[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
This effing guy…
We now know, pretty definitively it seems, that Mica Miller really did die by suicide. But the more we read about this case, the more we get a picture of a woman who was trying to so hard to escape the psychological torment at the hands of one man — her husband.
Yes, John-Paul Miller, or J.P. as he’s known locally, the pastor with the sketchy reaction to the shocking news of his wife’s death. He apparently has a rock solid alibi for her time of death. But the evidence he was a terrible husband — even after estrangement — keeps piling up.
Related: Mica Told Sister If She Ended Up Shot In The Head, It Was Her Ex
NewsNation got hold of an email J.P. allegedly sent to Mica just a few days before her death — apparently apologizing for putting revenge porn of her on the internet! Yes, this is a freakin’ church pastor we’re talking about! Per the outlet, J.P. was writing to apologize to his wife for posting a topless photo of her online. He said:
“I’m sorry for putting a picture of you on the internet. It was for less than one hour and immediately taken down.”
Notice how he apologizes but then immediately minimizes how bad it was because he took it down? That’s not all. He then jumps straight to explaining WHY he did it:
“I was hurt that you are telling everyone horrible intimate details of my past sin, and I just wanted to try and hurt you. Please forgive me. It was evil of me to do that.”
“Intimate details” of his “past sin”?? What’s that about? Well, this was reportedly less than two weeks before her death. So we can point to what she had been posting on her Facebook, which was newly wiped of his presence. There she made videos speaking out about escaping a “dangerous” situation and specifically addressed other Christian women suffering “abuse” at the hands of their husbands. That’s just what we have a record of. We can guess she was telling folks she knew about the upsetting specifics.
And we now have a better idea what those were. Two days after that email — just nine days before her death, per NewsNation — Mica wrote an affidavit to her divorce attorney finally unleashing all of it. She wrote:
“Since the day we became husband and wife, I have been abused in every way I can think of. Emotionally, sexually, spiritually, financially, and physically. He has harassed me physically and electronically with letters, phone calls, emails, and texts, hacking my emails, hacking my personal Facebook, and impersonating me. Using my stolen phone to send texts and emails out to church members pretending to be me, texting friends and family saying that I am sleeping with teenagers from our church, and showing up in person at places around town … To having installed 3 different tracking devices on my vehicle.”
JFC. How did this man of the cloth get away with this?? Oh… we just answered our own question, didn’t we?
After all, the story we’ve heard is that J.P. met Mica when she was just a 14-year-old churchgoer, and he had another wife — and four kids. He’s been accused of grooming Mica until she was old enough to cheat with and then marry. She had apparently been babysitting for him. ICK! If all that is true, it sounds like he was using his position to prey on women all along. But that didn’t stop when he got married, per her filing.
DailyMail.com obtained Mica’s original divorce filing, which was actually made way back in October of last year, six months before her death. Unlike so many of these “irreconcilable differences” ones, Mica straight up said she was leaving him “on the grounds of adultery.” The filing reads:
“Plaintiff (Mica) is informed and believes that the defendant (John-Paul) has and is currently engaging in acts of adultery with women whose names are well known to the defendant.”
As in, women she knows from church?? She said she “left the marital home due to defendant’s philandering as well as defendant’s growing hostility towards plaintiff,” elaborating:
“Defendant has threatened to throw plaintiffs belongings into the yard, locked plaintiff out of her own home and has defamed and demeaned the plaintiff before a congregation of people.”
Gross! And no wonder he was upset! Given his position, this divorce could ruin him!
Related: Waitress Reveals JP’s GROSS Flirty Texts After Mica’s Suicide
Like we said, if all the physical evidence didn’t point to suicide… we can see why folks online were and still are suspicious of the man. But it seems pretty clear he didn’t kill Mica. However…
Her family does hold him responsible for her death. Her father Michael Francis said in an interview on NewsNation over the weekend:
“I know she was pushed to the brink… My theory is broad right now. There are bruises on her hand and injuries. These things are not documented, and they don’t show up for no reason. We just want more answers. As soon as they got married, her behavior went downhill fast. She seemed to be more sad, more under control. I believe he compressed her. He just sucked the life right out of her and caused her to go downhill.”
So sad. And not a unique story when it comes to these supposed upstanding church guys, sadly. Mica’s sister Destinee Barrientos corroborated the grooming story, as well as describing early abuser behavior:
“He convinced her to get away from our family during her teens. He told her he would find different households for her to live with in the church to get her away from our family. He isolated her.”
You can see more from Mica’s family (below):
Just a horrible, horrible story. We don’t know if there’s any justice that can be found here. Too many of these little behaviors on their own aren’t even illegal. But put them all together, are they psychologically damaging enough to push someone to take their own life?
We just hope someone will judge this so-called pastor, eventually. Even if he has to find his justice somewhere a bit further south than South Carolina…
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Solid Rock/YouTube/Mica Miller/Facebook.]
