Who was Mica Miller? Inside Netflix’s Death of the Pastor’s Wife and the case against John-Paul Miller

Mica Miller was found dead on April 27, 2024, at Lumber River State Park in Robeson County, North Carolina. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and investigators found no evidence tying her estranged husband, pastor John-Paul Miller, to the death itself. But the allegations she made in the months before she died have kept the case in the headlines ever since, and in December 2025, they led to federal criminal charges against him.

Life before her death

Mica grew up in a religious household and, as a teenager, became involved with Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where John-Paul Miller served as pastor. The two married in November 2017, after each had come out of previous marriages, and Mica took on roles as creative director for the church's worship, youth and women's ministries.

By 2023, the marriage was unraveling. Mica filed for divorce that October but withdrew the filing months later; by early 2024 the couple was separated. Former church members and Mica's family have said she grew increasingly open about her struggles in the marriage, including suspicions that John-Paul was involved with Suzie Skinner, a woman who had joined the church in 2023. Mica eventually moved out and went to stay with relatives.

Escalating fear

After leaving, Mica repeatedly contacted police, reporting that she was being followed, that her phone was flooded with calls, and that her car tires had been damaged. A mechanic later found a tracking device on her vehicle. About a month before she died, she told police she feared for her life; her family has said she voiced the same fear to them.

On April 15, 2024, Mica filed for divorce a second time. John-Paul was served with the papers on April 25, two days before she died.

Her final hours

On April 27, Mica left the Myrtle Beach home where she'd been staying, stopped at a pawn shop to buy a firearm, and drove roughly an hour to Lumber River State Park. She called 911 at 2:54 p.m., asking if her phone could be located and telling the dispatcher she intended to end her life. Responders lost contact with her; witnesses reported hearing crying, then a gunshot. Her body was found not far from where police later recovered shell casings and her belongings.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video and witness statements and concluded there was no evidence John-Paul was involved — he had reportedly been in Charleston for a sporting event that day and was driving back to Myrtle Beach.

Federal charges, more than a year later

The case took a new turn in December 2025. A federal grand jury in Columbia, South Carolina, indicted John-Paul Miller on two counts: cyberstalking and making false statements to federal investigators. Prosecutors allege that from November 2022 until Mica's death, he sent a stream of unwanted and harassing communications, posted an explicit photo of her online without consent, arranged for a tracking device to be placed on her car, and — in one instance — contacted her more than 50 times in a single day. The indictment also accuses him of interfering with her finances and daily life, damaging her tires, and lying to investigators about it — he'd allegedly bought a tire-deflation device online while denying involvement.

He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on January 12, 2026, and was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond, ordered to wear an ankle monitor, surrender his passport, and stay within South Carolina without prior notice. He faces up to five years on the cyberstalking count and two years on the false-statements count, along with fines. He has denied abusing Mica and continues to maintain he had no role in her death.

The case was originally set for jury selection in July 2026, but a judge granted a continuance, pushing proceedings to the September 2026 term of federal court. A new trial date has not yet been announced.

Where he is now

Solid Rock Church closed in the months after Mica's death. John-Paul reportedly began preaching at another Myrtle Beach-area congregation, Mercy Church, in early 2025, though his name no longer appears on that church's website. In June 2025, he married Suzie Skinner.

The case has drawn renewed attention with the release of the Netflix docuseries Death of the Pastor's Wife, which examines Mica's life, her allegations, and the investigation that followed.