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Pastor John-Paul Miller – the embattled founder of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s Solid Rock Ministries – has filed a civil suit against a Grand Strand paralegal for allegedly “proliferating false and harmful claims” against him in the aftermath of the mysterious death of his estranged wife, Mica Francis Miller.
The lawsuit – which also accuses the paralegal of stalking and harassment – is the latest chapter in still-unspooling saga that began nearly five months ago with our media outlet’s initial reporting on Mica’s supposed suicide in North Carolina.
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. Mica traveled to this remote location from Myrtle Beach earlier that day, and her body was discovered by police in a swampy area approximately forty meters away from where spent shell casings and her belongings were recovered.
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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 – raised doubts and put him squarely in the public’s crosshairs.
Now, a Myrtle Beach, S.C. paralegal has been accused by Miller of taking things too far in accusing him of culpability related to his wife’s death.
Miller’s lawsuit – filed in Horry County on Tuesday (September 17, 2024) – seeks damages in the amount of $6 million from 38-year-old Myrtle Beach, S.C. paralegal Melissa Mancari. According to the suit (.pdf), Mancari allegedly defamed Miller during an interview that aired earlier this month on the channel of popular YouTube content creator Robbie Harvey. Mancari is also alleged to have defamed Miller during another interview which aired shortly thereafter on a true crime TikTok page entitled Steph’s Case Files.
Miller’s attorney, Russell B. Long, also accused Mancari of stalking and harassing the embattled pastor in the lawsuit.
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Mancari claims to have first-hand knowledge of the events leading up to Mica’s death. According to her, Miller previously contacted the law firm where she worked in search of a divorce attorney. She claimed he said he wanted to “destroy” Mica – which led her to believe he had an active hand in Mica’s demise.
According to the suit, Miller tracked Mancari down after he noticed someone taking pictures and videos of him outside of his attorney’s office – and posting those images and videos to social media. On September 6, 2024, Miller learned Mancari worked in an office adjacent to that of his long-time attorney, Tom Winslow. That same day, he stopped by this office to “inquire as to who might be responsible for constantly harassing him by filming him every time he visited his attorney,” per the suit.
The following day, the lawsuit alleged Mancari returned to social media claiming Miller had visited her place of work – Whatley Family Law – and threatened her. Miller denied that allegation, stating the paralegal’s supervisory attorney had been present for “the entire encounter.”
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RELATED | SOLID AS A ROCK?
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Mancari no longer works at the Whatley law firm, although the circumstances which led to her departure are not immediately known.
“(John-Paul Miller) has suffered damages related to his reputation as a result of this,” according to the complaint. “Furthermore, (Mancari)’s lies about (Miller) have caused a local stir resulting in other local residents harassing, stalking and threatening (his) life. (Miller) and his family have been placed in harms way by (Mancari’s) grossly negligent and intentional public accusations. (Mancari’s) actions have caused a barrage of libelous and slanderous conduct by many others, and relentless cyber bullying targeted at the (Miller).”
In addition to damages, Miller’s complaint requested a hearing for the purpose of obtaining a preliminary injunction against Mancari to prevent her from “making false statements” about Miller – and an order requiring her to “remove the defamatory comments for all social media platforms permanently.”
Count on our media outlet to keep our audience in the loop as this case makes its way through the Horry County system…
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THE COMPLAINT…
(S.C. Fifteenth Judicial Circuit)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Callie Lyons is a journalist, researcher and author. Her 2007 book ‘Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal’ was the first to cover forever chemicals and their impact on communities – a story later told in the movie ‘Dark Waters.’ Her investigative work has been featured in media outlets, publications, and documentaries all over the world. Lyons also appears in ‘Citizen Sleuth’ – a 2023 documentary exploring the genre of true crime.
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