Mystery surrounds the FBI's involvement in the Mica Miller investigation. The pastor's wife shot herself to death, authorities said. Her family says she was abused by her husband and was trying to get away from him before her death.
Mystery surrounds the FBI's involvement in the case of Mica Miller, the wife of a charismatic South Carolina pastor who shot herself to death two days after divorce papers were served to her husband.
Meanwhile, her family continues to claim she was abused and "groomed" by him from a young age.
Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins announced Monday that the FBI, as well as the U.S. Attorney's Office, had been consulted.
Investigators have been in contact with federal authorities "since the early stages of the Mica Miller investigation," Wilkins said in a statement. "Based on the information gathered during the investigation and jurisdiction reasons, the Sheriff's Office has requested the assistance of both agencies. No other information will be released at this time," he said.
But Damien McLean of the sheriff's office tells Inside Edition Digital on Tuesday the federal help was requested to investigate information that "is unrelated to Mica Miller's death investigation in North Carolina. Mica Miller's death remains to be declared as a suicide."
Miller's family said relatives have not been contacted by federal authorities.
"The family is grateful for everything everyone has done to help to find Justice for Mica," read a statement released Tuesday. "They are aware that Robeson County Sheriff's office released a statement about the FBI being involved. However, the family has no personal knowledge of the nature of any FBI investigation and therefore, has no comment. #JusticeForMica."
Mica Miller's death has fueled local controversy and garnered national headlines after her body was found across state lines in North Carolina. On April 27, she called 911, saying she was about to kill herself and wanted to make sure authorities would be able to find her remains and notify her family.
Not long after making the call, authorities found her Honda at a state park in Lumberton, North Carolina.
An autopsy determined she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The sheriff's office said last week that investigators had reviewed surveillance video also showing Miller buying a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun and ammunition at a pawn shop earlier in the day, according to a statement. She later searched Google for the nearest national park, according to her phone data, investigators said.
Family and friends said her death was suspicious. Her relatives, in court documents, said she had been abused and stalked by her husband, John-Paul Miller, pastor of the Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, where Mica Miller was a youth pastor and very active in church functions.
"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,'" said Mica's sister, Sierra Francis, in an affidavit filed May 2 in probate court. Francis has asked to be named administrator of her sister's estate.
Francis also alleged her sister had been brainwashed and abused by her husband and that divorce proceedings were underway when her sister died.
NewsNation reported Mica had filed several police reports before her death, claiming she was being followed, that tracking devices had been installed on her vehicles, and that a razor blade had been embedded in her tire.
The news agency also reported that John-Paul Miller acknowledged posting a nude photo of Mica on social media, and that he had placed a tracking device on her car.
"I was hurt that you are telling everyone horrible intimate details of my past sin, and I just wanted to try and hurt you," the pastor wrote in a mid-April apology email after posting the photograph, NewsNation reported, citing an email the news outlet said it had obtained. "Please forgive me. It was evil of me to do that."
In a series of texts with NewsNation correspondent Rich McHugh, Miller said, “I even hired PI to put trackers on her car to know if she was going to a gun store. I have never once in my entire life ever hurt her in any way. Ever.”
Miller was relieved of his ministerial duties after his wife's death to allow him to recuperate and grieve, the church said in a statement.
The pastor had revealed his wife's death at the end of a church service days after her suicide, according to videos of the event posted online.
Worshippers are heard gasping after Miller announced, "I got a call late last night, my wife has passed away," he said. "It was self-induced and it was up in North Carolina."
The husband said Mica had been dealing with mental health issues and had sought treatment.
Days later, in a memorial gathering with congregants, the pastor said he had tried to resurrect his wife and that he had visited her body several times in the morgue.
"Each time it still didn't hit me," he said. "I even tried to raise her from the dead one time this week," he said, according to video of the service posted online.
The pastor has since hired an attorney, who has pushed back against the family's abuse claims.
"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. This created a buzz, causing local and national media outlets to begin proliferating these falsehoods, on a mammoth proportion," said lawyer Russell Long in a statement.
"Our client refutes any report that suggests he ever abused his wife. Recent reports claim that Pastor Miller 'groomed' his wife ... couldn’t be farther from the truth," the attorney said.
"We wish to emphasize that, after a thorough investigation by the Robeson County, North Carolina Sheriff's Office, it has been conclusively determined that Ms. Miller's death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound," the statement said.
"This finding completely exonerates Pastor Miller of any wrongdoing. These baseless claims and false reporting have caused immense distress and harm to Pastor Miller and his family and needs to stop immediately," the attorney said.
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