Mica Miller Timeline: What We Know So Far

Last month, Mica Miller was found dead in Lumber River State Park in North Carolina. The 30-year-old's husband, John-Paul Miller, the pastor at the Solid Rock at Market Common church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has said his wife's death was a suicide.

On Monday, a medical examiner said Miller died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But family members have called on authorities to investigate her death, which they say came days after she filed for divorce. Friends of hers have said they don't believe that she took her life. Newsweek has contacted John-Paul Miller for comment via an email to his church.

The Robeson County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina said Sheriff Burnis Wilkins will meet with Miller's family on Tuesday to discuss the medical examiner's findings. "Detailed information to substantiate" those findings will be released on Tuesday evening, the sheriff's office said on Facebook.

Here is a timeline of the months leading up to Miller's death and what has happened in the days since.

October 2023

Miller files for divorce from her husband, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reports.

February 2024

The divorce case is dismissed on February 13, according to the Sun News. On February 22 and 23, John-Paul Miller files for separation.

Sometime in February, John-Paul Miller removed Miller's personal items from the home they shared while she was admitted to Waccamaw Center for Mental Health, according to a sworn affidavit from her sister Sierra Francis that was filed May 2 as part of an application to be the special administrator for her sister's estate.

"My sister was not aware that her personal possessions had been removed from her residence until she was released from the hospital," Francis said.

She said her sister had also "expressed the abuse and violence against her by her husband to others," including family members and members of the church congregation.

"Prior to her admission to Waccamaw, Mica was gathering and sorting the evidence she had to bring to an attorney for filing for divorce, to support her claims against Mr. Miller, and as to his abuse, character, his paramours, and associates he 'paid off' or blackmailed," Francis said.

"While at the facility, those documents, emails, files, etc., were removed from her phone, personal laptop, vehicle and purse and never recovered," Francis added.

March 11

Two incident reports from March 11 detail Miller's reports about a man following her, harassing her and deflating her tires, local news station WPDE-TV reported.

In one report, an officer with the Horry County Police Department in South Carolina wrote that Miller reported hearing a pop and noticed metal protruding from her tire. The metal was a tire deflation device that could be purchased online, the officer wrote. Miller named a suspect—whose name was redacted in the report—whom she believed was responsible. However, police said there was not sufficient evidence to prove the suspect placed the device.

Later that day, Miller reported to police that the suspect she believed was responsible for slashing her tire had pulled up next to her pump at a gas station and tried to talk to her. She told the man to go away and said she did not want to talk, the report said.

An affidavit filed on May 2 by Miller's brother Nathaniel Francis said her sister reported that her estranged husband was stalking her.

"Mica made several police reports over the last few weeks of her tires being slashed and tracking devices found on her car," he said in the affidavit. "In Mr. Miller's email forwarded to me, he apologizes to Mica for the tires and causing damage to her vehicle."

He also said that his sister told him "on numerous occasions that she feared John-Paul and wanted to escape him."

March 12

The February separation is dismissed without prejudice, according to the Sun News.

March 18

Miller posts a video on Facebook telling people that she is "alive and well."

"Life's been kind of crazy the couple past weeks, months, years, but I've kind of had to keep my circle really small for the past couple of weeks, just because I'm going through a lot," she said.

March 22

Miller posts a video on Facebook offering advice for those who may be in an abusive relationship.

"God hates divorce. But why?" she asked. "According to everybody I've asked and the scriptures that I've found, it's because it hurts people. But does abuse hurt people? How do you think God feels about that?"

She wrote alongside the video: "Please share this with ANYONE struggling with leaving a dangerous situation because they think God will be 'mad' at them."

April 15-16

Miller files for separation from John-Paul Miller, according to the Sun News.

April 23

A hearing for the separation is set for June 5.

April 25

Miller serves her husband with divorce papers on April 25, according to the sworn affidavit from Sierra Francis. Francis said her sister was "hopeful" about her future after her divorce and had plans to move to Kenya to do missionary work.

In the affidavit, Francis also said that her sister warned family members that "if I end up with a bullet in my head, it was not by me, it was JP."

April 27

Miller is found dead in North Carolina's Lumber River State Park.

April 28

John-Paul Miller breaks the news of Miller's death to his congregation at the end of a service and asks them not to discuss it inside the church.

"I got a call late last night, my wife has passed away," he said. "It was self-induced and it was up in North Carolina."

Sierra Francis writes on Facebook, saying that her sister was a "joyful, loving woman who did not deserve the abuse she endured."

She adds: "Please do not listen to the false stories being shared about her."

May 2

John-Paul Miller tells WPDE that his wife died by suicide and had struggled with her mental health.

"She had struggled with suicide before," he tells the station. "Each time we would help her through it and take her to the doctor, and we got through it and everything was fine. She even gave a few testimonies here at church that we have on video."

May 5

Miller's friends and family hold a rally outside of the Solid Rock at Market Common church seeking justice after her death. They also hold a memorial in the afternoon. Around the same time, John-Paul Miller hosts a separate memorial service at the church.

A notice is sent to members of the Solid Rock church saying John-Paul Miller had been released from all ministerial duties at the church "for a time of healing, counsel, and guidance, pursuant to our governing instrument," WPDE reported.

May 6

Miller dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Robeson County medical examiner, Dr. Richard Johnson, told WPDE.

The Robeson County Sheriff's Office posts on Facebook that Sheriff Wilkins had scheduled a meeting with Miller's family on Tuesday to discuss the medical examiner's findings and will release "detailed information to substantiate" them on Tuesday evening.

Wilkins asks "for everyone to please await the full timeline of events before making assumptions and coming to conclusions," the post said.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.