Noyac Homeowners Admit to Role in Fire That Killed 2

A couple has admitted to not safeguarding their Noyac home that caught fire, killing two young women who rented it out while on vacation with their family two years ago.

Peter Miller pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal negligent homicide and his wife Pamela Miller pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment Monday at Suffolk County court. The couple had rented their house to a Maryland family where sisters Lindsay Wiener, 19, and 21-year-old Jillian Wiener died in an overnight fire on August 2, 2022.

“We take all matters involving housing regulations very seriously, as they are crucial for public safety,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “If you have a rental home, you have a duty to make sure that it is safe.”

Prosecutors said that the victims’ parents tried to use an outdoor charcoal grill located in an outdoor kitchen that was attached to the main house, but when it didn’t work, they cooked the food in the indoor kitchen. At about 3:30 a.m., the parents were awakened by a fire in the kitchen and yelled for their three children to get out of the house. The father was forced out by the heat and his son jumped from a window to safety, but the sisters were trapped. Firefighters rushed the sisters to Southampton Hospital, where they died.

Investigators found that the Millers did not properly connect smoke detectors, constructed the outdoor kitchen without a permit and did not have an electrical inspection done that would have alerted them to improperly wired outlets, authorities said.

The couple is due back in court November 7. Their attorney could not immediately be reached.