Police Still Investigating Drowning In Hampton Bays

A 29-year-old Queens woman drowned in a backyard swimming pool in Hampton Bays last week, according to Southampton Town Police, though many details regarding the death have yet to be released.Police were called to 23 Wakeman Road a few minutes past noon last Thursday, July 10, after receiving a call about a possible drowning.Town Police Detective Sergeant Lisa Costa, who responded to the scene, said Olya Lipina, a resident of Astoria, Queens, was found unresponsive in the in-ground swimming pool. Det. Sgt. Costa declined to say who found the body, or estimate how long the victim was in the pool before being discovered.Det. Sgt. Costa said Ms. Lipina had come out to stay at the house, which is owned by the Kreft family, earlier that day, noting that Ms. Lipina, a friend of the Kreft family, went to the house alone.The Kreft family did not respond to multiple messages left at the home seeking comment about the incident.Police said Ms. Lipina arrived at the home by herself earlier that morning, but declined to offer any additional information.It is not yet known when exactly the drowning occurred, Det. Sgt. Costa said, and the circumstances around the death are unclear. Also, it is still unclear if the death was intentional or accidental, she said.Det. Sgt. Costa referred all further comment to the Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad, which is spearheading the investigation along with the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office.Suffolk County Police have declined to release any further information about the case until the cause of death is released by the medical examiner’s office—a process that could take several weeks. Suffolk County Police do not comment on non-criminal investigations, according to the department’s public information office, though it is still unclear if Ms. Lipina’s death qualifies as one.One neighbor, who declined to give her name, said the house at 23 Wakeman Road was primarily used during the summer and, to her knowledge, was used only by members the Kreft family. Det. Sgt. Costa, however, said the house has been rented out in the past.The same neighbor, meanwhile, also said she had never had problems with anyone staying at the house, noting that her children would occasionally use the swimming pool.Pete Penny, who lives directly next to the house on Wakeman Road, said last Thursday that he hadn’t noticed any suspicious activity at the house that morning or the night before. Mr. Penny, who had been interviewed by a Southampton Town Police detective, said he was unaware of Ms. Lipina’s death until informed of it by a member of The Press.Mr. Penny also said he has had problems with noise coming from the house in the past. “I had to call the police once to complain about it,” he said.