Photo: Mica Miller/Facebook
Haunting new footage of Mica Miller, the estranged wife of a controversial South Carolina pastor, shortly before her death was released by CCTV amid an ongoing FBI investigation.
Miller, 30, was seen pulling up to a North Carolina gas station in a black sedan and entering the store just hours prior to dying from what was reported to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The footage then shows her walking toward a refrigerator and picking out an energy drink, purchasing it and returning to her car to fill up her gas tank before driving away.
The FBI has launched a "parallel investigation" with the Robeson County Sheriff in connection to the case, however, specified it wasn't investigating Mica's death, PEOPLE.com reported on Wednesday (May 22). Earlier this month, Mica's sister, Sierra Francis, shared alleged screenshots of messages sent by Solid Rock Church Pastor John-Paul Miller to his wife and her relatives, which included making threats that he was armed.
“The proof is in the abuse,” Francis wrote on a post shared on the 'JusticeForMica' TikTok account. “Police reports were filed when JP threatened his life, we did a wellness check. That is when he got mad. Police stated “when they arrived to perform a wellness check, he was loading micas belongings into his truck. he stated he was not suicidal. #justiceformica.”
John-Paul Miller, 44, allegedly warned Mica's family that he was "armed" and "ready" and claimed "Mica can fix all of this" when her family threatened to call the police or send another relative if he showed up to her location.
“My blood is on you, and my kids will know. All you had to do was come home to me. But you don’t even care that much about me,” John-Paul Miller, a father of five from his previous marriage, allegedly wrote to Mica in another string of messages.
“All you had to do was love me enough to drive home to me, but you don’t even care that much about me, I love you, I’m sorry.”
“If you come home today we can take off the rest of the year and go to counseling everyday. Go to Iceland. Do whatever in order to get well.
“I also desperately want a child with u. I’m just scared of this. This is the only reason I wouldn’t. I’m scared of divorce or putting the child thru things like this where u leave and aren’t willing to do whatever it takes.”
The alleged messages were shared prior to federal authorities being called to investigate Mica's death. The Robeson County Sheriff's Office announced that it requested assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorney's Office for South Carolina amid questions of Miller's relationship with her estranged husband.
Mica shared a video addressing "abuse" on her Facebook account prior to her death. Divorce documents obtained by NewsNation on May 13 showed that Mica accused John-Paul of abusing her "emotionally, sexually, spiritually, financially, and physically."
"He has harassed me physically and electronically with letters, phone calls, emails, and texts, hacking my emails, hacking my personal Facebook, and impersonating me. Using my stolen phone to send texts and emails out to church members pretending to be me, texting friends and family saying that I am sleeping with teenagers from our church, and showing up in person at places around town … To having installed 3 different tracking devices on my vehicle," Mica wrote.
John-Paul Miller has also been accused by critics and internet sleuths of grooming his wife as she had joined his church at the age of 14 when he was already working as a pastor. Miller casually revealed that he visited visited his wife's body at a morgue four separate times and tried to "raise her from the dead" during a 20-minute speech at the funeral service for Mica on May 5 in a video shared by the church online May 11.
“Each time it still didn’t hit me, I thought she was going to wake up — I even tried to raise her from the dead one time this week,” he said.
Miller claims he saw a woman resembling his late wife at a wall and shouted, "Mica," only to find out that it was one of her sisters.
“I thought I raised her from the dead… I can’t wait to see her again one day,” he said.
Robeson County Medical Examiner Richard Johnson told ABC 15 that Mica was ruled to have died by suicide on May 6.
“Based on the nature of the wound, that it is consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. And it was not in the back of the head, as it has been speculated,” Johnson said.
Robeson County dispatch said it received a 911 call from a woman who allegedly threatened suicide and wanted to know if her phone could be located by her family on the day of Miller's death, FOX Carolina reported on May 7. The woman reportedly hung up and the dispatcher was unable to contact her, but pinpointed the location of the call to the area of Lumber River State Park in North Carolina.
A black Honda Accord confirmed to belong to Miller was found by State Park Rangers in a parking lot. A Sig Sauer gun case was located in the passenger seat, a box of ammunition in the center console and a receipt for the gun dated on the same day as Miller's death.
Authorities then received another 911 call from an individual who said a body and Sig Sauer 9mm handgun, which had a serial number matching the gun box found in the Accord, were located in the water at the park. Miller's phone and belongings were also reported to be found at the scene.
The new information was released amid speculation of John-Paul's involvement in his wife's death, which included Mica's sister publicly claiming that she warned her, "If I end up with a bullet in my head, it was JP," on "many occasions," according to WBTW. Police noted the pastor was reportedly seen traveling on Highway 17 in Horry County on the day of his wife's death.
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.