Cassie Ball

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

Melissa wasn't asking him for anything. No money, nothing.

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

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.

That Amazon Echo Dot could turn this case around.

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

It was now nine months since Melissa Lamish's death in a house fire that had sent shockwaves through the community in Mount Morris, where her home was located. But firefighters where Matthew Plody worked in Carroll Stream, about 75 miles away, were unaware of the fire. Plody had said nothing. When you heard the name Matthew Plody in that call, what did you think?

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

The fire chief's sinking feeling only got worse when he learned that investigators believed Matthew 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.

Did you ask him why he hadn't mentioned it?

While on leave on August 28, 2021, Matthew Plody was called in again for questioning.

Plody willingly appeared without an attorney.

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

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

Had you ever experienced an interview like that before?

It wasn't just the lack of communication that made Lieutenant Ketter think Plody was guilty. But on the rare times Plody did talk, the unusual way he phrased things.

Did that make you do a double take?

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

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.

And so on September 9th, 2021, Chief Schultz called Matthew Plody and asked him to come in to talk.

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

Chief Schultz tried to learn what happened to Melissa by appealing to Plody on a personal level.

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

What did he say?

Did he ever say, I didn't kill Melissa and my baby?

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

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 Matthew's voice was recorded on that Echo Dot they retrieved from the kitchen took time.

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

On March 9, 2022, after a year and a half of investigating Melissa Lamish's death, with a police body cam rolling, Matthew Pote was arrested on charges including murder, the intentional homicide of an unborn child, and arson.

By the time of Matthew Plody's arrest, he had hired attorney John Kupp.

Assistant state's attorneys Allison Huntley and Heather Cruz were part of the team prosecuting Matthew Plody.

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

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

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

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

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

Poole says he was just using standard terms used during fire investigations. The state also called forensic pathologist Dr. Amanda Eumanns, who had performed one of the autopsies.

Dr. 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 Dr. Youmans, is a telltale sign of strangulation.

Matthew Plody's parents also attended the trial. They've been by his side throughout this?

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

Jurors watched those recorded interviews with investigators, where Matthew Plody admitted he was at the house. Prosecutors wanted jurors to hear that phrase Plody used, referring to the birth of his son as a deadline.

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

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

They say their client, when he did speak, was open with investigators.

Do you think the fact that the fire didn't burn down the whole house, does that play in Matthew's favor or not?

But during three days of testimony, the state laid out the case that it could have only been Matthew Plody who set that fire to conceal evidence of the murder of Melissa and their unborn baby, something the defense was about to contest. The state's fire expert deemed that this was arson.

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.

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

Michael Poole says the defense's expert is wrong and that his investigation was thorough.

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

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

The trial lasted a week, and after two hours of deliberation, the jury returned with a verdict.

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

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

Matthew Plody also addressed the court with this brief statement.

Life behind bars. Matthew Politi will likely die in prison. Does that give you any sort of peace? No.

I think it's her sass. Melissa's sister, Julia Lynn, tries to hold on to fond memories.

What do you miss most about your daughter? And there's a grandson you never got to meet.

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

When you got the call about Matthew Ploede possibly being involved in a murder, what did you think?

Before the fire that set Melissa Lamish's home ablaze on November 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.

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

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

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

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

You're proud.

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 Matthew had little contact.

Matthew wasn't just shutting out Melissa. He kept the fact he was going to be a father a secret, including from his co-workers and Chief Rob Schultz at the Carroll Stream Fire District, several counties away from Melissa's home.

Even Matthew's own parents did not know about the pregnancy until Melissa told them.

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

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. 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.

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

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

What does that say?

Michael Poole, then a special agent with the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office, was trying to establish whether the fire at Melissa Lamish's home was accidental or intentionally set. What are you looking for?

Where do you think the fire started?

But when Poole 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.

Poole also did not find any electrical issues.

What do you remember from November 25th, 2020?

Much of the house besides the kitchen remained accessible. So Poole thought Melissa could have found a way out.

While Poole was inspecting the house, investigators talked with the Lamish family. Ketter learned about the phone call that day between Melissa and Cassie that Melissa ended when Matthew Plody arrived at the house.

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

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

In that interview, Matthew made a reference to a deadline when explaining his decision to go to the house that day. It was a phrase that investigators didn't quite know how to interpret. Was Matthew a suspect at that point?

What are the next steps in the investigation?

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.

On December 14, 2020, the Lamish family held a funeral for Melissa and her unborn baby, who Melissa was going to name Barrett.