John-Paul Miller Tells His Side Of The Story

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Embattled South Carolina pastor John-Paul “JP” Miller – husband of the late Mica Miller – has begun to tell his side of the story surrounding his late wife’s suspicious suicide. His outlet of choice? TikTok. In a series of videos released on an account belonging to a user named “TrueCrimeRI,” Miller is countering what he claims is misinformation about him – vowing to debunk “a lie every night.”

Though Miller has been seen in public, he’s remained mostly silent since the body of his estranged wife was found at 4:23 p.m. EST on April 27, 2024 at North Carolina’s Lumber River State Park – a sprawling 14,000-acre wilderness straddling this scenic blackwater river.  Mica had traveled to this remote location from Myrtle Beach, S.C. earlier that day. Her body was discovered by police in a swampy area located approximately forty meters away from where shell casings and her belongings were recovered. 

Mica Miller died less than two weeks after filing for divorce from her husband – and less than 48 hours after he was served with divorce papers.

Mica’s death was officially ruled a suicide following investigators’ assessment of the scene – and the release of a 9-1-1 call she placed prior to allegedly shooting herself in the head with a gun she purchased only hours earlier. On that call, Miller calmly told a police dispatcher of her plans – and inquired as to whether her phone could be tracked so that her family members would be able to locate her body. But after the bizarre manner in which her husband announced her passing to their congregation – and subsequent allegations of abuse raised by Mica Miller’s family and friends – suspicions of foul play have run rampant.

In fact, Mica’s family has insisted her body was “placed” where it was found by police – and that her suicide was “staged.”

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Additional abuse allegations were leveled in a bombshell custody filing from Miller’s first wife and former co-pastor, Alison “Ali” Williams.

John-Paul Miller’s response to these allegations? Until recently … nothing.

The embattled preacher’s first video was released on Monday (June 10, 2024). In the clip, Miller told listeners “my silence is nothing more than wisdom and self-control so that we can win the war that is up ahead.”

According to Miller, he is planning to present over 350 pieces of proof on “what Mica thinks about her family and what Mica thinks about her lawyer.”

According to Miller, his goal is to find out actually who is responsible for his wife’s death.

“Mica will have justice when it’s all said and done,” he claimed.

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RELATED | MICA MILLER’S SISTER SPEAKS

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ABOUT THAT TATTOO…

In his second video, Miller got more specific, saying he planned to use the platform – which has blown the story of his wife’s death on April 27, 2024 to epic proportions – to debunk a different lie every night claiming the Francis family (Mica’s family) had given him plenty of material to work with.

In that video – posted on Tuesday (June 11, 2024) – he attempts to debunk a claim made by Michael Francis (Mica’s father), but interestingly leads with pointing out that her mother has been married seven times before discussing Francis’ claims about a tattoo on Mica’s body. In a June 4, 2024 interview with NewsNation, Francis told Elizabeth Vargas he opposed his daughter’s marriage to Miller from the beginning.

“I totally opposed it,” Francis said, “There were things going on baffling me. Him having matching tattoos to her, and then he even had a tattoo put on her of his signature. He owned her … that’s what he felt like.”

According to John-Paul Miller, this tattoo was “completely her (Mica’s) idea.”

Miller claimed Mica had gotten his signature tattooed on her body – the first time – while they were dating. He was away on vacation in New York and Miller said she sent him a photo of what she had done, “and I was surprised.” But according to Miller, the first tattoo didn’t last long, “a few weeks later, we broke up and she covered it up with a lotus flower.”

Miller said a few years after the two married, Mica got his signature tattooed on the other side of her body, “but I don’t think that it means that I was controlling and manipulative. I don’t think it means that I owned her. I don’t think it was a brand or anything I forced her to do.” It was completely her idea.”

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ON HIS BIZARRE ANNOUNCEMENT OF MICA’S DEATH …

Miller used his third video – posted on Wednesday (June 12, 2024) – to address his highly-scrutinized choice to publicly announce his wife’s death at the conclusion of a Sunday sermon the morning after she was found (April 28, 2024).

“We’re not going to do an altar call today,” he said. “Instead … I’m going to have you stand up and I’m going to make an announcement and after the announcement I’m going to ask that you leave church quietly and don’t talk about the announcement here in the building.”

Take a look …

(Click to view)

According to Miller, after learning of his wife’s death, he had five people at his house telling him not to preach saying he “would be crazy for doing it.”

He continued, “I didn’t listen and it’s because at first I didn’t believe it.”

Miller claimed he spent the three-and-a-half months prior to Mica’s death “doing everything I could to keep her alive.” Claiming every single day he was trying to get “pastors, counselors, doctors, policemen, Jesus, friends, relatives” to give Mica medicine he claimed she needed to prevent her from taking her life.

According to Miller, “… she was going to commit suicide if she didn’t get her lithium.”

Miller said he was not prepared for the shock of losing his wife and for his feelings of having failed her.

“I don’t think there’s a manual on that,” he said. “So if it offends everybody, I apologize but I did the best I could with what I had.”

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ON MICA MILLER’S CREMATION …

In John-Paul Miller’s most recent video – posted on Wednesday evening (June 12, 2024) – Miller’s calm demeanor began to fade a bit as he discussed claims made by Mica Miller’s family members that he rushed the cremation of her body.

After learning of his wife’s death, Miller said he texted her family and offered to pay their travel expenses to attend her funeral. According to Miller, they first asked for $2,500 and then asked for an additional $1,000. In response, he said he wrote them a $3,500 check.

Whether this offer came before or after he sent a text message accusing the family of causing her death is unknown.

Miller claimed that minutes after the check was cashed, the family made a post on Facebook asking for money for travel expenses. That post does exist, but it’s unknown if the check was cashed … or when.

According to Miller’s version of events, he texted the Francis family and told them he’d love for them to come see Mica’s body – providing them with times the funeral home told him would be best. They gave his message a “thumbs up” it appears. But an hour later, he says they posted another message which claimed he wouldn’t allow them to see her body.

When it came time to determine how to handle Mica’s remains, Miller said days later he was handed a paper signed by her parents stating they wanted their daughter cremated – a decision with which he agreed. Miller claimed he even agreed to pay for the family to have urns and memorial jewelry in which to keep her ashes.

According to Miller, he was shocked when the funeral director called him with an $18,000 bill for the jewelry telling him that the bill was high because Mica’s family chose 24k gold jewelry. Miller claimed he told the funeral director to call them back and “let them know that if I’m paying, they gotta get the cheap stuff.” Miller claimed that despite the request, when all was said and done, the bill was still well over $10,000.

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WHERE THE TRUTH LIES …

Despite claiming to have over 350 pieces of evidence, JP Miller provided no physical evidence of these claims in the videos yet. No receipts were shown. No screenshots of text messages provided.

Robbie Harvey, a YouTuber who has been following this story closely, says he obtained copies of text messages which would ostensibly verify Miller’s claim about allowing Mica’s family to see her body. But an astute viewer pointed out that the messages appeared to be altered.

Take a look …

In a new video, John-Paul Miller says he was willing to let the Francis family see Mica’s body. Remember, almost immediately, the family of Mica Miller came out and said John-Paul wouldn’t allow them to see her body unless they agreed to have her cremated.

I’ve obtained a text… pic.twitter.com/LpDZgX1rnK

— Robbie Harvey (@therobbieharvey) June 13, 2024

In a story as divisive and public as this, anything is possible. Additional court filings are anticipated in the coming weeks as the family of Mica Miller continues to battle her estranged husband for control of her estate in the aftermath of her divorce filing and death as well as their push for the adoption of coercive control domestic violence statutes.

Count on our media outlet to keep our audience up to speed on the very latest developments related to this case – as well as the status of any legislation introduced in the S.C. General Assembly related to Mica Miller.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.

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