In a chilling revelation highlighted by a Netflix documentary, Mica Miller reportedly confided in a friend about her deep-seated fear that her estranged spouse, Pastor John Paul Miller, might kill her and disguise her death as a suicide.
On April 27, 2024, Mica’s life came to a tragic end under mysterious circumstances. The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office would later classify her death as a suicide, based on evidence such as surveillance footage showing her buying a firearm and heading to Lumber River State Park in North Carolina.
Mica’s final known action was a distressing call to 911, wherein she voiced her despair and intention to take her own life.
“The caller inquired whether her phone’s location could be tracked since she planned to end her life, hoping her family could subsequently find her body,” revealed the sheriff’s office. They noted that she ended the call abruptly, leaving the dispatcher unable to reconnect.
Shortly after the abrupt call ended, a fisherman heard sobbing followed by a gunshot, leading to the heartbreaking discovery of Mica’s body in the water, authorities recounted.
Mica Miller’s Family and Friends Believe Foul Play Could Be Involved
In the aftermath of her death, her friends and family have questioned the official ruling, pointing to alleged abuse they say she suffered at the hands of John Paul.
“Mica told me and my husband she was afraid for her life,” her friend Bruna Pabon alleged in Netflix’s Death of the Pastor’s Wife. “She’s sitting in our living room, and she’s saying, ‘I don’t wanna die.’ She says, ‘He’s gonna put a bullet in my head and then tell everybody I killed myself.”
They believe she may have been lured to the park that day.
“I feel like Mica was lured to where she was found,” her sister-in-law Victoria Francis explained in the docuseries. “I just have a gut instinct that she did not do this to herself.”
John Paul—who the sheriff’s office has confirmed was not in North Carolina that day—has never been charged in connection to the death and has vehemently denied abusing his wife or having any involvement in her death.
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“Following the untimely death of Mica Miller, unfounded rumors and false accusations began circulating on social media and in various media outlets, suggesting Pastor Miller’s involvement in her demise,” his attorney Russell Long said in a statement to WPDE. “This created a buzz, causing local and national media outlets to begin proliferating these falsehoods, on a mammoth proportion. Our client refutes any report that suggests he ever abused his wife.”
Oxygen reached out Long, but never received a reply.
John Paul Miller Facing Federal Cyberstalking Charges Against Mica Miller
Now, John Paul is facing federal charges of cyberstalking and lying to federal investigators after authorities say he relentlessly stalked his wife from Nov. 2022 until her death.
“The harassing behavior included [John Paul] Miller posting a nude photo of the victim online without her consent, causing tracking devices to be placed on her vehicle, and in one instance, contacting her over 50 times in a single day,” federal prosecutors said in a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina. “The indictment also alleges he interfered with her finances and her daily activities and on one occasion damaged her vehicle tires.”
Authorities added in an indictment provided to Oxygen that the alleged cyberstalking put Mica “in reasonable fear of death and serious bodily injury” and caused or was intended to cause her “substantial emotional distress.”
John Paul has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is expected in court in October.
After the federal charges were filed in December 2025, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office reaffirmed Mica’s cause of death as suicide in a statement.
They added that Sheriff Burnis Wilkins requested that federal authorities investigate after they uncovered information that “while not directly related to the actual cause of death, warranted further review regarding Miller’s husband, John Paul Miller.”
The sheriff’s office said the information was “relevant in understanding the broader circumstances surrounding [Mica] Miller’s death.”
“The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office made decisions based solely on facts, evidence, and verified information obtained through a very detailed and thorough investigation,” Burnis added. “I want to thank the cooperating citizens, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office and other government agencies for their professionalism and partnership in this matter. This case underscores the seriousness of domestic violence abuse and related offenses and serves as a reminder that such behavior has no place in our society.”