After 2 sisters die in fire, owners of Hamptons Rental admit guilt: DA

NOYAC, NY — Two years after a devastating fire tore through a Noyac vacation rental, killing two sisters vacationing with their family, the homeowners have pleaded guilty, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

On Monday, Tierney announced that Peter Miller, 56, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and Pamela Miller, 55, pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless endangerment as a result of a fatal fire at their rental home. Miller. , where sisters Lindsay Wiener, 19, and Jillian Wiener, 21, of Maryland, vacationed with their family in 2022.

Both sisters died in the fire, Tierney said.

According to court documents and the defendants' admissions in their guilty pleas, on August 2, 2022, a Maryland couple and their three children, including Lindsay and Jillian, were at Miller's Noyac home, which had been advertised for rent.

That night, the family tried to use an outdoor charcoal grill located in an outdoor kitchen that was attached to the main house, the DA said.

When the food wasn't cooked, the family would remove the food from the grill, close the lid and cook the food in the indoor kitchen, Tierney said. The family ate dinner and then, at about 11:30 p.m., went to bed, the DA said.

A few hours later, on Aug. 3, 2022, at about 3:30 a.m., the mother and father were awakened by the sound of glass shattering, the DA said.

When they left their bedroom to investigate, they saw fire in the kitchen and screamed for their children to get out of the house, Tierney said. The couple escaped, but their father, Lew Wiener,
he re-entered the home to locate his children, the DA said.

The hot conditions forced him out of the house and left him with burns on his legs.

The couple's son opened his bedroom door but was overcome by the heat and smoky conditions and was unable to locate his sisters, the DA said.

After realizing the fire had trapped him in his bedroom, the son jumped out of a second-story window to escape, Tierney said.

The Sag Harbor Fire Department was the first of several fire departments to arrive at the scene, Tierney said. Fire chiefs noticed a fire in the kitchen, thick black smoke and intense heat, officials said.

Firefighters gained access to a second-floor bedroom where they found the girls, Tierney said.

Both young women were taken to Southampton Hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries, the DA said.

Surviving family members and fire department personnel reported that there were no fire alarms
heard at any time, the DA said.

Investigators determined the source of the fire was the outdoor kitchen, which the Millers built themselves without a permit and without an electrical inspection, Tierney said.

The outdoor kitchen was mainly made of wood with low wooden ceilings sitting above it
charcoal grill and gas stove. the lower grill vents of the charcoal grill were completely blocked
from an attached bench and the electrical circuits that the outdoor kitchen shared with the indoor one
The kitchen was overloaded and improperly wired, the DA said.

The Millers advertised their Noyac rental home on several popular vacation rental websites. their
The listing showed the home was equipped with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, Tierney said. However, an electrical inspection report revealed they were not wired properly and there was insufficient fire detection throughout the home, the DA said.

The smoke detector in one of the second floor bedrooms was disabled by the fire due to overloaded electrical circuits and there was no battery backup. The smoke detector in another second-floor bedroom, where Lindsey and Jillian lived, also went off during the fire and did not have a working battery backup, Tierney said.

The smoke detector in the master bedroom, where the brothers' parents lived, was disconnected from the electrical system and had no battery backup. The master bedroom and the hallway off it were found to lack adequate fire detection at the time of the fire, the DA said.

According to the DA, the Millers were charged with 29 code violations, including;

– Failure to apply for and obtain a rental permit prior to rental.

– Temporary lease when prohibited by law.

– Temporary tenancy with tenants contrary to certificate of occupancy.

– Construction of an outdoor kitchen without a building permit, occupation/allowing a
deck/pool without certificate of occupancy;

– Failure to secure single/multi-station smoke detectors on the wall outside the second
upstairs bedrooms;

– Failure to secure the smoke alarm in the east bedroom of the second floor was connected
duly;

– Failed to confirm that the smoke detector in the east bedroom of the second floor had a battery
backup;

– Failure to ensure that the smoke alarm in the hallway outside the first floor bedroom was
connected correctly?

– Failure to ensure that the smoke alarm in the hallway outside the first floor bedroom had
battery backup;

– Failing to ensure that the smoke alarm in the garage was properly connected to power
source;

– Failure to ensure that a carbon monoxide detector was installed outside the second floor
bedrooms;

– Failure to ensure that a carbon monoxide detector was installed outside the first floor
bedroom;

– Installation of an electrical outlet without a suitable electrical box that created electrical
risk of electric shock/fire while directly on the siding. and

– Placing an electrical socket on a counter in the outdoor kitchen without adequate electricity
box, creating a risk of electric shock/fire, while directly on the siding.

The Millers were prosecuted for the code violations in Southampton Town Court.

On Aug. 22, Peter and Pamela Miller were arrested after turning themselves in to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Tierney said. On Monday, Peter Miller pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, Class E felonies, before Associate Superior Court Judge Richard I. Horowitz, the DA said. Also Monday, Pamela Miller pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor, before Judge Horowitz, Tierney said.

The Millers are due back in court on November 7 and are being represented by Edward
Burke Jr., who said he had no comment at this time.

“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,” Tierney said. “We take all matters relating to housing regulations very seriously as they are vital to public safety. If you own a rental home, you have a duty to make sure it is safe.”

The holiday was meant to be a special time for the Wieners, as their father Lew had cancer, she told Patch. he died this April, according to his obituary.