Everything We Know About the Mica Miller Case

Conspiracies have surrounded the mysterious death of Mica Miller, a 30-year-old woman married to South Carolina Pastor John-Paul Miller.

The news that local North Carolina investigators tapped the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI while looking into the death of Mica Miller, a 30-year-old woman married to South Carolina pastor John-Paul Miller, fed many conspiracy theorists online.  But the Robeson County Sheriff’s office has since denied that aid from federal officials was in regards to Mica’s specific case.

Investigators have been in contact with federal authorities “since the early stages of the Mica Miller investigation,” Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in a statement obtained by Inside Edition. “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.”

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The statement from the sheriff was later refuted Tuesday by Damien McLean, a veteran investigator with the sheriff’s office, who clarified that the federal help was requested to look into information that “is unrelated to Mica Miller’s death investigation in North Carolina. Mica Miller’s death remains to be declared as a suicide.”

According to a May 7 media release from the sheriff’s department, Mica died by suicide in late April due to a gunshot wound to the head. Her cause of death was determined after a review of  surveillance footage and an examination from the North Carolina Medical Examiner, as well as interviews. 

However, there has been much online chatter on TikTok about Mica because of a 911 call she made prior to her passing. Her death also came just days after she told a police officer that she was “scared for her life” after she found a GPS tracker on her car and a razor blade on her tire, according to ABC 11 News. 

Mica was also in the midst of separating from her husband, who has not been named as a suspect in connection to her death.

“She was beautiful on the outside,” Mica’s husband said during her eulogy. “But I got to lay next to her body and spend time with her body about four times this week, and each time, it still didn’t hit me. I thought she was gonna wake up. I even tried to raise her from the dead one time this week.”

Here’s what to know about the case. 

What happened? 

On April 27, Mica was seen in footage leaving her home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at 11:38 a.m. ET. Mica then went to Dick’s Pawn Shop at 12:12 p.m. where she purchased a gun. Mica then made a 911 call at 2:54 p.m.  and asked if a dispatcher was able to track her location. The dispatcher asked Mica to tell her what happened, to which Mica responded: “I’m about to kill myself, and I just want my family to know where to find me,” before hanging up. 

Unable to reach Mica following the end of the call, the dispatcher then contacted local authorities, who found Mica’s black Honda Accord at the Lumber River State Park in Orrum, North Carolina.

Investigators located a Sig Sauer gun case in the passenger seat of the vehicle and a box of ammunition in the center console of the vehicle. Investigators also found a receipt for the Sig Sauer handgun from a pawn shop and a receipt from a convenience store in the vehicle. Both receipts were dated for the same day of Mica’s death (April 27, 2024), according to a press release.

While they were searching for Mica, police were approached by an individual who said they found a bag near the edge of the water, and said he heard crying and a gunshot while he was fishing. The bag had Mica’s ID in it. 

Then, law enforcement received a call from someone who said they had found a body in the water. An officer went to the scene and called in the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, who identified the victim as Mica.  

Police also found Mica’s phone during the investigation, and saw that she had done a search for “national parks near me,” which showed a result for Lumber River State Park.  

Investigators confirmed that John Paul was not in North Carolina when his wife passed. Authorities also looked into the whereabouts of a woman he is allegedly romantically involved with. She was also not in North Carolina on the night before or on the day of Mica’s death, the release states.

“Investigators learned through interviews that John Paul Miller was at an athletic event in Charleston on the day of Mica Miller’s death. John Miller’s vehicle was observed traveling on Hwy 17 Bypass, in Horry County at 2:22 pm on April 27, 2024,” the office said in the media release. “The investigation confirmed that John Miller was accompanied while traveling to and from the event in Charleston, SC.”

Online conspiracies

Despite police statements about Mica’s cause of death, the case has bred lots of online conspiracies, even causing Solid Rock Church, where John-Paul works, to receive much harassment. John-Paul has since been released from his pastoral duties, ABC 15 News reports. TikTok users have also noticed a new account posting various videos of Mica, with every video on the account having at least more than 10,000 views.

An account with the name #justiceformica, which is run by Sierra Francis, Mica’s sister has also gone viral online. The account posts threatening messages that were allegedly from Mica’s husband, John-Paul. 

“Unfortunately, rumors and conspiracy theories were spreading quickly, and assumptions were being made. However, in the end, we must make decisions based on the facts, and evidence that has been gathered,” said Sheriff Burnis Wilkins in the May press release. “While I know it’s not what many people wanted to hear, the evidence is quite clear and compelling, and we are as saddened as anyone that this occurred. There are many factors that we have reviewed that occurred over an extended period of time that are probably related to the reason for this investigation, but in the end, sadly, a tragic decision was made by Mica that ended her life.” 

Mica’s family response

Mica’s family has also spoken out about the woman, saying that Mica was abused and questioning her cause of death as suspect. The family released their own statement on Tuesday when news broke that federal investigators were consulted. “The family is grateful for everything everyone has done to help to find Justice for Mica,” read a statement obtained by Inside Edition. “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.”

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.