Exclusive: ‘I was the best husband I could possibly be.’ SC pastor on his wife Mica Miller
John-Paul Miller tears up as he describes his last conversation with his late wife, Mica Miller.
It’s Sunday, July 14, 2024, and the former senior pastor is sitting on the stage inside the now empty chapel of Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach. It’s quiet, a stark difference from earlier that morning when church members sang along to “Jesus Reigns” — a Christian version of singer Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Before service, church members mingle and chat despite the scene outside the building. Along the street and driveway, a group of protesters have gathered, holding signs and shouting at anyone who drives up and enters the church. They have been outside the church every Sunday since May 6, and the organizers say they want justice for Mica.
The Sun News sat down with John-Paul at Solid Rock to talk about allegations involving his relationship with his wife Mica, who committed suicide in April.
Before her death, Mica had come over to John-Paul’s house several weeks prior and they talked for four hours, he claimed. Mica told him she wanted to come home but was afraid her family would be mad at her.
It was another layer in what has been a contentious relationship between John-Paul and Mica’s family regarding their marriage and her mental health issues.
After their conversation, Mica went back to her apartment and never contacted John-Paul again, he said. He continued to send her emails and text her family while his life as a pastor at Solid Rock Church went on.
Then on April 27, 2024, John-Paul was notified that his wife, who was not living with him at the time, had shot herself in the head, after calling 911. Her body was later found by police officials at a North Carolina state park and ruled a suicide.
“When she was with me for seven years, she was happy, healthy, whole and lived her life and loved it. Apart from me for three months, she committed suicide,” John-Paul said.
Her death gained national attention after allegations that John-Paul had abused Mica, stemming from Facebook posts made by Mica and her family. John-Paul has not been charged with abusing Mica and he denies the claims.
Regina Ward, the Mica’s family lawyer, refutes any claims that John-Paul did not abuse Mica. She said Mica’s mental health problems did not develop until her relationship with John-Paul began.
Days following Mica’s death, those on social media, along with former members of Solid Rock Church in Market Common, began piecing together a story that portrayed John-Paul as an abusive husband who drove his wife to suicide. Some have told The Sun News that they believe John-Paul killed the 30-year-old himself, despite Robeson County Sheriff’s Department’s report that he had an alibi the day she died.
There has been a rise of TikTok videos and Facebook groups dedicated to “finding the truth” with the hashtag, #justiceformica.
Mica’s family and John-Paul have continually pointed fingers at one another, each blaming the other for her death. Mica’s family claims that John-Paul abused Mica for years while John-Paul alleges that Mica’s family convinced her not to take her medications, which led to her suicide.
It appears that these claims will eventually be hashed out in court, as the Francis family has filed a lawsuit against John-Paul, and John-Paul said he is preparing to file his own lawsuit.
Mica’s father and sister, Michael and Sierra Francis, did not respond to a request to comment, or a voicemail asking for responses to John-Paul’s claims. The Sun News contacted Ward, who speaks for the family. Ward said she had advised the Francis family to not talk to media.
Mica’s death has left a swirl of controversy and a host of allegations spread across the internet. People want to know what happened — but there is no simple answer. All that remains are contradicting stories of a woman who can no longer speak.
“The one thing I have great peace about between me, God and my wife is that I was the best husband I could possibly be,” John-Paul said, “and if I would’ve done it over again I don’t think I could have done it any better.”
Mica’s history with mental illness
According to medical documents John-Paul shared with The Sun News, Mica was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dependent personality disorder and had a history of suicidal thoughts. A toxicology report from the North Carolina medical examiner’s officer listed her as having bipolar disorder and a history of suicide attempts.
She was prescribed a variety of medications over the years but lithium helped the most, John-Paul claimed. She struggled to take her medication, which was made worse by her family consistently encouraging her not to take it, he claimed.
Ward said Mica was never prescribed medications for her mental health and that John-Paul forced her to take his lithium prescription. John-Paul shared photos of Mica’s prescription bottles with The Sun News, including one for lithium.
John-Paul described several incidents that occurred with Mica when she wasn’t on her medication, including delusions regarding him and their marriage.
“She would think that I was a double agent from England many times and she would need a paper trail to prove who she is and to prove who I am,” John-Paul said.
During their seven-year marriage, Mica was hospitalized for her mental illness multiple times. The final time was in February, around three months before her death. Her family discharged her and she never permanently returned to the home shared with John-Paul, he alleged.
Mica’s family told The Sun News in May that Mica’s mental health problems didn’t start until she met and began a relationship with John-Paul.
“She was mentally healthy until she got snared in his web,” Ward said on July 15, 2024. “(There’s been) no evidence or incident or evaluations or diagnosis of her having any mental health problem until after she gets involved with John-Paul.”
Ward said she has not found the doctor who diagnosed Mica with these disorders nor a doctor who prescribed her lithium.
During the couple’s three-month separation before her April death, John-Paul claimed he could tell Mica was unmedicated due to the cadence of her speech in videos she posted to Facebook and the content of their texts.
“Every single day that she was away from me, I did something to try to get her back on medicine,” John-Paul said. “Whether it was an email, a letter, talking to one of her friends, trying to get one of her family members to understand.”
Mica’s death makes headlines
It was a Saturday afternoon when Mica shot herself. John-Paul said he found out Saturday evening, and the next morning, he decided to go forward with preaching on Sunday morning.
The April 28, 2024, service proceeded as usual until the end of the pastor’s sermon. That’s when he briefly and calmly mentioned how his wife, who had mental health struggles, was dead. He also asked church members not to discuss it.
He’s received backlash for preaching so soon after finding out his wife was dead and for announcing her death the way he did.
“When I got the phone call, it was late Saturday night, I felt like the world’s biggest failure. My life, as I knew it, was over completely and my worst fear had come upon me. Ten hours later, I was supposed to preach,” John-Paul said. “What exactly am I supposed to do? And so I went with my natural instinct, which was just to get up and work.”
If offered a do-over, John-Paul said he would have asked more people for advice about how he should announce it.
John-Paul was relieved of his duties as senior pastor for a time of healing shortly after. He didn’t have a solid answer when asked what healing looks like for him or when he might begin to preach again.
In the weeks before her death, John-Paul had not heard from Mica, despite him contacting her frequently — including sending multiple emails the day she died, he claimed.
Mica left her apartment on April 27, stopped by Dick’s Pawn Superstore in Myrtle Beach and bought a gun before driving to Lumber River State Park in Orrum, North Carolina, The Sun News reported. Once there, she called 911 and asked the operator to locate her because she was going to kill herself and wanted her family to find her body.
Shortly after, Mica hung up. An individual told police he heard a gunshot. Mica’s body was found in the river and her death was caused from a gunshot wound to the head.
John-Paul said he believes Mica’s death blew up on social media because her family created content that people found entertaining. He likened those posting and commenting about her death to the “Jerry Springer Show,” a TV talk show that featured outrageous guest behavior and addressed controversial topics.
“We know they’re lying. We know they’re not telling the truth. We know there’s no logic in that at all ... but we just keep watching because it’s so interesting,” John-Paul said. “I think that’s why it took off like it did.”
Ward said she heavily disagrees with John-Paul’s statement, saying she believes John-Paul is jealous and upset over the attention the Francis family has gotten. She also believes the case blew up because of the way John-Paul announced Mica’s death.
“The coercive control abuser does not want the spotlight on anyone but themselves,” Ward said.
It is true that John-Paul too has gone online, posting TikTok videos to give his side of the story and attempt to calm allegations. He also admitted not following the advice of those close to him, often doing the opposite, which at times has backfired.
John-Paul admitted to speaking to multiple PR people who have given him advice on how to behave with media and online.
“They basically all said, ‘Don’t act like yourself,’” John-Paul said.
John-Paul claims he never stalked Mica, but hired a PI
In March, Mica called the police twice to report a GPS tracker had been found on her car and also that her tires had been slashed, according to Myrtle Beach Police reports. The defendant in the report was not named but was assumed to be John-Paul.
“I never did those things,” John-Paul said. “However, I did hire a private (investigator) to put a tracker on her car.”
John-Paul claimed he began working with a private investigator on March 10 to track if Mica went near a gun store. He did this because during previous suicidal episodes, she had gone to Dick’s Pawn Superstore to buy a gun. On the day of her death, video footage provided by police showed that Mica had gone to Dick’s Pawn Superstore in Myrtle Beach and purchased a gun that she used to kill herself.
The investigator told John-Paul that he couldn’t track Mica for the sole purpose of preventing her from going to a gun store and that it needed to be for a relationship issue, such as a divorce or an affair. John-Paul said he filled out the correct paperwork with the investigator.
John-Paul had filed for legal separation from Mica in February, and two days after hiring the private investigator, he dismissed it, according to family court records. He claimed he dismissed the separation because, “I realized, on March 11, for a fact that she was having a mental breakdown and was not herself.”
Mica told police she discovered a tracker on her car on March 14 and March 24. Around three weeks before her death, John-Paul said he “unfortunately” stopped using the investigator after speaking with a spiritual advisor who told him to do so.
Other allegations against John-Paul included that he had groomed Mica since she was a young member of the church. He said he didn’t know what grooming is and that he doesn’t understand how a husband could stalk his wife.
Sierra Francis, Mica’s sister, told The Sun News in May she thinks John-Paul, “had his sights set on her from a young age.”
“There was never a relationship,” John-Paul said when referring to how he knew Mica as a minor. “I don’t think there was any interaction except for saying, ‘Hey,’ at church on Sunday, like I say to everybody.”
Mica and John-Paul’s romantic relationship started as an affair when she was 20 in 2015, John-Paul said. John-Paul claimed he does not remember how their relationship started but an affidavit filed by his first wife said Mica was their nanny.
They were both married at the time but later divorced their spouses so they could marry each other. They were wed in 2017.
Mica had filed for divorce in October 2023 but later dismissed it, then John-Paul filed for separation in February but dismissed it. Mica again filed for separation in April, serving the papers two days before her death, according to family court records.
Sierra said she found the couple’s relationship to be abusive and toxic. She did not give any concrete examples of abuse but said Mica would make comments that alluded something more was going on. Sierra said Mica got John-Paul’s signature tattooed on her body, which seemed “possessive” to her.
In order to get Mica to take meds, John-Paul would sneak them in her food or make her swallow the pills, Ward said. She could not find a lithium prescription for Mica, Ward said.
John-Paul refuted any claims that he abused Mica.
“They would tell her that I abused her because I want her to take medicine,” John-Paul said.
A contentious relationship between husband and family
Sierra and Michael Francis both said Mica’s family never liked her relationship with John-Paul. Michael said he found it concerning that Mica and John-Paul divorced their spouses and married each other in a short time span.
“He’s developing a pattern of obtaining a wife ... as a possession and if they got away, he would just get another one and do the same thing,” Michael told The Sun News on May 15.
The Francis family put up with John-Paul because they loved Mica and wanted to support her the best they could, Sierra said. This included some family members attending Solid Rock.
From John-Paul’s perspective, he described the Francis family as toxic and offered little support for Mica’s mental illness. He claims they would encourage holistic medical practices over taking medications.
The Francis family is currently suing Solid Rock and John-Paul for the property the church owns, including the land the church sits on and where it plans to expand.
Mica’s family previously went to court to gain control over her estate, as she had filed to legally separate from John-Paul at the time of her death. Later additions were added because the house John-Paul and Mica lived in is now church property.
‘She was a great pastor’s wife’
When asked why he believed Mica took her own life, John-Paul claimed, during their last conversation, that Mica seemed depressed and that one of the reasons was because she couldn’t come home. John-Paul alleged her family would not allow her to go back to him.
“That mindset, I believe, stayed with her until her schizophrenia kicked in and said, ‘Well, you should just harm yourself,’” John-Paul said.
Mica also said she was reading a book titled “I Love Jesus, but I Want to Die,” a Christian book about battling depression and suicidal thoughts.
It may not ever be clear what drove Mica to kill herself in April. Neither her husband nor her family admit any wrongdoing.
“We were good for each other. She was incredibly affirming. She was a great pastor’s wife,” John-Paul said. “She always wanted me to look in the very best light possible.”
To the allegations that he had something to do with his wife’s death, John-Paul said, “I did not have anything to do with my wife’s death at all.” He was in Charleston on the day of her death with his children’s school at a soccer tournament, which police confirmed.
“I went over and above,” John-Paul said regarding their marriage. “Money was not an issue. Time was not an issue ... If her family had simply looked at her and said, ‘Mica if you love him, you can go home and we’ll support you,’ she’d be alive today.
“The fact that we had such a great marriage that we did was pretty amazing. It’s very amazing, considering the stress of my job, considering the mental illness, considering her family, I mean, we did very very well.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
