48 Hours to Air Episode about Ex-Malta, IL, FF Convicted for Killing Girlfriend
A former Carol Stream Fire District firefighter/paramedic was convicted earlier this year for killing his pregnant girlfriend and unborn child before setting fire to her house on Thanksgiving Eve in 2020.
CBS' 48 Hours will air an episode about the case -- The Firefighter's Secret -- at 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30.
Matthew Plote, 36, found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges by a jury that deliberated for about two hours, was sentenced to life in prison for killing Melissa Lamesch, 27, an additional 60 years for the homicide of the unborn child and 15 years for arson, according to WIFR.
An autopsy showed Lamesch was dead when the fire started. The coroner discovered she had signs of strangulation, but no soot in her lungs.
During the trial, jurors learned that Plote didn't want the baby, and kept the pregnancy a secret from his family as well as his firefighter family.
"We're here 24 hours a day," said Carol Stream Fire District Fire Chief Rob Schultz. "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."
He added that the incident goes against what it means to be a firefighter.
