Suffolk Reporter

Peter and Pamela Miller have pleaded guilty to charges related to a fatal fire at their rental home in Noyac, Suffolk County, which resulted in the deaths of two sisters from Maryland. The announcement was made by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.

Peter Miller, 56, admitted guilt to two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide, while Pamela Miller, 55, pleaded guilty to Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree. The incident occurred on August 2, 2022, when Lindsay Wiener, 19, and Jillian Wiener, 21, were vacationing with their family at the Millers' rental property.

“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.”

According to court documents and admissions during the plea allocutions, the fire started after an outdoor charcoal grill malfunctioned. The family moved indoors after failing to cook food on the grill but later woke up to find their kitchen ablaze around 3:30 a.m. on August 3.

The parents managed to escape but sustained injuries while attempting to rescue their children. Their son escaped by jumping from a second-story window after being trapped by smoke and heat conditions. Firefighters later found Lindsay and Jillian unconscious; both succumbed to their injuries at Southampton Hospital.

Investigators revealed that no fire alarms were heard during the incident due to multiple code violations by the Millers. These included constructing an outdoor kitchen without permits or inspections and improperly installed electrical circuits shared between indoor and outdoor kitchens.

The Millers advertised their property on various vacation rental sites claiming it had functional smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; however, an inspection revealed otherwise.

They faced numerous code violations including failure to obtain necessary permits for renting out their property and ensuring proper installation of smoke detectors among others.

On August 22nd of this year Peter and Pamela Miller surrendered themselves at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office following these charges.

Both appeared before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz on August 26th where they entered their pleas—Peter for Criminally Negligent Homicide (Class E felonies) and Pamela for Reckless Endangerment (Class A misdemeanor). They are scheduled for another court appearance on November 7th.

Their defense attorney is Edward Burke Jr., Esq., while Bureau Chief Timothy Gough along with Assistant District Attorney Sheetal Shetty from the Homicide Bureau are prosecuting this case. Special Investigator John Roberts collaborated with Southampton Town Fire Marshal Shane Sharkey alongside Southampton Town Police Department during investigations.