TRAGIC new footage has captured the final hours before a pastor’s wife was found dead from what authorities have ruled as suicide.
The body of Mica Miller, 30, was discovered at the Lumber River State Park in North Carolina on April 27.
She died just two days after serving her husband, John-Paul Miller, 44, with divorce papers, according to police.
Her family, however, has doubts about her cause of death, insisting it appears “staged.”
Newly released surveillance footage taken on the day she died, shows Miller purchasing a firearm from Dick’s Pawn Shop.
She is later seen pulling up to and entering a gas station, footage obtained by NewsNation shows.
In the clip, Miller can be seen pulling her black sedan up to a pump, getting out of her car to open the gas cap, and walking inside.
While there, she is seen wearing all black, walking around near the refrigerators before she picks an energy drink, buys it, and leaves.
Miller casually waits until her tank is full, taking a sip of her drink, before she places the pump back, and drives away.
The owner of the gas station said he didn’t notice anything odd about Miller that day.
“Nothing, nothing special. Nothing, you know, like, just regular, regular day, regular thing,” the manager told NewsNation.
The gas station was located in Mullen, South Carolina which the outlet pointed out was 25 minutes out of the way if Miller was traveling from Myrtle Beach to Lumber River State Park.
Miller’s family has insisted that although the medical examiner ruled her death as suicide, they believe it was “staged.”
“I believe that it was all staged. I believe that the whole thing was premeditated,” Miller’s father, Michael Francis, told NewsNation.
Robeson County Medical Examiner Dr. Richard Johnson said Miller’s death was caused by a self-inflicted gun shot wound because, “It was not in the back of the head, as it has been speculated,” he said, according to ABC affiliate WPDE.
Miller’s husband, John-Paul Miller, is not a person of interest in her death, but a number of disturbing details have come to light since.
Weeks before Miller died, her husband reportedly confessed to posting a topless picture of her on a Facebook group.
Pastor John-Paul is reported to have apologized for doing so in an email confessing he posted the photo to try and hurt his wife’s feelings.
“I’m sorry for putting a picture of you on the internet,” the apology email, obtained by NewsNation said.
On May 7, Robeson County Police released everything they knew about Mica Miller's final moments:
“It was for less than one hour and immediately taken down.
“I was hurt that you were 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.”
John-Paul’s email came after Miller went to police to report the image being posted to Facebook on April 8.
She reportedly told cops the only person who could have that image was her husband.
Because her nipples were blurred, however, police are said to have told her the image was not considered a nude – and therefore their hands were tied.
I believe that it was all staged. I believe that the whole thing was premeditated.
Michael Francis
Miller responded by sending an affidavit to her attorney for the divorce that highlighted details of long-time abuse at the hands of John-Paul.
“Since the day we became husband and wife, I have been abused in every way I can think of,” she said.
“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,” she continued.
“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.”
As the details around her death began to unfold, Robeson County Dispatch realized they received a call from a woman, who they now know was Miller the day she died, according to local CBS affiliate WBTW.
“I’m about to kill myself and I just want my family to know where to find me,” Miller said in the call, according to police.
She then hung up, but her phone was traced to the location and help was sent out.
Police arrived within the hour and spotted her black Honda Accord in the parking lot with a gun case inside.
Since the day we became husband and wife, I have been abused in every way I can think of.
Mica Miller
They then received two phone calls; one from a fisherman who heard someone crying followed by a gunshot, and another from a kayaker who found a body in the river.
As the investigation continued, police collected footage of Miller purchasing the Sig Sauer 9-millimeter gun from a pawn shop in Myrtle Beach.
After buying the gun, investigators said she stopped at a grocery store and searched “state park” on her phone before heading toward Lumber River.
After her death, police records revealed that Miller believed someone was watching or following her.
On March 11, her tires were slashed and when she went to get new tires, she found tracking devices on her car and called the police again.
Miller told police at the time it was the “second time a razor has deflated her tire in the last week,” according to the report.
Though she had an idea of who was stalking her, police didn’t have enough information to charge him.
According to the report, Miller was “afraid for her life.”
The day after Miller was found, John-Paul shared the news with the congregation at the Solid Rock at Market Common church in Myrtle Beach.
It was a casual beginning, he even joked about his appearance and character, which caused a few laughs before he transitioned into the tragic announcement.
“We’re not doing an altar call today, instead, I am going to have you stand up and I’m going to make an announcement,” John-Paul said at the end of his sermon.
“After the announcement, I’m going to ask that you leave church quietly and don’t talk about the announcement here in the building.”
“My request to you is that you will continue to come to church… I’m taking a little break… it may be a few days, a few weeks, I don’t know,” he said.
Then he made the shocking announcement as his voice began to crack.
“I got a call late last night that my wife just passed away. It was self-induced, and it was up in North Carolina,” he told the group.
“Y’all knew that she wasn’t well mentally and that she needed her medicine that was hard to get to her, and so I’m sure there will be more details to come,” he said before walking off the stage.
By May 5, the pastor had been released from his duties to take time for “healing, counsel, and guidance,” according to an email obtained by CBS affiliate WBTW.
Since his absence, John-Paul gave a “creepy” 20-minute speech at her memorial service where he confessed that he thought he “raised her from the dead.”
He revealed shortly after her death that his wife had struggled with her mental health and suicidal thoughts in the past, according to ABC affiliate WPDE.
“Each time we would help her through it and take her to the doctor, and we got through it and everything was fine,” he told WPDE.
“She battled suicide, but God took care of her and got her through it.”
Miller also hinted at “terrible” things she was going through in her saddening final post.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
