A jury trial date has been set for March 18th of next year for a Malta man in the death of a Mt. Morris woman and her unborn child during a house fire on November of 2020.
36-year old Matthew Plote has been charged with 4 counts of the Class M felony of murder with the intent to kill and 3 counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child.
Plote has also been charged with the felony offense of residential arson, aggravated domestic battery, and concealment of a homicidal death.
He has been indicted by an Ogle County grand jury on the charges.
27-year old Melissa Lamesch of Mt. Morris along with her unborn child were killed in the 2020 house fire. Lamasch was the girl friend of Plote at the time of the incident.
During a hearing on Friday, Circuit Judge Ben Roe denied a motion from Plote's attorney to dismiss the charges against the Malta man.
A hearing is also scheduled for December 6th in Oregon as Plote filed a motion to be released from the Ogle County jail due to the new no bond law in Illinois.
The jury trial will be heard in front of judge Roe.
Matthew Plote
Photo Credit Ogle County Sheriff's Department
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