The Robeson County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina confirmed that Mica Miller committed suicide after she called and told authorities that she would do so after purchasing a handgun. As Crosswalk Headlines previously reported, Miller's suicide was first announced by her husband, Pastor John-Paul Miller of Solid Rock, at Market Common in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at the conclusion of Sunday service on April 28.
"First, let me say on behalf of the Robeson County Sheriff's Office that our sincere condolences are being sent to the family and friends of Mica Miller," Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in a press release on Tuesday.
"This incident has garnered much attention from across the Carolinas and beyond. I want to assure everyone that a very methodical investigation was conducted by our Criminal Investigations Team and Crime Scene Investigative Team," he explained.
"Unfortunately, rumors and conspiracy theories were spreading quickly, and assumptions were being made," he added. "However, in the end, we must make decisions based on the facts and evidence that has been gathered. While I know it's not what many people wanted to hear, the evidence is quite clear and compelling, and we are as saddened as anyone that this occurred."
"There are many factors that we have reviewed that occurred over an extended period of time that are probably related to the reason for this investigation, but in the end, sadly, a tragic decision was made by Mica that ended her life."
On April 27, at approximately 2:54 pm, Miller called the Robeson County E911 dispatcher and revealed she was about to kill herself and to let her family know where her body was located.
"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 authorities.
Following an investigation, Robeson County sheriff's deputies shared that Miller purchased a 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun and ammunition at a pawn shop, which she left at 12:34 pm. They also traced Miller's call to Lumber River State Park in Orrum, where her body was eventually found in a river.
After looking at her phone, authorities found that Miller had done a Google search for "national parks near me."
"The investigation also revealed that Miller and her estranged husband (John-Paul Miller) had been separated and were involved in the legal system. This information led to the investigators confirming the whereabouts of Miller and a female that he is allegedly romantically involved with. Investigators were able to confirm that both individuals were not in North Carolina on the night before and the day of the Miller's death," the release said.
Speculation initially arose that Pastor Miller had murdered his wife due to his announcement after the service and how he delivered the news.
In October 2023, Miller filed for divorce following prior filings for separation and served her husband with divorce papers on April 25, just two days before her death.
During an interview with The Christian Post, Pastor Miller explained that his late wife was diagnosed with "bipolar II, schizophrenic and dependent personality disorder" in 2017, which he sought to manage with lithium and significant support following the diagnosis.
The treatment, however, made her gain weight or caused her to slur; Pastor Miller noted that his late wife stopped taking the medication after the wife of a well-meaning pastor friend prayed for her and believed that Mica Miller's mental illness would go away despite having no prior knowledge of mental illness.
"I took care of her through every time she went to the mental institute. I took care of her every time she stopped taking her lithium. I would never expose this stuff [about] her if I didn't have to now, but every time she tried to kill herself, I would be there. I would literally sometimes pick her up physically, put her in the truck, take her to the [hospital]," Miller said with a slight crack in his voice.
Pastor Miller told The Christian Post he took his wife to probate court a few weeks ago to get her hospitalized, but the court stated that she couldn't be forced to go because she wasn't a danger to others.
"Nobody believed me when I told them that she was having a psychotic break. She would have never left. She would have never done what she did. They wouldn't believe me. I have 48 text messages that I sent out saying she needs her lithium; somebody help me, please. And no one believed me," the grieving pastor said.
"Everybody thought I was a demon for trying to take her to probate court and get her put in a hospital. I told her family I have text messages, over and over, I told her family she needs her medicine. They told me I'm crazy. She doesn't need any medicine. I text messaged her, but they sent her saying, it makes you fat or it makes you slur. Or you shouldn't take your meds, or you just need something holistic, you don't need what the doctors say."
Photo credit: ©Youtube/NewsNation
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
