Latest / The Mind of a Man / The Strange Case of Mica Miller

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The Strange Case of Mica Miller · The Mind of a Man

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Speaker 1: Micah Miller was 30 years old when she died on
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Speaker 1: the 27th of April, 2024. She had been married to
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Speaker 1: John Paul Miller, a pastor at Solid Rock Church in
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Speaker 1: South Carolina, for seven years. When the pastor's wife was
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Speaker 1: found dead from a single gunshot to the head, all
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Speaker 1: signs pointed towards a conclusion that no one wanted to accept.
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Speaker 1: As the secrets of her past and marriage came to light,
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Speaker 1: A growing chorus of family members, friends, neighbors, online commentators,
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Speaker 1: and the broader media joined the speculation. They believed only
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Speaker 1: one explanation made sense, that Micah Miller had not chosen
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Speaker 1: her own fate. She had been murdered. Hi there, I'm Kevin,
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Speaker 1: and welcome to Just Thought Lounge. Today's case has us
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Speaker 1: unraveling an intricate web of allegations. including emotional, mental, and
0:59
Speaker 1: spiritual abuse, murder, affairs, corruption in the church, and failures
1:04
Speaker 1: of law enforcement. It is a heartbreaking case that has
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Speaker 1: captured the attention of many. The investigation is now officially closed.
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Speaker 1: A conclusion has been reached in the evidence released to
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Speaker 1: the public. However, speculation continues. Let's take a look. John Paul,
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Speaker 1: or J.P. Miller, and his future wife Micah met when
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Speaker 1: she was 14 years old. Her family had just started
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Speaker 1: attending worship services at Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach.
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Speaker 2: J.P.
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Speaker 1: Was a youth pastor at the time, growing into a
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Speaker 1: more significant role at Solid Rock over the following years.
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Speaker 1: When Micah was 18 years old, John Paul officiated her
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Speaker 1: wedding to his good friend, a man named Jeremy Days.
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Speaker 1: Both Micah and Jeremy were involved in the church, He
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Speaker 1: ran the sports ministry, and she worked on the media
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Speaker 1: team in addition to other responsibilities. Eventually, Micah took on
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Speaker 1: the role as John Paul's secretary and babysitter for his
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Speaker 1: growing family. In 2015, JP's wife Allison discovered her husband
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Speaker 1: and their babysitter in a compromising position. Shortly after, JP
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Speaker 1: and Micah's affair became public knowledge. In 2016, both marriages
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Speaker 1: ended in divorce. Jeremy and Allison each eventually left the
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Speaker 1: Solid Rock Church, where only one year later, JP and
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Speaker 1: Micah were married. At the age of 23, Micah became
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Speaker 1: the stepmother to 44-year-old John Paul's five children, four from
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Speaker 1: his first marriage with Allison and the eldest from a
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Speaker 1: previous relationship. Micah also took on a greater role within
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Speaker 1: the church as the pastor's wife. She was a worship leader,
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Speaker 1: did graphic design, and oversaw the women's and youth ministries.
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Speaker 1: Micah was also passionate about overseas missions, including her trips
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Speaker 1: to Kenya where the church was funding religious and educational initiatives.
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Speaker 1: Micah loved to sing. She often led the congregation in song.
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Speaker 3: Give me life Take me for what I am, cause
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Speaker 3: I'll let you.
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Speaker 1: Change all my colors for you. On the 27th of April, 2024,
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Speaker 1: 55-year-old Johnny Jacobs went fishing in the Lumber River in
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Speaker 1: North Carolina. He had been in the state park for
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Speaker 1: several hours when he heard a woman's cries from down
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Speaker 1: the river. From his position along the tall, dense tree line,
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Speaker 1: he could not see the woman who was crying.
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Speaker 4: A few minutes passed with only the sound of the river,
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Speaker 4: the birds, and the light breeze. Before the distinct and
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Speaker 4: unmistakable bang of a gunshot rang out. I said, oh
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Speaker 4: my God, don't tell me. Don't tell me, because the
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Speaker 4: crying had stopped. I said, don't tell me something's happened.
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Speaker 4: Don't tell me something. I was getting ready to get
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Speaker 4: out of there. Another three people came into the lake
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Speaker 4: on a boat, and I plainly asked them, I said,
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Speaker 4: did y'all hear that gunshot? They said yes.
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Speaker 1: Johnny made his way towards the direction that he had
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Speaker 1: heard the gunfire. On the bank of the river, he
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Speaker 1: discovered a backpack. With the bag was a pair of
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Speaker 1: glasses and a cell phone.
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Speaker 4: She had her license, her bank card. She had her
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Speaker 4: keys in the bag. She had a little small Bible,
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Speaker 4: all of her credit cards, her bank cards, and a
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Speaker 4: few receipts of some things.
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Speaker 1: Within minutes, emergency responders arrived at the Lumber River State Park,
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Speaker 1: called out by a 911 call. They immediately began a
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Speaker 1: search on foot and in the air. Just before 4.30 p.m.,
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Speaker 1: roughly an hour and a half after Johnny had heard
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Speaker 1: the shot, a kayaker reported a woman's body in the water.
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Speaker 1: It was 30-year-old Micah Miller. She had died of a
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Speaker 1: single gunshot wound to the head. The Black Honda Accord
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Speaker 1: that Micah had driven to North Carolina from her home
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Speaker 1: in Myrtle Beach was found in the parking lot. Robeson
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Speaker 1: County detectives looked inside the car and observed a black
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Speaker 1: Sig Sauer gun case in the passenger seat and a
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Speaker 1: box of ammunition in the center console of the vehicle.
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Speaker 1: Later that evening, they recovered a Sig Sauer 9mm firearm
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Speaker 1: from the water. The serial number matched the case. A
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Speaker 1: receipt for the purchase of the weapon was also in
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Speaker 1: the vehicle. It showed that the gun had been acquired
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Speaker 1: only hours earlier from Dick's Pawn Shop in Myrtle Beach.
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Speaker 1: Micah Miller was listed as the buyer. The medical examiner
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Speaker 1: was called out to view the scene where the incident occurred,
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Speaker 1: and CSI teams worked the area, gathering any potential evidence.
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Speaker 1: When the coroner's report was released, it concluded that Micah
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Speaker 1: had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
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Speaker 1: It was a conclusion that friends and family members could
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Speaker 1: not accept. It just didn't make sense to them.
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Speaker 5: Hair appointment this week. She had plans to attend church
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Speaker 5: with them on Sunday. So the news, when I heard it,
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Speaker 5: it was just, I thought it was just some kind
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Speaker 5: of terrible misunderstanding. She was headed in a positive direction
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Speaker 5: and she was making plans and had a new purpose
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Speaker 5: that she was pursuing.
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Speaker 2: She was loving her job, everything.
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Speaker 1: Additionally, those close to Micah believed that there were far
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Speaker 1: too many reasons to suspect foul play. Their prime suspect?
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Speaker 1: Micah's husband, John Paul Miller. In a signed affidavit, Micah's sister, Sierra,
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Speaker 1: quoted her sister only weeks before her death as stating,
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Speaker 1: Their marriage had been tumultuous. Micah had tried to leave
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Speaker 1: him on multiple occasions, but had been, somehow, repeatedly pulled
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Speaker 1: back in. That is, until just days before she was
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Speaker 1: found in the river. she had grown resolute in her
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Speaker 1: decision to leave him.
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Speaker 2: I know she'd been struggling. She's gotten three different numbers.
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Speaker 2: She's had three different.
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Speaker 5: Numbers in the last three months trying to make sure
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Speaker 5: that he did not get her phone number and could
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Speaker 5: not get in contact with her. She messaged me saying,
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Speaker 5: you know, thank you for your gentle warnings over the
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Speaker 5: years about JP or.
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Speaker 2: My relationship with JP.
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Speaker 5: You know, I know that you knew I wasn't ready
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Speaker 5: to get out yet, but I've replayed our combos over
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Speaker 5: and over in our head throughout the years and wished
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Speaker 5: there was a way I could get out.
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Speaker 2: And now I have.
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Speaker 1: Only two days before Micah's death, J.P. had been served
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Speaker 1: with divorce papers. She had sought to leave J.P. the
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Speaker 1: year before in January 2023, moving to Kansas to be
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Speaker 1: with family members there and to start a new life.
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Speaker 1: In Kansas, she joined a new church and built new friendships.
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Speaker 1: But after only a few months, Micah abruptly left the state,
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Speaker 1: leaving behind a brief and uncharacteristic note stating that she
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Speaker 1: was heading back to South Carolina to be with her husband.
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Speaker 6: We got all the text messages when she was leaving.
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Speaker 6: That didn't make any sense when she was planning on
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Speaker 6: staying in Kansas and she was planning on thriving. She
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Speaker 6: was planning on making trips, healing. And all of a sudden,
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Speaker 6: we heard nothing. It was a, hey, good news. I've
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Speaker 6: been reconciled. My husband's allowing me to come back home.
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Speaker 2: Praise God.
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Speaker 1: Back in Myrtle Beach, the marriage continued to deteriorate. In
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Speaker 1: a pattern seen all too often, JP went back to
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Speaker 1: the same behaviors, and Micah found herself quickly back to
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Speaker 1: where she started, looking for a way out. In cryptic
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Speaker 1: social media posts, Micah spoke out against domestic abuse of
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Speaker 1: all kinds. In what has been interpreted as statements about
9:46
Speaker 1: her own experience, the pastor's wife discussed reconciling religious beliefs
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Speaker 1: with a desire to leave an unhealthy marriage.
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Speaker 7: I just want to tell you what a lot of
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Speaker 7: people have told me. lately and reminded me because I
10:03
Speaker 7: think I forgot. I knew, but I pushed it in
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Speaker 7: the back of my head.
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Speaker 2: Just because of my situation.
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Speaker 7: But you are the bride of Christ before anybody else's
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Speaker 7: bride ever.
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Speaker 2: God hates divorce, but why?
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Speaker 7: According to everybody I've asked and the scriptures that I've found,
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Speaker 7: it's because it hurts people.
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Speaker 2: But does abuse hurt people? How do you think God
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Speaker 2: feels about that? That I'm God's bride first.
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Speaker 7: And even an earthly spouse, who's a good spouse, when
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Speaker 7: they know that their bride is being hurt, just imagine
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Speaker 7: what an earthly spouse spouse does? What do you think
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Speaker 7: your heavenly spouse does when you're the bride of Christ
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Speaker 7: and he sees his bride going through abuse and hurt?
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Speaker 7: What do you think he thinks about that?
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Speaker 1: Micah filed for divorce later that year in October, 2023,
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Speaker 1: but in February of the next year, she withdrew the papers.
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Speaker 1: That month, Micah was admitted to hospital for mental health
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Speaker 1: treatment against her will. She claimed that her husband had
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Speaker 1: committed her. He had also taken her wallet, her keys,
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Speaker 1: and her car. So when she was released, Micah reported
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Speaker 1: her vehicle stolen to police. The report states that John
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Speaker 1: Paul told police that his wife had mental health issues.
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Speaker 1: He said that she had episodes annually around the holidays,
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Speaker 1: during which time she would recklessly spend large sums of money.
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Speaker 1: He justified taking her car by explaining that he was
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Speaker 1: preventing her from selling it, and he refused to give
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Speaker 1: it back for several weeks. There was little that Myrtle
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Speaker 1: Beach police could do with this information. The couple were
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Speaker 1: still married, which meant that Micah's vehicle was marital property. Legally,
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Speaker 1: her husband could not have stolen it.
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Speaker 8: Thank you for all your prayers and support. Know that
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Speaker 8: I have to keep my circle really, really small right now.
12:14
Speaker 8: I'm used to having a really big circle, so it's
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Speaker 8: hard because I want to reach out to everybody and
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Speaker 8: tell you how much I love you and I miss you.
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Speaker 8: This is the best way that I know how, so
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Speaker 8: I love you all.
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Speaker 2: I miss you.
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Speaker 1: After filing for divorce in the autumn, Micah grew concerned
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Speaker 1: that she was being stalked by her estranged husband. Twice,
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Speaker 1: she found that a sharp metal object had slashed the
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Speaker 1: tires to her vehicle. When this happened the first time,
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Speaker 1: a mechanic from the Honda dealership fixing the vehicle, found
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Speaker 1: a GPS tracking device attached to the car. As if
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Speaker 1: to confirm what Micah had already intuitively known, that John
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Speaker 1: Paul was tracking her movements, he turned up at the
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Speaker 1: dealership to confront her.
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Speaker 7: Another complaint to police about the GPS tracker led to
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Speaker 7: the same result.
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Speaker 1: JP made claims that his wife was mentally unstable. He
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Speaker 1: claimed that shortly after their wedding in 2017, she was
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Speaker 1: diagnosed bipolar II, schizophrenic, and dependent personality disorder. He then
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Speaker 1: claimed the GPS tracker was on the car for her
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Speaker 1: own safety. As long as she took her medication, the
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Speaker 1: pastor said, his wife would be fine. But that Micah
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Speaker 1: had a rollercoaster relationship with her meds. Earlier in the year,
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Speaker 1: the wife of a well-meaning pastor friend offered to pray
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Speaker 1: for her and believed that her mental illness would go away.
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Speaker 1: According to JP, this led Micah to believe that she
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Speaker 1: no longer needed the medication. With the limited information available
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Speaker 1: at that time, the responding officer took no action. The
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Speaker 1: vehicle remained marital property. By extension, the GPS tracker on
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Speaker 1: the car was as well. In an email sent to Micah,
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Speaker 1: John Paul apologized to her for the use of the trackers.
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Speaker 1: But as Micah moved forward with the divorce, the pastor
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Speaker 1: continued to lash out. On April 8th, Micah spoke to
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Speaker 1: police yet again. This time, she told them that her
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Speaker 1: husband had posted an indecent photograph of her on Facebook.
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Speaker 1: Micah told police she had sent her husband the photograph
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Speaker 1: about six months before. Before being posted, parts of the
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Speaker 1: photo had been blurred, so it did not meet South
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Speaker 1: Carolina's code of law for nudity. Officers told Micah that
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Speaker 1: as the photo had been posted online anonymously, there was
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Speaker 1: no way to prove her husband was behind its publication.
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Speaker 1: Though once it had been sent to him, it would
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Speaker 1: have been legally his. Yet again, there were no actions
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Speaker 1: taken against the pastor. Though Micah told police that she
15:02
Speaker 1: feared for her safety, explaining that she had come to
15:04
Speaker 1: understand that her husband had groomed her since 2010, when
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Speaker 1: she first met him as her youth pastor at the
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Speaker 1: age of about 14. John Paul was 14 years older.
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Speaker 1: At that time, he was already married and the father
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Speaker 1: of a few children. JP adamantly denies this depiction of
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Speaker 1: their relationship. Micah's last Facebook post was from April 9th,
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Speaker 1: when she wrote, When terrible, terrible, terrible things happen to you,
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Speaker 1: Y'all know what I'm talking about. RPF. Resting Peace Face.
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Speaker 2: You don't have to stay in an abusive relationship. Whether
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Speaker 2: that's sexual, whether that's somebody.
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Speaker 7: Forcing you to take illegal drugs, or alcohol abuse, or
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Speaker 7: physical abuse. psychological abuse, making you think that this is
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Speaker 7: all your fault or you're a bad mom or you're
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Speaker 7: a bad wife or you're a bad husband or.
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Speaker 2: You're not giving it your all when you know you are.
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Speaker 1: Less than a week after the last police report, Micah
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Speaker 1: found a GPS tracker on her vehicle for a second time.
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Speaker 1: She filed for divorce the next day. It would take
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Speaker 1: about a week before those papers were served to J.P.
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Speaker 1: But only two days after that, Micah was dead.
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Speaker 9: J.P. personally called me and said, hey, Micah bought a gun.
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Speaker 9: She's out in the backyard. What do you think she
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Speaker 9: bought it to shoot me? I don't know, J.P. I
16:39
Speaker 9: don't know what's going on in the house that that
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Speaker 9: would be a reason. He was scared, was wondering, do
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Speaker 9: you think she bought it to shoot me? Well, you know,
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Speaker 9: why would that be a question if you weren't mistreating her?
16:51
Speaker 10: Greatest wife anyone could ask for. She was incredibly effortless.
16:56
Speaker 10: We spent every night together for hours just talking and talking.
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Speaker 1: The only individual in Micah's life who appeared to be
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Speaker 1: unfazed by her tragic death was her own husband. In
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Speaker 1: the days after she was found, John Paul gave no
17:12
Speaker 1: indications as to the turbulent nature of his marriage. In
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Speaker 1: her obituary, described by Micah's friends as a narcissist's ramblings,
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Speaker 1: he wrote of Micah, She and JP have been friends
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Speaker 1: since 2009, married in 2017, and spent almost every single
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Speaker 1: day and night together. Micah made the greatest of efforts
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Speaker 1: to always be the best wife she could be. She
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Speaker 1: would praise her husband after every church service, telling him
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Speaker 1: he was the best preacher in the world, even if
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Speaker 1: it wasn't true. She also told him he was the
17:47
Speaker 1: funniest preacher in the world, even though that wasn't true either.
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Speaker 1: The day following her death, the pastor decided to break
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Speaker 1: the news to the church congregation in a casual and
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Speaker 1: unsettling announcement that followed his sermon.
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Speaker 10: We're not going to do an altar call today. Instead, um, instead, um,
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Speaker 10: I'm going to have you stand up and I'm going
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Speaker 10: to make an announcement. And, um, after the announcement, I'm
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Speaker 10: going to ask that you, um, We leave church quietly
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Speaker 10: and don't talk about the announcement here in the building, please,
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Speaker 10: if you can. So y'all can stand to your feet.
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Speaker 10: Before I make the announcement, I also want to say
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Speaker 10: that my request to you is that you will continue
18:26
Speaker 10: to come to church and serve and give for the
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Speaker 10: next little bit. I'm taking a little bit of a
18:33
Speaker 10: break and I don't want to have to worry about
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Speaker 10: the church. My break may be a few days, a
18:37
Speaker 10: few weeks.
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Speaker 9: I don't know.
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Speaker 10: I got a call late last night. My wife has
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Speaker 10: passed away. Yeah, it was it was self-induced and it
18:45
Speaker 10: was up in North Carolina. And we're going to have
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Speaker 10: a funeral for her next Sunday here at 3 p.m.
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Speaker 10: And so it's all I can. Yeah, I'm just kind
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Speaker 10: of going on adrenaline right now. So y'all pray for
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Speaker 10: me and my kids and everybody. And she was she
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Speaker 10: wasn't y'all knew that she wasn't well mentally and that
19:04
Speaker 10: she needed medicine that was hard to get to her.
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Speaker 10: And so I'm sure there'll be more details to come.
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Speaker 10: But just keep our family in your prayers. And I'm
19:12
Speaker 10: going to let Pastor Randall, my bishop, he can pray.
19:14
Speaker 10: I'll get a microphone and pray out. And if you
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Speaker 10: have anything you want to share as well, I'd appreciate it.
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Speaker 1: Micah Miller had been found in the water less than
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Speaker 1: 24 hours earlier. The coroner had not made a determination
19:27
Speaker 1: as to the nature or cause of her death when
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Speaker 1: JP made this announcement. And the Robeson County Police were
19:34
Speaker 1: still treating the incident as a suspicious death. Nonetheless, the
19:38
Speaker 1: pastor pointed immediately to his wife's alleged mental state, declaring
19:43
Speaker 1: that her death was self-induced. The pastor appears to have
19:48
Speaker 1: been far more vocal regarding his wife's alleged mental illness
19:52
Speaker 1: than his own. Indeed, many of the details of John
19:55
Speaker 1: Paul's personal life before his marriage to Micah stayed hidden
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Speaker 1: for years. That changed when he came under scrutiny in
20:03
Speaker 1: the wake of his wife's death. A video posted on
20:06
Speaker 1: Facebook by one of JP's neighbors, dated in 2015, shows
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Speaker 1: John Paul experiencing what some are calling a drug-induced psychosis.
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Speaker 1: In the video, he explained to an unidentified person that
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Speaker 1: his medication had been changed. He felt ants crawling all
20:25
Speaker 1: over him, but in the video, there are no ants.
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Speaker 3: Hey JP.
20:30
Speaker 11: Hey.
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Speaker 2: I think Mark is coming. I had him try to
20:35
Speaker 2: get in touch with me again to make sure.
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Speaker 11: Is that okay?
20:39
Speaker 6: You don't do ants.
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Speaker 12: Huh?
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Speaker 13: Ants. There's ants all over me.
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Speaker 2: You feel like there's ants on you?
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Speaker 13: There's ants all over me.
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Speaker 14: There's no ants on you, though. It's just, you know,
20:53
Speaker 14: maybe that's how you feel, but there's none on you.
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Speaker 14: There's none on the grass.
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Speaker 4: What kind of medicine did they have you on?
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Speaker 13: Well, let me know.
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Speaker 14: If I can do anything.
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Speaker 4: Okay, I think he's... I think he's... Here's some water, JP.
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Speaker 2: You want some water?
21:22
Speaker 3: Okay.
21:30
Speaker 13: The poster of the video, a man named Ty, wrote alongside.
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Speaker 10: His post, I believe the saying goes, getting a taste
21:38
Speaker 10: of your own medicine.
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Speaker 1: You have used and abused for way too long, only
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Speaker 1: to get up on that pulpit and consistently discredit your
21:58
Speaker 1: victims by airing out intentionally degrading inappropriate personal information. Doing
22:05
Speaker 1: that allows you to control the narrative. Now we have
22:08
Speaker 1: the death of your wife that you claim only took
22:10
Speaker 1: her life because of mental illness. Fact is, nobody was
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Speaker 1: ever mental until they met you. In the lengthy post,
22:21
Speaker 1: Ty provides possible explanations for how the pastor could have
22:25
Speaker 1: gotten away with such atrocious behavior for so long. He writes,
22:30
Speaker 1: The reason why most people didn't speak up is because
22:33
Speaker 1: they know your reaction is ruthless. You have a little
22:37
Speaker 1: bit of local power with enough financial resources to hurt
22:40
Speaker 1: people legally, and they fear putting their family at risk.
22:45
Speaker 1: And the few others that don't speak up believe it's
22:48
Speaker 1: not the Christian thing to do. Well, neither is doing nothing.
22:56
Speaker 1: John Paul's troubles began at an early age. As a teenager,
23:00
Speaker 1: he earned a criminal record for incidents of delinquency, driving
23:03
Speaker 1: under the influence, and assault. The most concerning incident occurred
23:08
Speaker 1: when he was 19 years old. It was February 1998.
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Speaker 1: Families in the Bride Creek subdivision of Myrtle Beach were
23:16
Speaker 1: sandbagging homes in response to extreme flooding. Defying the road
23:21
Speaker 1: closed sign, JP entered the neighborhood in a silver S10
23:25
Speaker 1: pickup truck with black tape covering the license plate. According
23:29
Speaker 1: to court records, JP accelerated his truck into a 19-year-old
23:33
Speaker 1: woman who had asked him to slow his vehicle. Then
23:36
Speaker 1: he continued to drive for about 100 yards with her
23:40
Speaker 1: clinging onto the hood before he slowed and she was
23:43
Speaker 1: able to safely roll off. The court ordered that he
23:47
Speaker 1: receive a suspended sentence of four years. three years of probation,
23:51
Speaker 1: 500 hours of community service, and an order to pay
23:55
Speaker 1: court fees. On May 31st, 2022, John Paul applied and
24:01
Speaker 1: received a pardon for this conviction. Social media and some
24:07
Speaker 1: news outlets have become rampant with suspicions and accusations leveled
24:11
Speaker 1: at the pastor, related not only to his wife's death,
24:15
Speaker 1: but of other alleged nefarious behavior. it emerged that the
24:19
Speaker 1: pastor was having an affair with a woman in the
24:21
Speaker 1: Solid Rock congregation named Susie Skinner. Susie, seen out for
24:27
Speaker 1: margaritas and shots with JP four days after Micah's death,
24:31
Speaker 1: has formally denied that she is dating the pastor. Former
24:35
Speaker 1: church members and friends of JP and Micah said that
24:39
Speaker 1: the relationship was public and had been going on for
24:41
Speaker 1: some time. What was not openly discussed was the suspicious
24:46
Speaker 1: death of Susie's husband, Christopher had been wheelchair-bound following a
24:52
Speaker 1: drunk driving accident in 2000. He met Susie through his
24:56
Speaker 1: rehabilitation and later became an inspirational speaker and author. On
25:02
Speaker 1: September 6, 2021, Christopher drowned at a community pool in
25:07
Speaker 1: Myrtle Beach when his wheelchair tipped into the pool and
25:11
Speaker 1: he became trapped underneath it. He was 41 years old.
25:17
Speaker 15: Then allegedly begins another affair with a church member who
25:21
Speaker 15: has a husband who uses a wheelchair, who mysteriously ended
25:25
Speaker 15: up dead and drowned in a pool. Is that accurate?
25:29
Speaker 11: Yes.
25:30
Speaker 4: That's what we've been told by people who have reached out.
25:34
Speaker 2: We've spoken to former church members. We've spoken to current
25:39
Speaker 2: church members.
25:42
Speaker 1: An investigation into Christopher's death found no signs of foul play.
25:48
Speaker 1: Security camera footage of the community center showed that he
25:51
Speaker 1: had been there alone. Though this did not explain why
25:55
Speaker 1: his chair abruptly accelerated forward into the pool. His death
26:00
Speaker 1: has been ruled an accident. JP's ex-wife Allison has accused
26:07
Speaker 1: her ex-husband of having a sexual addiction and behaving inappropriately
26:11
Speaker 1: with the teenagers at his church. One of these teens,
26:15
Speaker 1: now a grown woman, took to Facebook to tell her story,
26:19
Speaker 1: alleging that John Paul once forced himself on her. John
26:23
Speaker 1: Paul Miller has been removed from his position as pastor
26:27
Speaker 1: at the Solid Rock Church, though he is still technically
26:30
Speaker 1: employed there. None of the pastor's history makes him guilty
26:35
Speaker 1: of his wife's murder. He may very well be guilty
26:37
Speaker 1: of other crimes that are now emerging, but it is
26:40
Speaker 1: too early to tell. What we do know is that
26:43
Speaker 1: Micah had been keeping track of her husband's transgressions. She
26:47
Speaker 1: kept detailed diaries that likely recorded contemporaneous reflections of the
26:52
Speaker 1: abuse that she allegedly suffered at his hands. She knew
26:56
Speaker 1: about the other women. There were allegedly quite a few.
27:00
Speaker 1: There is also reason to believe that he was stealing
27:03
Speaker 1: donations intended for the church and its charitable activities. In mid-March,
27:08
Speaker 1: John Paul was reported to police by another church member,
27:12
Speaker 1: for transferring almost $ 2, 000 from the Dare to Care mission
27:16
Speaker 1: in Kenya to his own personal account. Although her name
27:20
Speaker 1: does not appear in the police report, Micah is thought
27:23
Speaker 1: to have also been implicated in this donation scheme alongside JP,
27:28
Speaker 1: as the anonymously named Involved Other on the report. Her
27:32
Speaker 1: family believes that making her complicit in JP's schemes was
27:36
Speaker 1: another way that he sought to control her. Yet another
27:43
Speaker 1: police report was filed after Micah's death when John Paul
27:46
Speaker 1: arrived at the apartment building where Micah had been living
27:49
Speaker 1: to collect her belongings. Her family believes that his intentions
27:53
Speaker 1: that day were to collect the diaries and other documents
27:57
Speaker 1: that could incriminate him. On that occasion, it was the
28:01
Speaker 1: pastor himself who phoned law enforcement. According to the report,
28:05
Speaker 1: the leasing agent would not let him into the home
28:08
Speaker 1: to take his wife's things because... they didn't like him
28:12
Speaker 1: very much. It was Micah's sister, Sierra, who came into
28:16
Speaker 1: possession of her documents. They are now being sorted by
28:20
Speaker 1: her lawyer.
28:22
Speaker 12: The mounds of paperwork that I have is incredible. She
28:26
Speaker 12: collected a lot of things. She kept a notebook. I
28:30
Speaker 12: have boxes of journals, which by the way, he's made
28:33
Speaker 12: a hundred phone calls looking for, as I understand. And, um,
28:38
Speaker 12: He is constantly trying to stay in front of this,
28:42
Speaker 12: spin some web, some story.
28:46
Speaker 1: The investigation into Micah's death continued after the coroner offered
28:50
Speaker 1: their conclusion. The Robeson County Police released a report, timeline,
28:55
Speaker 1: video surveillance, and other evidence compiled in the course of
28:58
Speaker 1: their investigation. Their conclusions were not well-received. The ring camera
29:05
Speaker 1: outside of the apartment where Micah was living captured her
29:08
Speaker 1: leaving the home at 10.13 a.m. on Saturday, April 27th,
29:12
Speaker 1: the day she died. She returned at 11 a.m. Micah
29:17
Speaker 1: was alone. She left again a few minutes later and
29:20
Speaker 1: drove to Dick's Pawn Shop in Myrtle Beach, where a
29:23
Speaker 1: camera caught her exiting her car and entering the superstore.
29:29
Speaker 1: In the store at just past noon, Micah is shown
29:32
Speaker 1: independently purchasing the Sig Sauer handgun. She passed a criminal
29:37
Speaker 1: background check and was able to leave the store with
29:39
Speaker 1: the gun immediately. Her phone search history showed that she
29:44
Speaker 1: searched for a national park, returning the directions for Lumber
29:47
Speaker 1: River State Park. On the way to the park, she
29:51
Speaker 1: stopped off at a gas station where she purchased a drink.
29:54
Speaker 1: The receipt was found in her car and security camera
29:57
Speaker 1: footage in the store showed her once again shopping alone.
30:02
Speaker 1: Micah carried on to the state park. Once there, Micah
30:07
Speaker 1: placed a call to 911.
30:08
Speaker 5: Robinson County 911, what's the address of your emergency?
30:14
Speaker 14: Hi, are you able to trace the location of my phone?
30:19
Speaker 2: Let me see.
30:24
Speaker 14: You don't know where you're at? At National Park. I
30:29
Speaker 14: have my location on, I think, on my phone. Find
30:33
Speaker 14: my phone is on.
30:34
Speaker 4: I don't think you are in Robeson County.
30:41
Speaker 14: Yeah, the Lumber River State Park. Yeah, that's where I am.
30:48
Speaker 14: Tell me what's happened. I just want my family to
30:51
Speaker 14: know where to find me.
30:54
Speaker 1: The final statement that Micah made to the operator was
30:56
Speaker 1: to state her intentions, what she was about to do.
31:01
Speaker 1: She only wanted her family to be able to locate her.
31:06
Speaker 1: Despite this, there are those online who have claimed to
31:09
Speaker 1: hear a man's voice in the background, perhaps convincing her
31:12
Speaker 1: to lie on the phone call. Still others have suggested
31:16
Speaker 1: that the voice on the call is not Micah at all.
31:19
Speaker 1: but produced by AI as a part of John Paul
31:22
Speaker 1: Miller's plan to get away with murder. Conspiracy theories that
31:28
Speaker 1: have picked up steam include accusing Johnny, the fisherman, of
31:32
Speaker 1: being the gunman. Others say that JP had another accomplice
31:36
Speaker 1: with whom he switched cell phones to throw off any
31:39
Speaker 1: location data. These theories all aim to point the finger
31:43
Speaker 1: at JP as the killer, even though he seems to
31:46
Speaker 1: have a rock-solid alibi. The night before Micah was shot,
31:54
Speaker 1: JP drove to a sporting event in Charleston, a roughly
31:57
Speaker 1: three-hour drive south of Lumber River Park in North Carolina.
32:02
Speaker 1: The investigation located multiple eyewitnesses who confirmed that the pastor
32:06
Speaker 1: was at this event all weekend. License plate readers tracked
32:10
Speaker 1: his truck en route to and from Charleston to further
32:14
Speaker 1: corroborate the witnesses. Despite misinformation being released to the contrary,
32:20
Speaker 1: the investigative report clearly states that there were multiple passengers
32:24
Speaker 1: traveling together. Although JP was reported to be traveling with
32:28
Speaker 1: his new girlfriend, his alibi is not dependent upon her
32:32
Speaker 1: word alone. He simply could not have been with Micah
32:35
Speaker 1: when she died, or been the person who pulled the trigger.
32:40
Speaker 1: Though whether he still bears responsibility for her death in
32:43
Speaker 1: other ways is a separate question. On Sunday, May 12th, 2024,
32:49
Speaker 1: John Paul held a funeral for Micah at the Solid
32:52
Speaker 1: Rock Church. Her family did not attend.
32:57
Speaker 10: I can't even, if I had 10 hours today, that
33:00
Speaker 10: wouldn't be enough time to tell you all the great
33:02
Speaker 10: things about her and what it was like to be
33:05
Speaker 10: intimate relationship with her. You know, I still can hear
33:11
Speaker 10: her voice and I can still picture just walking in
33:16
Speaker 10: the front door. And he was a great step mom.
33:19
Speaker 10: She actually did so much work with the kids all
33:22
Speaker 10: the time. She was the one that would always help
33:24
Speaker 10: pick them up from school and get their food. And, um,
33:28
Speaker 10: she'd take Salem, my daughter all the time to get
33:30
Speaker 10: their nails done or to go to Lululemon or, um,
33:33
Speaker 10: all these special girly, girly things, you know? And, um,
33:36
Speaker 10: I appreciated that from the very, very beginning, not once
33:39
Speaker 10: did she ever, ever complain about, um, me having five kids, uh,
33:45
Speaker 10: This was my favorite parody that she did.
33:47
Speaker 13: Give me life, take me for what I am.
34:27
Speaker 10: Imagine being married to that. It was like that in
34:32
Speaker 10: our house all the time. Y'all stand on your feet
34:35
Speaker 10: and Pastor Randall's going to close in prayer.
34:38
Speaker 1: The report released by Robinson County Sheriff Bernice Wilkins concluded
34:42
Speaker 1: that Unfortunately, rumors and conspiracy theories were spreading quickly, and
34:47
Speaker 1: assumptions were being made. However, in the end, we must
34:51
Speaker 1: make decisions based on the facts and evidence that has
34:54
Speaker 1: been gathered. While I know it's not what many people
34:57
Speaker 1: wanted to hear, the evidence is quite clear and compelling,
35:01
Speaker 1: and we are as saddened as anyone that this occurred.
35:05
Speaker 1: The report did not end the speculation. Indeed, the evidence
35:10
Speaker 1: released has now been scrutinized in an effort to discredit
35:13
Speaker 1: its conclusions.
35:15
Speaker 2: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That truck is tinted black.
35:18
Speaker 14: How do I know who's in it?
35:21
Speaker 16: And also, how do I.
35:22
Speaker 2: Know he was at an athletic event?
35:25
Speaker 12: And was he there the whole time?
35:27
Speaker 10: And how far away is that event from where Micah
35:32
Speaker 10: was killed?
35:35
Speaker 1: Independent media is questioning why a small cross tattoo on
35:38
Speaker 1: Micah's hand is not visible from the camera angle at
35:41
Speaker 1: the pawn shop while she purchased the gun. Videos have
35:45
Speaker 1: been published questioning the timestamps on the security footage from
35:49
Speaker 1: the parking lot, perhaps suggesting that the footage has been altered.
35:53
Speaker 1: Many do not wish to accept the 911 call happened
35:57
Speaker 1: at all. I really hope that once this 911 call
36:00
Speaker 1: is released... Somebody can dissect it and look at it,
36:04
Speaker 1: a professional that could say, okay, yeah, this is AI
36:07
Speaker 1: generated because there are ways to do that.
36:10
Speaker 2: Because I'm not buying this for a second.
36:14
Speaker 1: Solid Rock church leaders have reported receiving harassing phone calls
36:18
Speaker 1: and messages. The coroner who performed the medical exam has
36:22
Speaker 1: received threats. So has Johnny Jacobs, the fisherman from the
36:26
Speaker 1: state park. He has now appeared on multiple news outlets
36:29
Speaker 1: declaring his innocence. As these theories spread, so do the
36:34
Speaker 1: allegations and online abuse.
36:37
Speaker 4: I want this to stop as far as me. I
36:39
Speaker 4: don't want to make this all about me because I'm
36:41
Speaker 4: still thinking about Michael. I'm trying to respect her family,
36:44
Speaker 4: and I got total respect for them, and I am
36:47
Speaker 4: so sorry for what they're going through. I never thought
36:49
Speaker 4: my day would turn.
36:50
Speaker 2: Out like that.
36:52
Speaker 1: John Paul has hired a lawyer. letters have been issued
36:55
Speaker 1: calling for an end to the accusations of murder and
36:58
Speaker 1: other abusive behavior directed at JP that is proliferating online.
37:02
Speaker 12: I felt like I had come across the answer of
37:07
Speaker 12: maybe why.
37:10
Speaker 2: She would have taken it this far.
37:12
Speaker 12: And that is he had her convinced that this was
37:16
Speaker 12: what she should do, in my opinion. I believe he
37:19
Speaker 12: had her convinced that it would be the only way
37:22
Speaker 12: that she could escape him to some degree. I believe
37:27
Speaker 12: that he used every tactic and tool that he could.
37:32
Speaker 1: The pastor has denied ever hurting his wife in any way.
37:36
Speaker 1: Claims that he had groomed her since the age of
37:37
Speaker 1: 10 must be false, he says. because they did not
37:41
Speaker 1: meet until she was 14. The police report where this accusation,
37:45
Speaker 1: made by Micah, is recorded, probably transcribed her statements inaccurately.
37:51
Speaker 1: Micah likely would have stated that the grooming began in 2010,
37:55
Speaker 1: not when she was 10 years old. Micah was cremated
38:00
Speaker 1: before a second independent autopsy could be performed. It seems
38:05
Speaker 1: that there are also gaps in the standard practices in
38:08
Speaker 1: North Carolina that Micah's family believe rendered the autopsy incomplete.
38:13
Speaker 1: They did not perform a toxicology, for example. Adding more
38:18
Speaker 1: fuel to the fire, John Paul pushed for a cremation immediately.
38:22
Speaker 1: Family reported that he refused access to view Micah until
38:26
Speaker 1: after they agreed to this. The family are not giving up.
38:33
Speaker 16: I believe that it was all staged. I believe that
38:36
Speaker 16: the whole thing was premeditated. I believe that the narrative
38:40
Speaker 16: was established by Junior all the way through. Before there
38:44
Speaker 16: was a release, like the day we were notified, he
38:47
Speaker 16: was already saying, she did it.
38:49
Speaker 11: She did it.
38:50
Speaker 16: Why would you do that if you don't have all
38:52
Speaker 16: the information yet? Why would you not be grieving and just,
38:57
Speaker 16: you know, he has not shown any remorse, no grief.
39:02
Speaker 2: He shows nervousness. He shows guilt.
39:05
Speaker 16: He shows that he is hiding something.
39:09
Speaker 2: Hey, everybody.
39:13
Speaker 11: I just wanted to share the chorus of a song
39:16
Speaker 11: that came to my head the other day. I was
39:19
Speaker 11: just kind of battling thoughts of just kind of like
39:23
Speaker 11: human thoughts, things that you want to do.
39:26
Speaker 2: And it's just a fleeting thought.
39:20
Speaker 11: Revelations from John Paul Miller's.
39:23
Speaker 2: Past continue to accumulate.
39:42
Speaker 1: And the outcry for action to be taken is only growing.
39:46
Speaker 2: I pray for your healing.
39:48
Speaker 1: It has been reported that the FBI's assistance has been
39:51
Speaker 1: requested by law enforcement in North Carolina. But with the
39:56
Speaker 1: death investigation now declared closed, it is unclear what aspects
40:00
Speaker 1: of the case the FBI agents have been asked to
40:04
Speaker 1: look into.
40:04
Speaker 2: I pray miracles over your life.
40:21
Speaker 1: That was the tragic case of Micah Miller. Thank you
40:25
Speaker 1: so much for watching, and a special thanks again to
40:27
Speaker 1: everyone in the Members Lounge. I'm Kevin, this is Just
40:31
Speaker 1: Thought Lounge, and I'll see you in the next one.
40:38
Speaker 3: Thank you.