A New York couple pleaded guilty this week to causing the deaths of two Maryland sisters when the couple’s ritzy Hamptons rental home went up in flames two years ago due to shoddy construction work.
On Monday, rental homeowner Peter Miller, 56, was convicted of negligent homicide and his wife, 55-year-old Pamela Miller, was convicted of reckless endangerment for the Aug. 3, 2022, inferno that claimed the lives of college students Jillian and Lindsay Wiener, both from Potomac, Maryland.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said the couple marketed the $1.8 million rental in Noyac, New York, despite knowing the home lacked reliable smoke detectors and had faulty electrical wiring.
Prosecutors said an overloaded electrical circuit sparked the fire that killed Jillian, 21, and Lindsay, 19. The victims were on what was meant to be a final family vacation with their mother, brother and father, Lewis Wiener, who had incurable pancreatic cancer.
“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,” Mr. Tierney said in a statement. “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 said the fire started at about 3:30 a.m. in one of the rental’s kitchens, which the Millers built without a permit and never had inspected.
Hours earlier, the family tried cooking in the outdoor kitchen — which was made out of wood and had no ventilation for an attached charcoal grill — but eventually moved indoors when the grill wouldn’t start. Investigators determined that the origin of the fire was the outdoor kitchen.
Prosecutors said the parents awoke to the blaze when they heard glass shattering in the middle of the night.
Lewis Wiener tried to rescue his children, who were on the second floor of the house, but the flames were too intense.
Son Zachary escaped by jumping out of a second-story window, but Jillian and Lindsay were trapped in their bedroom.
Both sisters were consumed by the fire. Sag Harbor firefighters eventually pulled them out and took them to a hospital, where they were officially pronounced dead.
Court documents said the overloaded electrical circuit knocked out the smoke detectors throughout the house, including the upstairs bedroom where Jillian and Lindsay slept.
Smoke detectors in the parents’ room weren’t connected to the circuit. None of the smoke detectors had backup batteries installed.
Peter Miller admitted during Monday’s court hearing that he did the illegal construction work himself and that he was aware he had overworked the circuit.
Local news outlet Greater Long Island reported that the Millers will avoid jail time as part of their plea, though they could face up to four years behind bars if they violate their plea deal.
The couple will also face dozens of charges in Southampton Town Court for their haphazard home renovations.
The surviving members of the Wiener family are suing the Millers in federal court, according to the Daily Mail.
At the time of their deaths, Jillian was a rising senior at the University of Michigan and Lindsay was a rising sophomore at Tulane University.
Lewis Wiener, a former federal prosecutor, died in April from his terminal cancer. He was 61.
The Millers are scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 7.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.