Mica Miller called 911 to report she was going to kill herself before shooting herself, authorities said Tuesday. Friends and family of the pastor's wife had previously said her death seemed suspicious, and that she had been in fear for her life.
Mica Miller, the 30-year-old estranged wife of a South Carolina pastor, took her own life, authorities announced Tuesday. The case gained national attention after family and friends had said her death was suspicious and that she had been in fear for her life.
Miller's body was found April 27, an hour away in Lumberton, North Carolina, authorities said. An initial review by the Robeson County Medical Examiner said she had apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
That finding was made official Tuesday when Robeson County Sheriff's investigators met with Miller's family and released a detailed timeline of what happened on the last day of her life.
The young woman called 911 the afternoon of April 27 and told the dispatcher, “I’m about to kill myself and I just want my family to know where to find me,” Miller said, according to a statement released Tuesday by the sheriff's office.
Surveillance video also showed Miller buying a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun and ammunition at a pawn shop earlier in the day, according to the statement. She later searched Google for the nearest national park, according to her phone data, investigators said.
“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,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in the statement.
“This incident has garnered much attention from across the Carolinas and beyond,” Wilkins said. “I want to assure everyone that a very methodical investigation was conducted by our Criminal Investigations Team and Crime Scene Investigation Team.”
Miller's family did not immediately comment after meeting with the sheriff. Inside Edition Digital has reached out for comment to Miller's sister, Sierra Francis, who filed court records requesting to be made the administrator of Miller's estate.
In an affidavit filed May 2 in probate court, Francis had declared, “Mica stated to me on many occasions, ‘If I end up with a bullet in my head, it was not by me, it was JP.'"
"JP" was Miller's estranged husband, John-Paul Miller, pastor at Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, where Mica Miller was youth pastor and very active in church functions, according to her friends and family.
Divorce papers had been served to the pastor two days before she died, according to the woman's family.
Francis said in her affidavit that Mica Miller had planned to travel as a missionary to Kenya when her divorce was final.
Francis and many others had pressed for answers and more details about the woman's death in the days preceding Tuesday's statement.
"Rumors and conspiracy theories were spreading quickly, and assumptions were being made," the sheriff said Tuesday.
"However, in the end, we must make decisions based on the facts, and evidence that has been gathered,” Wilkins added. “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," he said.
"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," the sheriff said.
Investigators also verified the whereabouts of John-Paul Miller on the day Mica Miller died, the statement said.
According to interviews, John-Paul Miller was at an athletic event in Charleston, South Carolina, that day, and traffic surveillance cameras captured images of his car traveling in that area, the statement said. John-Paul Miller was given the opportunity to attend a separate meeting with Wilkins, investigators and the medical examiner to discuss their findings and Miller indicated through his attorney that he would not come to North Carolina to meet with investigators, according to the sheriff's office.
In North Carolina, Mica Miller hung up on 911 after reporting she was going to kill herself, the statement said. A dispatcher called back several times, but no one picked up, authorities said. The operator was ultimately able to track the woman's cellphone to Lumber River State Park around 3 p.m., according to the statement.
Deputies were dispatched to the park, where land and aerial searches were conducted. Mica Miller's car was eventually found, and investigators later found her body and the gun in a slough, the statement said.
Mica Miller, in recent Facebook posts, had spoken about domestic abuse and shared advice about dealing with it.
She had also dealt with mental health issues and had recently received treatment at a mental health facility, according to her family.
Her estranged husband has been temporarily released from his pastor duties "for a time of healing, counsel, and guidance, pursuant to our governing instrument," according to a statement from his church.
A NewsNation correspondent said the husband had said via email that he had never hurt his wife.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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