An embattled South Carolina pastor, whose wife committed suicide after what she said were years of abuse, has been indicted on federal charges.
What federal charges is unknown, but John-Paul “JP” Miller’s attorney confirmed the indictment to the Post&Courier in a text message. The True Sunlight Podcast, which has been following the case, said the charges were “cyberstalking” and “making false statements to federal authorities.”
Mica Miller committed suicide in a North Carolina state park on April 27, 2024, months after she filed for divorce. She told police, family, and friends that her husband was abusive and manipulative and had “groomed” her at his church from the time she was 10 years old until they married 14 years later, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Miller was in Charleston, South Carolina, with a woman he was “romantically involved” with at the time Mica Miller bought a gun, drove to a North Carolina state park, and shot herself, according to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. It’s not known if that woman was Suzie Skinner, a woman he had been involved with since 2021. He married her shortly in June this year, FITSNews reported.
Police did nothing about multiple reports from Mica Miller about her husband’s behavior, including the grooming accusations, saying they were still legally married, CrimeOnline reported.
In an overwrought “eulogy” delivered at Solid Rock Church after his wife’s death, the pastor claimed he was distraught, that he tried to raise her from the dead, and that he mistook his wife’s sister for her at a mall.
“I thought I raised her from the dead … I can’t wait to see her again one day,” he said.
His attorney later sent a letter to media outlets demanding that they stop reporting what Miller and her family said about him.
Friends and family believed the pastor was somehow involved in his wife’s death, but a thorough investigation by the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina exonerated him from any direct involvement since he was elsewhere with his girlfriend, as CrimeOnline reported. She was seen on video leaving her home on April 27 and buying a gun from a Myrtle Beach pawn shop before driving to Lumber River State Park in North Carolina.
There, she called 911 and asked if they could track her cell phone, telling the dispatcher she was “about to kill myself” and wanted to be sure her family could find her. Dispatched deputies were unable to reach her in time. A nearby fisherman reported hearing someone crying minutes before a gunshot.
Federal authorities searched a home connected to John-Paul Miller last year, and he was arrested following a confrontation with protesters in front of his church, as CrimeOnline reported.
Miller’s status as a pastor is unclear. Earlier this year, the Solid Rock Church property was sold to a holding company for $2.1 million, WPDE reported. The holding company sold an unedeveloped property to Solid Rock Ministries for $1.2 million, and the ownership deeds were transferred to Living Water Church. John-Paul Miller is the registered agent for that entity. The Solid Rock Church was emptied out shortly after the FBI searched it last year.
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[Featured image: Mica Miller/Burroughs Funeral Home and Cremation Services]