Ogle County man sentenced for killing pregnant girlfriend, setting house on fire
OREGON, Ill. (WTVO) — Matthew Plote, 36, has been sentenced for the killing of his pregnant girlfriend, Melissa Lamesch, and setting her Mount Morris home on fire.
On March 25th, an Ogle County jury found Plote guilty of first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child and residential arson.
Lamesch was just days away from giving birth to a baby boy when this happened in 2020. Her brother said the baby was Plote's.
According to , Lamesch worked as an EMT in Tinley Park, had moved to Mt. Morris from Oak Park to be closer to her relatives, and was on maternity leave from her job with Trace Ambulance.
Plote is sentenced to a natural life sentence for first-degree murder, 60 years for the intentional homicide of an unborn child and 15 years for residential arson.
