Mica Miller Saga: Embattled Pastor Seeks To Reclaim The Narrative

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In his latest bid to reclaim the narrative regarding the suspicious suicide of his estranged wife, embattled Myrtle Beach, South Carolina pastor John-Paul Miller submitted a lengthy affidavit in state probate court this week.

Miller’s court filing comes on the heels of a controversial settlement agreement reached with the family of his late wife, Mica Miller, and follows a social media campaign and mainstream media interview aimed at countering allegations of abuse and harassment leveled against him.

So far, nothing appears to have moved the needle in his favor…

In his affidavit, Miller tells a vastly different story than the one the public has heard from Mica’s family and friends in the months following her death.

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As first reported by our media outlet, Mica’s body 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, which is part of the Yadkin-Pee Dee basin.  Mica traveled to this remote location from Myrtle Beach earlier that day, and 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’s death was officially ruled a suicide by North Carolina investigators and medical examiners, but the bizarre manner in which her husband announced her passing – and subsequent allegations of harassment and abuse against him leveled in multiple court filings – put John-Paul Miller squarely in the public’s crosshairs.

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

On July 29, 2024, after months of legal battles in both probate and family court, a global settlement was announced resolving all pending civil matters between Mica’s family and Miller and his church, Solid Rock Ministries.

(Click to view)

The affidavit was attached as an exhibit to a memorandum which sought to remove Mica’s sister, Sierra Francis, from her role as special administrator and to appoint himself as personal representative of his late wife’s estate. This move came as no surprise as it was part of the settlement agreement.

The surprise? Miller’s pushback against allegations leveled against him by Sierra Francis and her brother, Nathaniel Francis.

According to the filing from Miller, the Francises “intentionally misrepresented and/or misstated certain material facts” in prior affidavits submitted to the court. According to Miller, the allegations against him contained in these affidavits were based on “hearsay and/or conjecture.”

“Almost all of the insinuations in the affidavits have been dispelled by the ensuing law enforcement investigations,” he stated.

Almost all…

In his affidavit, Miller focused primarily on his estranged wife’s mental health issues – which her family claims were exaggerated so Miller could get Mica hospitalized against her will.

According to Miller, Mica’s mental health problems began just before their marriage following what he says was an elective breast augmentation surgery on December 1, 2017. Upon awaking from surgery, the doctors informed Miller his wife was having a “psychotic episode.”

Miller claimed Mica began writing undecipherable emails on December 15, 2017, at which point “the doctor put her in a mental hospital” where she was discharged and then readmitted “because her sisters convinced her to stop taking her prescribed medicine.”

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According to Miller, Mica had been diagnosed with a number of illnesses over the years – but the most consistent were “schizophrenia (and) bi-polar 2 with severe psychosis, and dependent personality disorder.”

In the affidavit, Miller claimed his wife “has been in and out of mental facilities several times, but it would’ve been dozens of times if not for me.”

“It was a struggle to help her take her medicine over the years with her family fighting to get her off the medicine that keeps her alive,” he wrote.

Much of the ire in Miller’s affidavit is tied to his claim that Mica’s family directly impeded her mental health treatment – while he allegedly attempted to keep her on the medications she was prescribed. Miller claimed after one mental health admission, she decided to cut off all communication with her family – a move he said she made several times over the years.

“Even Mica’s own doctor at Waccamaw Mental Health told her for her own well-being she should not be in relationship with her sisters,” he wrote.

While there was no evidence from the doctor, Miller submitted text messages he claimed were from Mica as exhibits – messages which he says show her efforts to cut the communication off.

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According to Miller, Mica sent a text to her family on December 19, 2023 “letting them know that she is tapering off her bipolar medication without telling her doctor and against my (Miller’s) wishes.”

He claims her family replied, “…that was great as long as she was happy and should possibly look into holistic treatment for her bi-polar II, and schizophrenia.”

In January 2024, when the marriage appeared to be going well, Mica purportedly asked Miller “to be her ‘life’ coach, because of how much we both love and respect each other’s giftings.”

Miller claimed his wife was even sending texts to her family about how supportive the pastor was – the last of which was sent on February 5, 2024 – one day before Miller claimed her doctor wanted to admit her to a mental health facility for a “bi-polar episode.”

On February 6, 2024, Miller texted Mica’s brother to inform him of that – and to tell him Mica said she would take her meds if her father asked her to.

“Instead of helping me, Nate sent it to Mica, informing her the police are coming for her,” Miller stated.

According to him, that move made Mica “more manic and dangerous.”

Miller further alleged that Mica’s father, Michael Francis, encouraged her “to flee the county, avoid being detained, and avoid being over medicated.”

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Despite the turmoil, on February 6, 2024, Waccamaw Mental Health initiated the emergency hospitalization paperwork, saying Mica “was homicidal, suicidal, hallucinating, delusional, and much more,” according to Miller.

“Nobody in her family cared at all what the doctors or police officer thought,” Miller alleged.

The police spent two days searching for Mica. On February 7, 2024, she checked herself into the South Strand mental health facility instead.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Miller wrote in his affidavit. “Her family didn’t care about her enough to help her. Her friends didn’t care enough about her to help her. I was the only person on earth trying to keep her alive and well. If someone had brought her to a trained professional, she would still be alive today. A professional would’ve been able to tell in three minutes that she was hallucinating and have delusions.”

Among the allegations Miller attempted to clarify in the affidavit were claims made by the Francis family in the aftermath of Mica’s death. As noted in his videos posted on TikTok, Miller claimed he was told at the hospital that no autopsy would be done on Mica’s body and that he had given the family $3,500 to help them travel to South Carolina for her funeral.

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“I spent these seven years fighting with her family over her taking her prescribed Lithium,” he wrote. “If Mica’s family had simply listened to me or listened to the doctors or listened to all the things Mica had told them in the past about her mental illness and how I take care of her, then she would be alive today.”

“Now her family spends all their energy abusing me, my children, my friends, and my church, through lies, accusations, harassment, defamation, slander, etc. knowing I’m the only one who took care of Mica and worked hard to keep her alive,” Miller continued. “They used all their energy to keep Mica from me and her medicine and they got the very thing they spent seven years trying to accomplish because now I can no longer be with the woman I love. I await the moment that I get to see my wife again, in heaven. I am distraught to have lost my best friend, but Jesus reigns as King so I know I will hold her again.”

The filing of the affidavit and supporting evidence is certainly interesting as all indications are that following the global settlement, Miller’s appointment as personal representative of his late wife’s estate is uncontested. But as with everything in this story, it appears nothing is simple. And given the ongoing criminal investigation – as well as rumblings that multiple civil lawsuits are in the works against him related to allegations of sexual abuse – this story is far from over.

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THE MEMORANDUM AND AFFIDAVIT…

(S.C. Circuit Court)

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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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