John-Paul Miller has been awarded control of the estate of his late wife, Mica Miller.
Miller, the former senior pastor at Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, and his attorney appeared in Horry County Probate Court on Monday. It was announced that Sierra Francis, Mica Miller’s sister, had withdrawn her petition to be the head of Mica’s estate.
Mica Miller’s family previously went to court to gain control over her estate, as she had filed to legally separate from John-Paul Miller at the time of her death. Later additions were added because the house John-Paul and Mica lived in is now church property.
The Francis family filed a lawsuit against Solid Rock and John-Paul Miller for the property the church owns, including the land the church sits on and where it plans to expand.
The judge must still approve the petition, as there is a 10-day waiting period.
On April 27, 2024, John-Paul Miller was notified that his wife, who was not living with him at the time, had shot herself in the head, after calling 911. Her body was later found by police officials at a North Carolina state park and ruled a suicide.
“When she was with me for seven years, she was happy, healthy, whole and lived her life and loved it. Apart from me for three months, she committed suicide,” Miller said in an exclusive interview on July 14, 2024.
Her death gained national attention after allegations that Miller had abused Mica, stemming from Facebook posts made by Mica and her family. Miller has not been charged with abusing Mica and he denies the claims.
Regina Ward, the Mica’s family lawyer, refutes any claims that John-Paul did not abuse Mica. She said Mica’s mental health problems did not develop until her relationship with John-Paul began.
Sierra and Michael Francis, Mica’s sister and father, both said Mica’s family never liked her relationship with John-Paul.
“He’s developing a pattern of obtaining a wife … as a possession and if they got away, he would just get another one and do the same thing,” Michael told The Sun News on May 15.
The Francis family put up with John-Paul because they loved Mica and wanted to support her the best they could, Sierra said. This included some family members attending Solid Rock.
Days following Mica’s death, those on social media, along with former members of Solid Rock Church in Market Common, began piecing together a story that portrayed John-Paul as allegedly an abusive husband who drove his wife to suicide.
There has been a rise of TikTok videos and Facebook groups dedicated to “finding the truth” with the hashtag, #justiceformica.
Mica’s family and John-Paul have continually pointed fingers at one another, each blaming the other for her death. Mica’s family claims that John-Paul abused Mica for years while John-Paul alleges that Mica’s family convinced her not to take her medications, which led to her suicide.
What happened to Mica Miller the SC woman married to a pastor
Mica left her apartment on April 27, stopped by Dick’s Pawn Superstore in Myrtle Beach and bought a gun before driving to Lumber River State Park in Orrum, North Carolina, The Sun News reported. Once there, she called 911 and asked the operator to locate her because she was going to kill herself and wanted her family to find her body.
Shortly after, Mica hung up. An individual told police he heard a gunshot. Mica’s body was found in the river and her death was caused from a gunshot wound to the head.
Her death was ruled a suicide by Robeson County Sheriff’s Department and the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.
