As Federal agents raided the South Carolina home of Pastor John-Paul Miller from Solid Rock Church, their investigation marks yet another development in the ongoing turmoil after his wife's suicide. The large-scale operation started Friday morning at the 45-year-old pastor's home in Myrtle Beach, under orders from the federal government.
FBI agents were spotted carrying items from the home throughout the afternoon, including several boxes, a computer monitor, and what looked like an external hard drive. A total of 25 FBI agents took part in the so-called "court-authorized law enforcement" operation, several months after the body of Miller's 30-year-old wife, Mica Miller, was found in a North Carolina state park.
New Turn in Investigation
Mica's body was found on April 27, with authorities later confirming the cause of death to be suicide. However, claims continue to swirl that the pastor drive her to a point where she was forced to take her own life.
So, who is John-Paul Miller? Miller, a father of five, is a pastor at Solid Rock Church in South Carolina, a position he has held since 2016.
He claims that he was not with his wife when she took her own life at Lumbee River State Park, claiming he was in Charleston "with about 100 people from [his] kids' school."
Miller has five children from a previous relationship: sons Logan, Zachary, Eli, Asher, and a daughter named Selah.
During a memorial in May, he said that he had tried to bring her back to life but was unsuccessful, telling his congregation, "I've been down to the body about four times this week and each time it still didn't hit me [that she was gone]."
"I thought she was gonna wake up," he said, just days after photos taken by the Daily Mail emerged of him on what appeared to be a date with another woman, four days following Mica's death.
"I even tried to raise her from the dead one time this week," he added, in what amounted to a strange spiel.
Miller has not been charged with a crime but some have described him as both abusive and manipulative. In a 2017 affidavit obtained by the Daily Mail, his first wife, Alison, accused him of engaging in sexual acts with minors under the age of 16 and having a preference for prostitutes.
She also claimed that Miller had been found having an affair with Mica in 2015, while she was working as a babysitter for his children and was still married to his then-best friend, Jeremy Deas.
Almost a Murder
Before her death, Mica was in the process of divorcing Miller, with her family alleging that she had been subjected to a campaign of "abuse and violence" from him. Her sister, Sierra Francis, claimed in an affidavit filed as the special administrator of Mica's estate less than a week after her death that Miller had followed her and hired others to monitor her whereabouts.
This affidavit was submitted just four days before the Robeson County Medical Examiner ruled Mica's death a suicide, following surveillance footage that showed her purchasing a gun on the day she died.
Days earlier, she had served Miller with divorce papers, citing a tumultuous relationship, which has fueled ongoing speculation. Later, Miller was seen wearing the same necklace that Mica had on in the surveillance footage, as police seemingly ruled out any involvement on his part in her death.
Mica was found at Lumber River State Park on April 27, prompting another strange sermon from Miller the next day. In his address to the congregation, he said that he was "taking a little bit of a break" and expressed a desire not to "worry about the church."
He then announced his wife's death, saying that his break could last "a few days, a few weeks, I don't know."
He returned to his duties within weeks, during which time allegations began to emerge regarding the abuse that some believe contributed to Mica's suicide.
Among these were statements found in a February complaint related to a stolen car, made after she was released from an involuntary hospitalization. In the complaint, Miller claimed that she had been "groomed" while working for him at Solid Rock before their marriage six years ago.
She noted that she had known her husband since she was 10 years old and alleged that Miller had taken her car.
Mica's suicide drew national attention, particularly after Miller delivered a sermon to announce her death. In an email obtained by NewsNation weeks later, Miller confessed to having posted a topless photo of Mica online shortly before her death.
"I'm sorry for putting a picture of you on the internet," he wrote. "It was for less than one hour and immediately taken down.
"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."
The specifics of how the ongoing FBI investigation relates to Miller remain unclear, as investigators have not revealed any details about its nature.
