Chris Skinner’s Death: Despair-Induced Suicide? Or Sinister Submersion?

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A newly uncovered civil rights complaint filed in 2017 by Chris Skinner and Suzie Skinner – a couple from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – is raising new questions about Chris Skinner’s unsettling death four years later. This narrative-altering document detailed a personal struggle tied directly to the pool where Chris Skinner would later lose his life.

Or, according to some, take his own life… one of several suspicious deaths tied to the ongoing saga of embattled Palmetto State pastor John-Paul Miller.

The complaint reframed the location in question, the Emmens Preserve pool, as a space at the center of an ongoing dispute between the Skinners and their homeowners’ association – a location where Chris, who was paralyzed, was repeatedly denied access despite requesting reasonable accommodations that would have allowed him to safely enjoy this neighborhood amenity.

A suicide in this place would contradict the core values Chris Skinner consistently embodied—faith, perseverance, and triumph over tragedy.  

At only twenty years of age, Chris Skinner was serving in the Army National Guard and living the fast-paced life of a college student when tragedy struck. A devastating car crash involving a drunk driver left him paralyzed from the chest down — an event that could have ended his sense of purpose. Instead, it launched a powerful transformation. Rather than give in to despair, Chris chose to rewrite his story, using his own experience as a platform to educate and inspire others.

“Life matters,” Chris said. “Make it count.”

This mantra resonated through his speeches, writings and daily interactions. For Chris, this wasn’t just a phrase. It was a philosophy forged in hardship and reaffirmed through resilience. He didn’t just survive paralysis – he transcended it.

“Every day is a gift, and I choose to use mine to uplift others,” Chris said.

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THE ADA COMPLAINT

In 2017, the Skinners filed a formal complaint with the S.C. Human Affairs Commission (SCHAC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after their Myrtle Beach homeowners’ association (HOA) repeatedly denied Chris equal access to the pool. The complaint named the Waccamaw Management Company, the Residents Club Owners Association of Hilton Head and the Residents Club Owners Association of Myrtle Beach as defendants.

The Skinners were dues paying members of the club and part of that membership entitled them to the use of the pool. However, in order to safely enjoy it Chris needed assistance. The Skinners repeatedly approached the HOA board with proposed solutions, but were refused.

“The board denied him the right to access the pool safely with the use of his own personal assistance device,” the complaint noted.

The board also unanimously denied a request for an individual to bring a personal pool lift to the pool for use. The Skinners requested the HOA install a permanent pool lift — and that request was tabled until the following year. The HOA newsletter explained that the board did not want to provide the lift for one person, but would revisit the matter when more than one person could benefit from it.

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“The pool lift would become more of an issue as the entire community ages,” it noted, offering no alternative solution.

“The respondent is refusing to address his needs only; therefore, he has to wait until more people need the same accommodation,” according to the conciliation agreement. “The complainant is being subjected to disparate terms and conditions; he is being denied the access and privilege that non-disabled club members are afforded in order to safely enter and exit the common pool area.”

The Skinners’ complaint alleged that such a denial amounted to discrimination. 

The parties entered into an agreement to settle the matter and the HOA later agreed to install a pool lift. Whether that lift was ever properly maintained – or usable by Chris Skinner – remains unclear. 

FITSNews requested the case file, but were denied because it no longer exists. All documents were destroyed after two years, according to the commission’s document destruction schedule. 

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Chris Skinner wasn’t just a disabled man fighting for accommodations. He was an inspirational author and nationally recognized motivational speaker. His work spanned nearly two decades, and he was co-founder of the Adaptive Surf Project — a nonprofit bringing the thrill of the ocean to others living with paralysis.

Years later, Chris Skinner would be found submerged in the very pool that was the focus of his discrimination complaint. Still alive, but unresponsive, he was pulled from the water approximately an hour after his TracFab All Terrain wheelchair was driven into the pool, according to reports from first responders.

“The victim… stops at a curve in the pool and then suddenly moves quickly forward and goes into the water,” a police report (.pdf) noted. “The victim is seen lifting his head up (above water) a few times before the camera cuts to a different time.”

“No on else (was) in the pool area at the time of the incident,” the report continued.

Chris Skinner died shortly after he was transported to the hospital, but a 9-1-1 call from one of the women who discovered his body left little doubt as to his condition prior to the arrival of paramedics.

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“We have a dead body in our pool,” the woman told a Myrtle Beach dispatcher.

Informed paramedics were “on their way,” the woman indicated such efforts were likely to be futile.

“I think he’s gone,” she said.

“Who’s gone?” the dispatcher asked.

“The body in the pool,” she responded.

Suzie Skinner, who arrived on the scene shortly after emergency responders, reportedly informed them her husband had a “do not resuscitate” order. When asked to produce documentation of the order, she left the pool to retrieve it, but was unable to immediately produce the paperwork. When she departed Emmens Preserve pool for the final time that day, it was not to join her husband at the hospital. Instead, she departed with her alleged paramour – Solid Rock pastor John-Paul Miller – and his wife, the late Mica Francis Miller.

Suzie Skinner would not return to the hospital until hours later, accompanied by one of her late husband’s relatives.

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THE TracFAB FACTOR

In March 2020, Chris received a TracFab All Terrain wheelchair — a gift made possible by donors who were rallied to his cause by ESPN’s Marty Smith. This 485-pound machine was designed to help Chris reclaim a sense of independence: it could navigate sand, snow, rocky terrain and shallow water. It had waterproof features, shock-absorbing suspension and was built for rugged environments.

Chris’ TracFab was operated by a joystick—or, optionally, by a secondary user, according to the manufacturer’s specifications.

It is not clear if – or when – this “optional attendant control” feature was ever accessed on Skinner’s TracFab model.

On the day of his death, surveillance footage confirmed the wheelchair was deliberately driven into the pool. How exactly this occurred is unknown. 

What is known: a TracFab does not float. And Chris, submerged for an hour, did not die instantly. And while those who found him in the pool presumed he was already “gone,” in truth he was still alive when he was finally pulled from the water, according to Myrtle Beach first responders. 

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A CRUMBLING MARRIAGE, A QUESTION OF MOTIVE

In the months leading up to his death, Chris Skinner withdrew from the church where he had once been an active member. The reason? According to sources, his wife was having an affair with the pastor – John-Paul Miller.

According to an affidavit from Miller’s ex-wife, Alison Williams, Chris confronted John-Paul two weeks before his death – telling him, explicitly, to stay away from his wife and his children.

In the months leading up to the tragedy, Suzie’s behavior toward her husband was also changing according to Chris Skinner’s friends and family members. She was responsible for his care, yet she reportedly stopped bathing him regularly, diverging from a schedule the couple had followed for years. 

While infrequent bathing might seem trivial at first glance, it carried with it serious consequences for Chris – who faced ongoing medical complications tied to his long-term paralysis. According to his longtime friend, Marty Smith, Chris suffered from recurring pressure sores—serious skin wounds which are common among individuals with limited mobility. At times, these became life-threatening – requiring intensive wound care and vigilant hygiene to manage. Bathing was not just part of a cosmetic routine; it was medically necessary.

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RELATED | EXPLOSIVE ALLEGATIONS LEVELED AGAINST SOLID ROCK PASTOR

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In 2025, during a magistrate court hearing in which Miller was seeking to silence critics and protesters by requesting restraining orders and damages, Suzie Skinner took the stand. Under oath, Miller asked her: “Are you my girlfriend?”

“Yes,” she replied.

This confirmation came less than a year after the suspicious death of Miller’s own wife, Mica Francis Miller, which was exclusively reported by FITSNews.

Of interest? Dashcam video obtained by this media outlet showed both John-Paul Miller and Mica Miller arriving at the pool less than an hour after emergency responders descended upon the scene. After parking in the roadway, the couple are seen on foot approaching the gate to the facility – which was cordoned off by police tape – and briefly speaking with responding officers prior to departing moments later.

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EXPLORING THE MANNER OF DEATH

With recent developments indicating authorities are re-examining Chris Skinner’s manner of death — which was initially determined to have been accidental — alternative options must be explored. Could his death have been a suicide? Or was there a more sinister cause to his chair entering the pool?

Many have speculated that Chris, devastated by his wife’s affair and reportedly neglected in his care, drove himself into the pool and ended his own life.

Such an act, however, would seem to stand in stark contrast to Chris’s core identity and life’s work. After the accident that paralyzed him, Chris rebuilt his life on the values of resilience, motivation and spiritual perseverance. He was a man who spoke to thousands about finding purpose through pain, and who co-founded a nonprofit dedicated to empowering others with disabilities to experience the joy and freedom of surfing.

To die in a pool he once fought to make accessible — using the very wheelchair gifted to him by strangers who believed in his life’s meaning and purpose – would seem to be a contradiction of all he held to be true.

Suicide by this method, in this place, not only seems out of character – it would potentially undermine the legacy Skinner had been building for 20 years. 

Chris was a nationally known speaker, author, and Christian. His identity was built around overcoming adversity. He had no known history of suicidal ideation.

Chris Skinner died on September 6, 2021.

Mica Francis Miller died on April 27, 2024.

Both deaths are surrounded by a lingering dark cloud of suspicion laden with unanswered questions and unresolved speculation.

“It is chilling to know that the spouses of both Suzie and J.P. are now dead from tragic events,” said Alison Williams, ex-wife of John Paul Miller and the mother of four of his children, in a May 2024 affidavit. 

The water may have stilled—but it certainly seems as though truth has yet to surface.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Callie Lyons is a relentless investigative journalist, researcher, and author known for exposing hard truths with heart and precision. As a journalist for FITSNews, she dives into high-profile and murky cases—like that of Mica Francis Miller— with fearless resolve and a sharp eye for detail, whether it’s tracking white-collar crime, uncovering religious abuse, or examining the often-bizarre behavior of those who believe they’re above the law.

Callie made waves with her groundbreaking 2007 book Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal, the first to reveal the dangers of forever chemicals, a story that helped inspire the film Dark Waters and influenced global scientific dialogue. Her work has appeared in numerous documentaries, including Toxic Soup, National Geographic’s Parched: Toxic Waters, and more recently Citizen Sleuth, which examines the complexities of true crime podcasting.

Whether she’s navigating environmental disasters or the darker corners of society, Lyons operates with one guiding belief: “Truth never damages a cause that is just.”

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