Mica Miller estate documents claim abuse, attempts to hide assets

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — ABC15 obtained documents from Horry County Probate Court that outline the concerns Mica Miller's immediate family expressed regarding her death and her estate in the days following her death.

Mica, who was 30 years old, died by suicide at the Lumber River State Park in Robeson County on April 27. Since her death, law enforcement has released the 911 call, security footage and a timeline of events detailing the day she died.

Prior to her death, Mica was in the middle of divorce proceedings with her estranged husband, John-Paul Miller, who is a pastor at Solid Rock Church in The Market Common.

According to an affidavit released to ABC15, Mica's sister, Sierra Francis applied to be the special administrator of Mica's estate on May 2, less than a week after her passing and four days before the Robeson County Medical Examiner announced her cause of death as suicide.

In the affidavit, Sierra claims Mica said she experienced "abuse and violence" from her husband, John-Paul.

Sierra said Mica believed people were following her and John-Paul had hired people to keep track of where she went. Sierra added John-Paul later confirmed this information during a sermon she watched, per the affidavit.

The court documents state, Mica told her sister that John-Paul was moving assets that were in his name, such as his car, changing the deed to their house to the church and transferring interest in Crocodile Rocks to one of his sons. Crocodile Rocks is a piano bar in Myrtle Beach. According to Horry County's online land records, the land was transferred from John-Paul Miller to Solid Rock Ministries, Inc on December 15, 2023.

In February of this year, the affidavit states John-Paul removed Mica's personal belongings from their home while she was admitted to Waccamaw Mental Health Facility and left them at another person's apartment. An affidavit from Mica's brother, Nathaniel Francis, claimed John-Paul did this to "keep an eye on her." Mica was not aware her belongings were being moved until she was discharged from the hospital, according to Sierra's affidavit.

Following this incident, Mica retained a divorce attorney and joined a new church.

Documents state that before she was hospitalized, Mica was gathering "evidence" to bring to a divorce attorney, which allegedly supported her claims of John-Paul's abuse, character and "associates he paid off or blackmailed." While she was admitted to the facility, those documents, emails and files were removed from her phone, laptop, vehicle and purse and were never recovered, per the affidavit. Mica was also reportedly not able to access her iCloud account, email or Facebook profile. John-Paul used at least one of Mica's accounts, causing any recipient to believe they were communicating with Mica, the probate documents read.

Sierra testified in her affidavit that Mica had expressed what she wanted life to look like after her divorce from John-Paul including living part-time in Kenya and serving on missions; she added Mica also expressed she was "fearful she would not make it to the divorce and that her life would be taken from her."

According to the affidavit, Mica told Sierra:

if I end up with a bullet in my head, it was not me, it was JP.

In his affidavit, Nathaniel speaks to multiple emails that were forwarded to him by Mica and John-Paul. In one of those emails, according to the affidavit, Nathaniel says John-Paul apologizes for causing damage to her vehicle, as well as writing that he was angry when Mica confided or "put her family" before him, which made him "want to hurt her."

The email continued, according to the court documents:

When someone hurts me, I try to hurt them back rather than forgive" and "instead of me forgiving you.... I just attack and try to cause pain.

Mica told her brother several times that she feared John-Paul and "just wanted to escape him," the documents stated.

Nathaniel also testified in his affidavit that Mica had told him she'd prepared legal documents for Nathaniel to make decisions for her well-being. "However, those documents were not located. The only legal documents discovered appointed Mr. Miller as her power of attorney," the affidavit reads.

Court documents confirmed John-Paul was served with divorce papers on April 25, two days before Mica died.

In the days following her death, Mica's family, friends and community residents held rallies and memorials calling for "Justice for Mica."

On Monday, the Robeson County Sheriff's Office announced that they requested assistance from the United States Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the investigation in South Carolina.

In a statement released Monday, the sheriff's office said they have been in contact with both agencies since the early stages of the investigation.

The full statement reads:

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with the United States Attorney’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation in South Carolina since the early stages of the Mica Miller investigation. Based on the information gathered during the investigation and jurisdiction reasons, the Sheriff’s Office has requested the assistance of both agencies. No other information will be released at this time. Anyone with information pertaining to the Miller investigation in South Carolina is asked to contact the Columbia, SC FBI Office at 803-551-4200.

Mica's family released the following statement following the announcement of the feds being involved in the investigation:

The family is grateful for everything everyone has done to help to find Justice for Mica. They are aware that Robeson County Sheriff's office released a statement about the FBI being involved. However, the family has no personal knowledge of the nature of any FBI investigation and therefore, has no comment. #JusticeForMica.

John-Paul Miller has not been arrested or charged with any crimes related to Mica Miller's death.

ABC15 reached out to John-Paul Miller's attorney for comment on this story. We have not yet heard back.

Read a previous statement from Miller’s attorney here.

Sierra and Nathaniel's affidavits can be read in full below:

ABC15 MICA MILLER COVERAGE:

• Feds called in to assist Mica Miller investigation in South Carolina
• Attorney for John-Paul Miller releases statement on passing of Mica Miller
  
• Cause of death for Myrtle Beach pastor's wife, Mica Miller, revealed
• 911 call, security footage and timeline detail day of Mica Miller's death
• Fisherman who heard Mica Miller's cry, gunshot upset over social media attacks
• Mica Miller accused estranged husband, pastor, of 'grooming' her at church
• 'Afraid for her life:' Reports detail harassment ahead of Mica Miller's death
• 'Got to be some accountability:' Loved ones grieve amid death investigation of MB woman
• 'The greatest wife:' Husband speaks out after Myrtle Beach woman dies in NC
• Memorials held to honor MB woman Mica Miller amid death investigation
• Solid Rock pastor released, website suspended amid Mica Miller death investigation
• 'A strong, godly, loving woman:' Grand Strand community seeks justice for Mica Miller
• Solid Rock Church leaders report harassment amidst controversy over Mica Miller's death