The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at the home of South Carolina Pastor John-Paul Miller on Friday, Nov. 1, but would not confirm if the search was related to the death of the pastor’s estranged wife, Mica Miller.
“I came back outside and saw cop cars everywhere. Officers in the front yard with guns drawn, got a little bit nervous,” neighbor Dennis Blair told News13. “Then I heard the bullhorn go off, saying, ‘This is the FBI, we have your house surrounded. Come out with your hands up. We’re here to execute a warrant.’ At that point, I got a little nervous and they yelled at me to grab my dog and go back into the house.”
FBI Searches House of Mica Miller’s Husband, Pastor John-Paul Miller
Speculation and controversy have swirled around the death of Mica Miller, who was married to and estranged from John-Paul Miller, pastor of Solid Rock at Market Common church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
John-Paul and Mica Miller have been the headlines since April 28, when Miller took time at the end of Sunday service to tell his congregation his wife had died by suicide. Miller said his wife, who passed away April 27, had mental health challenges and had struggled with suicide in the past.
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However, former Solid Rock congregant, Angela Clark, who was a friend of Mica’s, said Mica had filed for divorce and was attempting to get out of “an abusive marriage.” Additional troubling details emerged in the following weeks.
Miller told The Christian Post that he and Mica had married each other after committing adultery while they were each married to other people. The pastor also said his wife had “bipolar II, schizophrenic and dependent personality disorder.”
However, some friends and Mica’s own family members maintained that Mica would not have taken her own life. Mica’s sister, Sierra Francis, encouraged people not to “listen to false stories being shared about” Mica, adding “Mica was a God-fearing, joyful, loving woman who did not deserve the abuse she endured” and including the hashtag #justiceformica.
Francis later claimed that Mica had told her, “If I end up with a bullet in my head, it was not by me, it was JP (John-Paul).” Mica’s friends and family have also said Mica told them that Miller, who was 14 years her senior, groomed her when she was a minor.
Despite the speculation surrounding Mica’s death, the North Carolina Medical Examiner and the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office concluded that Mica died by suicide. The sheriff’s office said its “decision was based on surveillance footage, interviews, physical evidence, and the examination of the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Investigators also found that John-Paul Miller was “allegedly romantically involved” with another woman when his wife passed away. However, the sheriff’s office found that neither the pastor nor this other woman were in the same state as Mica when Mica died.
Following those conclusions, John-Paul Miller through his attorney addressed rumors he had been responsible for his wife’s death and threatened legal action against any people or media outlets who refuse to “cease and desist from perpetuating these harmful falsehoods.”