27-year-old had been working as an EMT.

Gus Lamesch: Melissa kind of fell into the line of work. She had an experience in college that that took her to an emergency room. … And … she really appreciated how she was treated and she wanted to do the same for other people.

Nikki Battiste: You were proud?

Gus Lamesch: Yes. … That was her job and she took it seriously.

As her due date neared, Melissa had to stop working. To make things easier, she moved into her childhood home with her dad. Her parents had divorced several years earlier. Melissa grew increasingly excited about becoming a mom, even though she and Plote had little contact.

Cassie Baal: Melissa would continue to send him like, sonograms or things would happen … sometimes he would respond a little bit, but she didn’t know really where he stood exactly. But … Melissa wanted her baby to have the option of having the mother and the father … so she kept the communication with him. He often shut down.

Plote wasn’t just shutting out Melissa. He kept the fact that he was going to be a father a secret — including from his coworkers and Chief Rob Schultz at the Carol Stream Fire District, several counties away from Melissa’s home.

Chief Rob Schultz: We’re here 24 hours a day. And … 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. … I knew Matt as … a single guy … that didn’t have any kids.

Even Plote’s own parents did not know about the pregnancy — until Melissa told them.

Cassie Baal: Melissa wanted them to have the opportunity to be part of their grandchild’s life.

Nikki Battiste: How did Melissa say his parents responded to the news of a grandson?

Cassie Baal: Melissa said that his parents were very nice, that, um, they said, let me know what you need, I’ll help you any way we can.

Nikki Battiste: How did Matthew find out that Melissa had told his parents they were having a baby?

Deanna Lamesch: I believe that the parents then approached him … but it was not long after that that she had said “he’s mad I told them.”

Nikki Battiste: Because he had kept it a secret?

Deanna Lamesch: Yes.

Melissa celebrated the upcoming birth with family and friends at a baby shower. She had let everyone know she was having a boy. It was a happy time — until nearly two months later, on that fateful Thanksgiving eve.

Deanna Lamesch: It was just all so surreal.

While Melissa’s family tried to process their loss, investigators were hoping to provide them with answers about what had happened.

Lt. Brian Ketter: The fire debris is everywhere.

Brian Ketter, then the lead detective at the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, headed to the kitchen, where Melissa had been found.

Lt. Brian Ketter: Everything’s covered in smoke. … Ceilings, walls, have fallen down and everything’s a mess.

Ketter and other investigators also headed outside, to an ambulance, to view Melissa.

Lt. Brian Ketter: We … noticed that she didn’t have a whole lot of fire damage to her.

Nikki Battiste: What does that say?

Lt. Brian Ketter: That the fire didn’t kill her.

WHAT CAUSED THE FIRE?

Michael Poel, then a special agent with the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office, was trying to establish whether the fire at Melissa’s Lamesch’s home was accidental or intentionally set.

Michael Poel: We needed to identify the area of fire origin and what may have caused that fire.

Nikki Battiste (looking at photos): What are you looking for?

Michael Poel: Where the greatest damage is at, where the fire patterns are at. … We’re looking at everything and everything in this picture that may have something to do with the origin of the fire.

Nikki Battiste: Where do you think the fire started?

Michael Poel: Uh, I believe the fires over here. Actually it’s in these cabinets — where these cabinets used to be above the stove area.

But when Poel examined the stove, thinking that perhaps cooking flames caused the cabinets to catch fire, he saw that neither the oven nor the burners had been turned on.

Michael Poel: All the controls are in the off position and there is no fire damage in the interior of this oven to show that this was some type of cooking fire.

Poel also did not find any electrical issues.

Michael Poel: So, we’re starting to run out of accidental causes … And we could identify at least three very simple and easy ways to exit this residence.

Much of the house, besides the kitchen, remained accessible, so Poel thought Melissa could have found a way out.

Michael Poel: It was what I would call a survivable fire. … This young lady was a paramedic. She is used to dealing with emergencies. … For her to totally lose her perspective and stand there and try and fight that fire. … When you start putting all these things together, you start coming up with, OK, this makes no sense.

While Poel was inspecting the house, investigators talked with the Lamesch family. Ketter learned about the phone call that day between Melissa and Baal, that Melissa ended when Plote arrived at the house.

Lt. Brian Ketter: We learned from the family that he … was a fireman.

Melissa’s brother Karl Lamesch told investigators he had already spoken on the phone to Plote, telling him he knew he had been at the house that day. Karl Lamesch also told Plote about the fire, and that someone had died, but not that it was Melissa. Investigators did that when they asked Plote to come in for an interview that evening.

DEPUTY: Melissa is deceased.

MATTHEW PLOTE: Oh. OK

Nikki Battiste: As you watched his interview, what did you think about his demeanor, his responses?

Lt. Brian Ketter: Emotionless. Very soft spoken. … Matthew said he went … to talk to Melissa. He wanted to talk about money … about being allowed at the hospital when she was set to be induced in two days. And that’s why he was there.

In that interview, Plote made a reference to a deadline when explaining his decision to go to the house that day: 

MATTHEW PLOTE: I mean, there’s a deadline for — for that. So, we were trying to —

DEPUTY: A deadline for what?

MATTHEW PLOTE: For pregnancy there’s a deadline.

It was a phrase that investigators didn’t quite know how to interpret.

Nikki Battiste: Was Matthew, a suspect at that point?

Lt. Brian Ketter: No, He was not a suspect.

Nikki Battiste: What are the next steps in the investigation?

Lt. Brian Ketter: We need to determine the cause of death. We don’t know if — if Melissa had a medical episode or … if somebody did something to her or if the carbon monoxide from the fire killed her, we don’t know.

To get those answers, two autopsies would be performed: one, two days after Melissa’s death, and then another, about two weeks later while lab work was completed. The results: normal carbon monoxide levels, and no soot was found in her system. What was found was evidence of strangulation, including hemorrhages around her neck. Melissa, it was determined, had been murdered.

Deanna Lamesch: We have to plan a funeral and while we were still waiting for things, it was nearly three weeks.

On Dec. 14, 2020, the Lamesch family held a funeral for Melissa and her unborn baby, whom Melissa was going to name Barrett.

Deanna Lamesch: We didn’t get to kiss his forehead, touch his cheek. The first time we got any kind of contact, they were in a casket. And the first time I touched his hand. … I just remember gasping, just (gasps) … and I decided I was going to keep holding his hand, something Melissa didn’t get to do.

Melissa’s family was convinced that Matthew Plote was responsible for their profound grief — that he killed Melissa, simply because he did not want to become a father. Plote, investigators would learn, had been juggling multiple women in his life.

Gus Lamesch: I believe he did it because he’s selfish and it was gonna change his life, having a child.

Nikki Battiste: Melissa wasn’t asking him for anything, no money, nothing. He could have walked away. So why?

Cassie Baal: I think it was his pride. … He wanted to keep it a secret.

With no other suspects, and with Plote admitting to being at Melissa’s home that day, investigators were also circling in on Plote, but were still gathering evidence.

Lt. Brian Ketter: We had collected DNA evidence at the autopsy and we sent that to the crime lab. We had gotten search warrants for phone records. We were in the process of getting that information back.

They were also waiting to get information back from Amazon, about possible recordings from an Echo Dot that Ketter had noticed and was retrieved from the fire damaged kitchen.

Lt. Brian Ketter: We were hoping it would record conversations or … something from the day … between the two of them.

Nikki Battiste: That Amazon Echo Dot could turn this case around.

Lt. Brian Ketter: Could have — it could have recorded Melissa screaming for help, yelling out his name. … We didn’t know what it would be.

QUESTIONING MATTHEW PLOTE

When Carol Stream Fire Chief Rob Schultz returned the call, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Chief Rob Schultz: I was contacted by our police chief …  to give him a call immediately that he had something very important, sensitive to talk about. … One of our firefighters was being investigated .. as a suspect in a murder that occurred … about two hours from our fire district’s boundaries.

It was now nine months since Melissa Lamesch’s death in a house fire that had sent shockwaves through the community in Mt. Morris where her home was located. But firefighters where Matthew Plote worked in Carol Stream, about 75 miles away, were unaware of the fire. Plote had said nothing.

Nikki Battiste: When you heard the name Matthew Plote in that call, what did you think?

Chief Rob Schultz: I was you know … there is no way this could be Matt …they have something wrong here.

But that disbelief started to change when Chief Schultz checked to see if Plote worked the day of fire and learned he had called out sick.

Chief Rob Schultz: The knot in my stomach, like literally wanted to throw up.

The fire chief’s sinking feeling only got worse when he learned that investigators believed Plote killed Melissa and their unborn child because he did not want to be a father — and then set the house on fire in hopes of destroying evidence.

Chief Rob Schultz: We had placed Matt immediately on paid administrative leave. … When I called Matt in to — to tell him I just said … “I’m being told that you’re under investigation for a murder of … your estranged girlfriend and the baby that you’re a father of.”

Nikki Battiste: Did you ask him why he hadn’t mentioned it?

Chief Rob Schultz: Didn’t feel that it was, uh, something that he wanted to talk about and … he felt it was a personal matter and didn’t want to disclose it.

While on leave, on Aug. 28, 2021, Plote was called in again for questioning. (BRIAN KETTER 209.01/00:11 My name is Brian. I’m a lieutenant with the sheriff’s office.)  Plote willingly appeared without an attorney.

MATTHEW PLOTE (Sheriff’s Office interview): I wanted to contribute to the — in the life of our child.

Over the course of the seven-hour interview, he explained to investigators why he was at Melissa’s the day of the fire.

MATTHEW PLOTE (Sheriff’s Office interview): So, we talked about, you know, what I could pay her and that we’d — we just said we’d work it out later to visiting.

He said when he left that afternoon, Melissa was talking about making lunch.

MATTHEW PLOTE (Sheriff’s Office interview): She talked about cooking some food or something, but I — I didn’t stay around.

Most of the seven hours was filled with investigators asking questions and Plote saying very little.

LT. BRIAN KETTER (to Plote): So, did you go there to kill her, or did you just go there to talk to her and something happened?

Lt. Brian Ketter: We kept … accusing him of things … and he never said I didn’t do it. … He never said you guys got the wrong person. … He was just emotionless and he wouldn’t communicate. … Not once in seven hours, not once did he get upset. … Most people would’ve told us … I’m done, but he just sat and listened to us.

Nikki Battiste: Had you ever experienced an interview … like that before?

Brian Ketter: Never.

It wasn’t just the lack of communication that made Ketter think Plote was guilty, but on the rare times Plote did talk, the unusual way he phrased things.

LT. BRIAN KETTER Did you intend to kill her?

MATTHEW PLOTE: I had no intention of hurting Melissa.

Lt. Brian Ketter: During that seven-hour interview, at one point, Matthew did say ” I had no intentions of hurting Melissa.”

Nikki Battiste: Did that make you do a double take?

Lt. Brian Ketter: Yes. ‘Cause in our opinion, that means I hurt Melissa, but I didn’t intend to do it.

But it was not an admission of guilt, so Ketter wanted to see if Plote would say anything more and made an unusual request of Fire Chief Schultz.

Lt. Brian Ketter: We asked Chief Schultz if he would wear a … listening device. So that he would have a conversation with Matthew, we would be able to hear it and record it and try to gain some evidence that way.

Chief Rob Schultz: When Brian asks this of me, I’m pretty taken aback … And initially I said, “no way,” and I did some thinking about it and called him back and said “yes.”

Nikki Battiste: You have a lot of responsibilities as a fire chief, but I can’t imagine you ever thought wearing a wiretap would be one of them.

Chief Rob Schultz: No. … and I don’t freely talk about it … It’s not something that I’m proud of. It was something that needed to be done in the hopes of helping the investigation. … There’s a grieving family out there that’s looking for answers.

So, on Sept. 9, 2021, Chief Schultz called Matthew Plote and asked him to come in to talk.

Chief Rob Schultz: And he agreed. He says,” I’d like to come talk to you.”

Plote came in later that day. The fire station was quickly cleared of all other personnel, and Ketter and other investigators headed over. They were able to place a device that just recorded audio on a phone on Fire Chief’s Schultz’ desk and listened in from outside the fire station and from an adjoining office.

Nikki Battiste: How were you feeling?

Chief Rob Schultz: Nervous. Very nervous. A bit scared.

Schultz tried to learn what happened to Melissa, by appealing to Plote on a personal level.

ROB SCHULTZ (to Plote): I’m trying to find answers and I’m trying to help you. … Help me — help me — walk through — I mean, what — what happened?

But the nearly two-hour conversation yielded very little info from Plote, with him again barely speaking about the day Melissa died.

Chief Rob Schultz: I remember saying … “fill in all the blanks for me.” … And “isn’t it odd that no one here knows that you’re going to be a father.” Like that’s — that’s something we celebrate here.

Nikki Battiste: What did he say?

Chief Rob Schultz: Nothing. … Uh, head was down, uh, a lot of the conversation.

Nikki Battiste: Did he ever say I didn’t kill Melissa and my baby?

Chief Rob Schultz: He did not.

With none of the interviews resulting in a confession, there was still no arrest — something that exasperated the Lamesch family.

Gus Lamesch: It was excruciating. And, I mean, we were pestering the police constantly.

There were several reasons for the delay. There was the wait for the fire marshal’s report — which concluded that “the fire cause is most likely incendiary in nature, possibly the result of a fire being intentionally set in an effort to conceal a potential homicide.” And getting information from Amazon on whether Plote’s voice was recorded on that Echo Dot they retrieved from the kitchen took time.

Lt. Brian Ketter: It did reveal voices, but nothing that proved helpful for our case. … It wasn’t even on the day of the murder.

Investigators had also waited to obtain Plote’s DNA until after the August 2021 interview, hoping he would first confess to killing Melissa.

Lt. Brian Ketter: We got the results back saying … that it was his DNA … under her fingernails.

On March 9, 2022, after a year-and-a-half of investigating Melissa Lamesch’s death, Matthew Plote was arrested on charges including murder, the intentional homicide of an unborn child and arson.

John Kopp: The motive that the State painted, was … just an inaccurate portrayal of Matt. By the time of Matthew Plote’s arrest, he had hired attorney John Kopp.

John Kopp: They painted him to be this monster that … at the drop of a hat, after a career of saving people, decided to suddenly start killing people.

John Kopp: The evidence doesn’t show that Matthew Plote murdered Melissa Lamesch or their unborn child.

MATTHEW PLOTE ON TRIAL

Allison Huntley: Melissa Lamesch was loved. … This is not someone who had enemies lined up around the block who wanted to see her deceased. Rather, there was one person and one person only … and that was Matthew Plote.

Assistant State’s Attorneys Allison Huntley and Heather Kruse were part of the team prosecuting Matthew Plote.

Heather Kruse: All signs pointed toward Matthew Plote from the very beginning.

John Kopp: What we wanted to portray to the jury is that he was a — a guy …  saving lives for his entire career.

Defense attorneys John Kopp and Liam Dixon say their client was misunderstood — and as a firefighter, was a responsible person, not a murderer.

John Kopp: Matt’s plan was to financially support her. He had offered her money before. … His plan was to be there.

Plote pleaded not guilty to all charges. On March 18, 2024, more than three years since Melissa’s murder, his trial began in Ogle County, Illinois. The prosecution argued that Plote murdered Melissa and their unborn child because he didn’t want to be a father.

Allison Huntley : He was keeping a secret — the fact that he fathered a baby — in the hopes that the child wouldn’t be born.

The defense told the jury there’s no evidence Plote harmed Melissa, and that he had gone to see her that day just to talk.

John Kopp: They discussed their finances; they discussed what would happen with the birth of the child … and then Matt left as she was making some lunch.

Heather Kruse: I believe, from the very beginning, he was trying to set up a story that there was an accidental house fire, that she had been cooking something. … I believe that was how he laid out the scene … which would explain why her body was found in the kitchen.

Prosecutors called Fire Investigator Michael Poel to testify about his findings. He told the court that he found no evidence of an electrical or cooking fire.

MIKE POEL (in court): And you start ruling these — these various different things out.

Nikki Battiste: How certain are you that this fire was intentionally set?

Michael Poel: I’m certain that it was intentionally set.

Nikki Battiste: No doubt.

Michael Poel: No doubt.

During cross examination, the defense suggested that Poel was unsure of his findings, citing language in his report such as “most likely” and “it is believed.”

JOHN KOPP (in court): You used the phrase “it is believed” because that’s an uncertain opinion. Correct?

MICHAEL POEL: It’s the way I described it.

JOHN KOPP: But that’s an uncertain opinion. Correct?

MICHAEL POEL: Not to me.

Poel says he was just using standard terms used during fire investigations.

The State also called forensic pathologist Dr. Amanda Youmans, who had performed one of the autopsies.

DR. AMANDA YOUMANS (in court): There was no soot in her airways … And her … measure of carbon monoxide in the blood was within normal limits. So she was deceased prior to the fire.

Youmans testified that Melissa’s body showed evidence of a violent struggle. The jury heard about the hemorrhages around Melissa’s neck — a specific type of broken blood vessels called “petechial hemorrhages” which according to Youmans, is a telltale sign of strangulation.

DR. AMANDA YOUMANS (in court): This is the most petechial hemorrhages I’ve ever seen in a strangulation case.

Deanna Lamesch: To sit through trial was beyond devastating.

Deanna Lamesch came to court every day.

Deanna Lamesch: I had been prepped by the victims’ advocate. … Things were going to be gruesome. I was going to see a lot.

Deanna Lamesch says she always kept Melissa and her baby Barrett in her thoughts.

Deanna Lamesch: She was so strong-willed and had such pride. That baby was gonna be a strong guy.

Plote’s parents also attended the trial.

Nikki Battiste: They’ve been by his side throughout this?

John Kopp: Yes. Every court date.

One of the most important witnesses to testify was Melissa’s sister, Cassie Baal, talking about the day Melissa died and that call which Baal says was interrupted by Plote.

ALLISON HUNTLEY (in court): What was the last thing your sister said to you during that phone call?

CASSIE BAAL: Sorry (emotional). She said she would make the conversation quick and she would call me right back.

ALLISON HUNTLEY: Did Melissa call you back?

CASSIE BAAL: No.

Jurors watched those recorded interviews with investigators, where Plote admitted he was at the house.

DEPUTY: How long were you at the house?

MATTHEW PLOTE: It wasn’t more than an hour I don’t think

Prosecutors wanted jurors to hear that phrase Plote used —

MATTHEW PLOTE: I mean, there’s a deadline for — for that.

— referring to the birth of his son as a “deadline.”

Allison Huntley: He said, there’s a deadline to these kinds of things. That was his deadline to murder Melissa.

Heather Kruse: So, if you think about it logically, Thursday’s Thanksgiving and Friday is her due date, his deadline. The only time to do this was Wednesday. So he took off work and completed his goal.

The prosecutors found even more telling what Plote didn’t say — especially during that seven-hour interview — four hours of which were played for the jury.

Allison Huntley: What is chilling … is the fact that he never denied murdering Melissa. And he never denied killing her baby boy, not one time. It’s chilling from a personal perspective, but that’s also excellent evidence that the defendant couldn’t bring himself to lie about that fact.

John Kopp: Over the course of multiple interviews for several hours, he was calm and reserved.

His silence, the defense says, actually points to his innocence — not his guilt.

Prosecutors wanted jurors to hear that phrase Plote used —

MATTHEW PLOTE: I mean, there’s a deadline for — for that.

— referring to the birth of his son as a “deadline.”

Allison Huntley: He said, there’s a deadline to these kinds of things. That was his deadline to murder Melissa.

Heather Kruse: So, if you think about it logically, Thursday’s Thanksgiving and Friday is her due date, his deadline. The only time to do this was Wednesday. So he took off work and completed his goal.

The prosecutors found even more telling what Plote didn’t say — especially during that seven-hour interview — four hours of which were played for the jury.

Allison Huntley: What is chilling … is the fact that he never denied murdering Melissa. And he never denied killing her baby boy, not one time. It’s chilling from a personal perspective, but that’s also excellent evidence that the defendant couldn’t bring himself to lie about that fact.

John Kopp: Over the course of multiple interviews for several hours, he was calm and reserved.

His silence, the defense says, actually points to his innocence — not his guilt.

QUESTIONING THE INVESTIGATION

John Kopp: The State’s expert didn’t do a fraction of what he should have done to properly determine the cause of the fire. … This should have been an undetermined fire.

To try to poke holes in the prosecution’s case, the defense called only one witness: retired firefighter and independent inspector John Knapp. He was not at the scene of the fire but did study reports and photos.

JOHN KNAPP (in court): I felt like there was probably more information that could have been gathered that wasn’t …

He disputed the prosecution’s claim that Plote set the fire. He testified that the evidence collected doesn’t prove that the fire was intentionally set by anyone.

JOHN KNAPP (in court): I couldn’t make that determination to whether or not — what the cause of the fire should be other than undetermined.

Michael Poel: When you’re not there at the scene, you don’t see what we’ve seen, not always does every little tidbit end up in a report.

Poel says the defense’s expert is wrong, and that his investigation was thorough.

Michael Poel: We’re looking for anything and everything that could have contributed to the origins of this fire. … They weren’t there. … You needed to be there when we were doing the examination.

Plote waived his right to testify. During closing arguments, the defense accused investigators of having tunnel vision.

John Kopp: The complete lack of investigation … of any other individual is shocking. I’ve never seen such a poorly investigated case.

Liam Dixon: They didn’t follow-up on any other leads that may have happened. Any other boyfriends, any other — anybody else.

Allison Huntley: If there had been another lead, investigators certainly would’ve followed it. There simply wasn’t..

Prosecutors told the jury that the evidence was clear:  Melissa Lamesch was strangled to death by the only person who had a motive to kill her, Matthew Plote, who was juggling multiple women and didn’t want to change his lifestyle.

Allison Huntley: He clearly … did not want to be involved in this baby’s life. This is someone who actively hid the fact that a woman in the community was carrying his child.

John Kopp: He … clearly had made some choices about having … multiple relationships but did not make him a killer. 

The trial lasted a week. After two hours of deliberation, the jury returned with a verdict: guilty of all charges.

Deanna Lamesch: I could hear people sobbing and gasping … but like, I — I couldn’t even lift my head …

Nikki Battiste: What did you feel?

Deanna Lamesch: Shock. Shock.

The verdict was a relief for Chief Schultz. He says the case had long weighed on him and everyone at the firehouse who had worked with Plote.

Chief Rob Schultz: There was a huge closure here when Matt was found guilty. … You still have the family out there that lost a daughter or lost a grandson … You’re never going to change that.

Three months later, on June 27, 2024, Melissa’s family and friends gathered at the courthouse for sentencing. Plote listened with little reaction as victim impact statements were read:

GUS LAMESCH (in court): We lost Melissa in the prime of her life. … Melissa and Barrett should still be alive and enjoying life with her loving family. 

CASSIE BAAL (in court): I shouldn’t have spent Thanksgiving that year feeling like there was nothing to be thankful for. … This shouldn’t be real, but it is real. It is all real because one man decided to make the decision that Barrett and Melissa weren’t needed or wanted.

DEANNA LAMESCH (in court): None of this had to happen, all he had to do was walk away.

Plote also addressed the court with this brief statement:

MATTHEW PLOTE (in court): To say anything other than I share the pain and the sadness and the loss of Melissa and Barrett.

Nikki Battiste: Do you believe him?

Gus Lamesch: Oh, no, definitely not.

Cassie Baal: For him to … say, “I too have pain and loss for Melissa and Barrett,” like that — what a joke.

Judge John Roe imposed the maximum sentence: life behind bars.

Nikki Battiste: Matthew Plote will likely die in prison. Does that give you any sort of peace?

Deanna Lamesch: No. … I know it’s the justice system and we received our justice, but nothing about this is just. Nothing about this is fair. No punishment in the world brings them back.

Melissa’s sister Julialyn Shedd tries to hold onto fond memories.

Julialyn Shedd: I miss her personality. … I think it’s her sass. … Melissa was — I believe still is the best person that I’ve ever met.

Nikki Battiste: What do you miss most about your daughter and there’s a grandson you never got to meet?

Gus Lamesch: Where do you start. I mean … he was gonna come into my home. … I was looking forward to raising him.

Through all of their grief, the Lamesch family honors Melissa in many ways.

Deanna Lamesch: We took toys to a local homeless shelter.

Nikki Battiste: To honor Barrett?

Deanna Lamesch: To honor Barrett. … We donated money to the no-kill shelter that Melissa got her cat from.

They also sponsored a tree at a local arboretum that Melissa loved.

Deanna Lamesch: Every year … at the holidays, this tree will always be lit as part of their display.

Shining brightly, like Melissa always did.

Cassie Baal: Melissa was strong. She was fierce. She was powerful. Nothing was gonna stop her. And she was always gonna prove herself and she’d do whatever it take to do it.

Matthew Plote is appealing his convictions.

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Produced by Ruth Chenetz and Emily Wichick Hourihane. Michelle Sigona is the development producer. Michael Baluzy and Phil Tangel are the editors. Anthony Batson is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.