Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced that Peter Miller, 56, pleaded guilty to two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide, and Pamela Miller, 55, pleaded guilty to Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree. This follows a fatal fire at their rental home in which sisters Lindsay Wiener, 19, and Jillian Wiener, 21, of Maryland died while vacationing with their family in 2022.
"First and foremost, our hearts go out to the Wiener family, who lost these young women in this tragic fire. Such a loss is unimaginable, and our community mourns with them," said District Attorney Tierney. "We take all matters involving housing regulations very seriously, as they are crucial for public safety. If you have a rental home, you have a duty to make sure that it is safe."
Court documents reveal that on August 2, 2022, the Wiener family was vacationing at the Millers' home in Noyac when they attempted to use an outdoor charcoal grill. When the food did not cook properly on the grill, they moved indoors to complete their meal preparation before going to bed around 11:30 p.m.
A few hours later on August 3 at approximately 3:30 a.m., the parents awoke to glass shattering and discovered a fire in the kitchen. While trying to escape with their children, intense heat forced them out of the house. Their son managed to escape by jumping from a second-story window after being unable to locate his sisters due to overwhelming heat and smoke conditions.
Firefighters from Sag Harbor Fire Department arrived first on the scene and found thick black smoke and intense heat. They located Jillian on the floor of a second-story bedroom and Lindsay in a second-floor bathroom. Both were transported to Southampton Hospital but succumbed to their injuries.
Investigations determined that no fire alarms were heard during the incident. The origin of the fire was traced back to an outdoor kitchen constructed by the Millers without proper permits or electrical inspections. The structure included several hazards such as blocked grill vents and overloaded electrical circuits shared with indoor systems.
The Millers advertised their rental property online claiming it had functional smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; however, an inspection revealed inadequate installation and de-energized units without battery backups throughout critical areas of the home.
They faced multiple code violations including failure to obtain rental permits, constructing unapproved structures like an outdoor kitchen without proper permits or certificates of occupancy for other amenities like decks/pools.
On August 22, 2024, Peter and Pamela Miller surrendered at Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office following which Peter pleaded guilty to two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide (Class E felonies) while Pamela admitted guilt for Reckless Endangerment in Second Degree (Class A misdemeanor) before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I Horowitz on August 26th.
Represented by Edward Burke Jr., Esq., both are scheduled for court appearance again on November 7th this year where prosecution will be led by Bureau Chief Timothy Gough along with Assistant District Attorney Sheetal Shetty from Homicide Bureau supported through investigation conducted under Special Investigator John Roberts’ guidance alongside Southampton Town Fire Marshal Shane Sharkey & Police Department officials.
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