On November 25, 2020, the day before Thanksgiving, responders arrived at a house fire in Mount Morris, Illinois. Inside they found 27-year-old Melissa Lemesh, dead on the floor near the oven in the kitchen.
Initially, investigators were unsure whether the fire was intentionally set or accidental. But after a closer look, he believed there was some foul play involved and that the fire was arson. They found no electrical problems in the home and discovered that the oven and stove burners were all in the off position. Lamesh's autopsy revealed no soot in his lungs and normal carbon monoxide levels, but there were signs of strangulation. Investigators concluded that Lamesh had been murdered before the fire. But why would anyone want to kill Melissa Lamesh?
“48 Hours” contributor Nikki Batiste reports on the case “The Firefighter's Secret,” Airing Saturday, November 30 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Photography by Angel Studio
When the fire occurred, Lamesh was just two days away from giving birth to a child. She was a dedicated EMT and was excited to become a parent. However, investigators learned there was someone who wasn't as excited – the baby's future father, 33-year-old Matthew Plaut, a firefighter-paramedic.
Lamesh's sister Cassie Bal says, when Lamesh told Platt she was carrying his child, she was surprised by his reaction. “Melissa thought he might want to do something with the kid. Up until that point, she thought he was a pretty cool guy,” Ball told “48 Hours.” “She saw a different side of him and it really upset her.”
Investigators learned that Platt had kept the fact that he was going to be a father a secret, including from his parents and colleagues. Rob Schultz, the fire chief of the Carol Stream Fire District, where Platt worked, explained to Batiste how unusual it was for someone not to talk about a major life event in the firehouse. “We're here 24 hours a day,” Schultz said. “It's – 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.”
Carol Stream Fire District
Although Plaut had no interest in becoming a father, Lamesh occasionally maintained contact with him, even sending him sonograms. “Sometimes he would respond a little bit, but she didn't really know where he really stood,” Ball said.
However, Lamesh was ready to take care of the child alone, with the help of her family. Lamesh did not ask for any help from Platt, yet investigators believe that as her due date approached, Platt became increasingly concerned that having a child would change her lifestyle and so she abandoned the child. Kept secret.
Ogle County Assistant State's Attorney Allison Huntley told Batiste, “He was hiding a secret – the fact that he fathered a child in the hope that the child would not be born.”
The state began building a case against the plot. He was arrested on March 9, 2022, on charges including murder, intentional killing of an unborn child and arson.
There was evidence that Plott was at Lamesh's home on the day of the fire – which Plott admitted when speaking to investigators. “He told them everything … about his presence there, he didn't hide anything,” defense lawyer John Kopp told “48 Hours.” He says his client was there to discuss plans to be involved in the child's life. “They discussed his finances,” Kopp said. “And then Matt left because she was making lunch.”
Prosecutors suspected that Platt was lying about being alive after Lamesh left and that he had set fire to the house to try to cover his tracks. Ogle County Assistant State's Attorney Heather Kruse said, “I believe from the beginning he was trying to fabricate a story that the house caught fire accidentally, that she was cooking something.” “Which would explain why her body was found in the kitchen.”
To Chief Schultz, the idea of a firefighter causing harm was unimaginable. “It doesn't matter what a firefighter is,” he told “48 Hours.” “We put out fires. We don't set fires. We help people. We don't hurt people.”