A Long Island couple was sentenced Thursday to probation and community service in connection with a 2022 fire at their rental home in the Hamptons that killed two sisters from Potomac.
According to CBS News, Potomac residents Lewis and Alisa Wiener and their three children were vacationing in the Hamptons and rented a home on Noyack Bay for one week from owners Peter and Pamela Miller of Sag Harbor.
At about 3 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2022, the home caught fire, according to authorities. Alisa and Lewis Wiener escaped the home, but were burned. Their son, Zachary, escaped by jumping from the second floor.
The Wieners’ daughters, Jillian, 21, and Lindsay Wiener, 19, were asleep on the second story. According to local media, Lewis tried unsuccessfully to reenter the home when he realized the two hadn’t escaped. The daughters were found inside the home by firefighters.
All five were transported to the hospital where Lewis, Alisa and Zachary were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Jillian and Lindsay were pronounced dead at the hospital.
According to CBS, the fire began in an outdoor kitchen, which the Millers constructed by themselves without applying for a permit or electrical inspection. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the home weren’t properly connected and didn’t have a battery backup, according to CBS.
Peter Miller pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide while Pamela Miller pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. Peter Miller was sentenced to three years of probation and 200 hours of community service and Pamela Miller received a sentence of 100 hours of community service.
Lewis Wiener died of pancreatic cancer in April. Alisa Wiener didn’t immediately respond to email requests for comment Friday afternoon.
Jillian and Lindsay Wiener were graduates of the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda. 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.
At their funeral in 2022, family members shared that Jillian was a yoga instructor and ice hockey player and was passionate about the environment. Zach Wiener said Lindsay always tried to give each family member the best birthday possible.
In a 2022 letter to the Holton-Arms school community, the former Holton Arms Head of School Susanna Jones said “the sisters were warm, engaged members of the Holton community who positively impacted both their classes and the larger school community.”
According to CBS, Alisa and Zach Wiener told the judge that they don’t want to be defined by tragedy, but by love and strength.
