Mica Miller lawyer says to leave JP Miller, church alone. Family’s view on relationship

Regina Ward, the lawyer for Mica Miller’s family, told protesters to not protest outside Solid Rock Church or John-Paul Miller’s home and instead focus on the potential of “Mica’s Law.”

Ward and Mica Miller’s family hosted a press conference on Wednesday afternoon outside the Horry County Courthouse. This followed a hearing that gave Mica’s family the rights to the belongings Mica Miller had on her at the time of her death. Currently Robeson County Sheriff’s Office is holding on to the items, Ward said.

Mica Miller was the wife of Solid Rock Church pastor John-Paul Miller. Police say she committed suicide at a North Carolina State Park on April 27. Her death, and her relationship with her husband, which included alleged abuse, sparked national interest.

It is unclear whether Robeson County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating Miller’s death. The department did not respond to The Sun News’ request to comment. The FBI assisted with the investigation, FBI spokesperson Kevin Wheeler said. In such investigations, the FBI will assist at times when cases span across state lines.

Mica Miller lived in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but her death happened in North Carolina.

There have been protests happening outside of Solid Rock Church, 803 Howard Ave. in Myrtle Beach, including one on June 2. Around 20 people gathered across the street from the church around the time of Sunday service. Protesters shouted at people as they entered the church while wearing purple shirts that said “Break the silence and end domestic violence #JusticeForMica.”

Alexandra Cuozzo, who organized the protest, said she wants to see justice for Mica Miller. When asked what justice would look like, Cuozzo said she wants to see John-Paul Miller in jail for his actions. There have been theories online saying John-Paul Miller was directly involved in her death despite police saying that he was in Charleston the day she died.

John-Paul Miller has denied abusing his wife.

At Wednesday’s press conference, one person who was at the protest on Sunday asked Ward if the protests are helpful. Mica Miller’s siblings attended the protest, standing behind Ward, but did not speak.

“I haven’t spoken to the family specifically about that, but I think I have an idea of what they would say,” Ward said. “They want your support (legislatively). They don’t need you to be walking around Mr. Miller’s house, his back door, across the church.”

Ward, acting with the family, is trying to pass a coercive control bill, which would later be named “Mica’s Law.” It would modify the domestic violence law to include coercive control behaviors, such as isolating victim’s from their family, depriving them of basic needs and stalking.

This has not yet been brought to Sen. Luke Rankin, Ward said.

Mica Miller’s family never approved of her relationship with John-Paul Miller

Mica Miller first met John-Paul Miller when she was a teenager, according to an earlier interview with her family. At the time, she had recently moved to Myrtle Beach with her family and they had begun attending Solid Rock Church. When she was 18, she married her first husband, who was also affiliated with Solid Rock Church.

The marriage lasted until about 2016, when Mica and John-Paul Miller began having an affair, according to the family. That’s when they both divorced their spouses and married each other in the fall of 2017.

Mica Miller’s father, Michael Francis, said the family never liked her relationship with John-Paul Miller and Mica Miller knew that. Michael Francis said he thought being in a new relationship and getting married right after a divorce was the wrong decision.

“I had lunch with her with a minister friend of mine and we talked with her extensively about how it is very, very unwise to to be in a relationship with John-Paul,” Michael Francis said.

Although her family disapproved of her relationship with John-Paul Miller, her sister Sierra Francis said they put up with it so they could see Mica Miller.

“When it’s your sibling, you support them and you just voice your concerns,” Sierra Francis said. “But the only way that we could maintain a relationship with her is if we kind of push our differences to the side.”

The timeline of the divorce is messy, as Mica Miller filed for divorce in October 2023 and it was later dismissed by both parties, according to South Carolina family court records. Then John-Paul Miller filed for separation in February 2024 but he dismissed it. In April, 10 days before she died, Mica Miller filed for separation again.

In the time Mica and John-Paul Miller were apart, Michael Francis said the family was trying to help Mica Miller with leaving him. They would offer to let her stay in their homes. Although she would stay with family sometimes, Michael Francis said he feels she should have stayed with someone for the first year of her separation.

About the case

Mica Miller was the wife of a Myrtle Beach area pastor who committed suicide on April 27, according to North Carolina officials. In May, Robeson County Sheriff’s Office released a video of her buying a gun before driving from Myrtle Beach to a North Carolina state park. There, she called 911 and told them she was planning to kill herself. Her body was found in the park.

North Carolina officials determined Mica Miller committed suicide on April 27. There’s video of her buying a gun before driving from Myrtle Beach to a North Carolina state park. There, she called 911 and told them she was planning to kill herself. Her body was found in the park.

Her death has become a national conversation topic, with people making TikToks about her, Facebook groups being started and posts circulating online with the #JusticeForMica.