


A husband and wife from Long Island, New York, were sentenced this week for their role in a 2022 fire at their rented-out home in the Hamptons that killed two sisters from Potomac, Maryland.
Peter Miller, 56, was sentenced to three years of probation and 200 hours of community service, while Pamela Miller, 55, was punished with 100 hours of that service, according to CBS News.
In August, Mr. Miller pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent homicide and Ms. Miller pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless endangerment. They were also prosecuted for a slew of code violations on the rental property.
As part of the plea deal, they won’t face time in prison unless they violate the terms of their deal, in which case Ms. Miller would face up to one year behind bars and Mr. Miller would be incarcerated 16 to 48 months, according to news outlet Greater Long Island.
The victims, Jillian and Lindsay Wiener, were staying at the Noyac, New York, home with their mother, Alisa Wiener, brother Zachary Wiener and father Lewis Wiener, who was suffering from pancreatic cancer, for one last vacation as a family.
On Aug. 3, 2022, at around 3:30 a.m., a fire started in an outdoor kitchen that Mr. and Ms. Miller had built without a permit. The kitchen was mostly made of wood and didn’t have proper ventilation for an attached charcoal grill.
The home subsequently caught fire and the victims’ father couldn’t reach the second floor where all three children were sleeping.
While their brother jumped out a window, the two sisters couldn’t escape and were later pronounced dead at a hospital near the rental home from their injuries.
An overloaded electrical circuit prevented most of the smoke detectors from working. Mr. Miller admitted to knowing of that problem.
The father of the victims died of his cancer last April.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.