Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome back to True Crime and Headlines with Jules and Jen. I am more than thrilled to share the amazing woman that Jen Rivera is with all of our listeners here in our true crime community. Jen is a member of a women in true crime podcasting group chat that we share on social media and we've become pretty close friends since we met and you guys, you're going to absolutely love her. She's witty, she's determined, she's passionate, she's educated, she's diligent, she's talented and she's dogged in the pursuit of justice. And guess what? She's all ours.

Speaker 1: 0:36

I invited Jen on as a 50-50 partner for True Crime and Headlines. This means her company, reignited Media, is now partnering with my Anley Audio House LLC. So what does this mean for True Crime and Headlines? Y'all? It means more episodes, more quality content and more consistency. Will we both be hosting episodes? Yes, at the same time. Yes, jen and I will be working together to co-host most of the episodes. However, we will also be solo hosting many episodes while we each work on our standalone investigative podcasts as well.

Speaker 1: 1:15

Jen has the Unseen Truth, and season one is already available wherever you get your podcasts, and season two is coming up. She's working hard on that behind the scenes right now and I have Missing in Hushtown season one coming out on August 16th. Wherever you get your podcasts, so make sure you check out those podcasts as well. I asked Jen to do an episode on the trending case of Micah Miller. I know that you will absolutely love how Jen does things. I'm learning from her. I admire her. I am so blessed and beyond ecstatic that somehow I convinced her to partner with me. You know, she is just amazing what she does. True Crime and Headlines with Jules and Jen will be back with weekly scheduled episodes beginning July 2024. And don't forget, we will both be at CrimeCon in Nashville the end of May, that's in three weeks. So without further ado, I want to give a big warm welcome to Jen Rivera, co-host and co-owner of True Crime and Headlines with Jules and Jen.

Speaker 2: 2:23

Let's go co -owner of True Crime and Headlines with Jules and Jen. Let's go, hey everybody, it's Jen with True Crime and Headlines with Jules and Jen, and I'm so excited to be here with you all. Make sure to stay tuned, and if you're not already following True Crime and Headlines on Instagram, make sure you do, because Jules and I have brand new episodes coming for you all in July. So go follow us so you don't miss the official announcement and launch date. With that being said, we have a special headlines episode for you all, so let's dive right into today's case coverage. Today, we're talking about a case that has been rocking the headlines recently and is one that Jules and I really wanted to share with you all, because there are so many layers to this case, and that's the case of 30-year-old Micah Miller from Myrtle Beach, south Carolina. Before we dive into the details of the case, though, just a forewarning that in this episode, I'll be discussing the topic of suicide, so please be mindful as you continue to listen on.

Speaker 2: 3:25

Micah Miller was found deceased on April 27th at Lumbar State Park in Lumberton, north Carolina. According to the Robeson County Sheriff's Office and medical examiner, micah died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to her head. Miller's suicide came after well-documented claims of abuse within her marriage. Miller's suicide came after well-documented claims of abuse within her marriage, substantiated by court records filed by her siblings in a bid to control her estate, and only two days after she served her husband with divorce papers on April 25th. The Robeson County Medical Examiner's Office announced on Monday, may 6th 2024, that Micah's death was officially ruled a suicide, despite speculation that her husband, John Paul Miller, may have been involved. Y'all there are so many allegations about John Paul Miller and the timeline of events leading up to Micah's tragic death. It has been reported that prior to her death, micah said if she was ever found dead, her husband was behind it. This was according to an affidavit filed by her younger sister, sierra Francis. Micah also alleged to relatives and church members from her church Solid Rock Church which is the church that she attended and her husband was a pastor at that she was abused by her partner. This, again, was all according to her sister's affidavit. There are so many disturbing details in this case and I'm going to lay it all out for you all so we can understand not only how this happened, but why. Why did Micah Miller feel that her only option was suicide. Why did her life tragically end this way and who, if anyone, played a role in this tragedy? In order to put those pieces together and fully understand the case, we need to understand the dynamic of Micah's life and the events that led up to April 27th.

Speaker 2: 5:29

Police reports indicate that Micah met her husband when she was only 14 years old. They met while he was working at Solid Rock Church and it was during this time that Micah alleged that he started grooming her. Now there are some conflicting reports, because there are reports out there that state that Micah was only 10 years old when she met John Paul, and then others that say she was between the ages of 14 and 15. Regardless of the age, she was still under age. She was very young and he was significantly older than her. Now the topic of grooming is a topic we can go down a rabbit hole in itself. It's very disturbing to know that this was being alleged by Micah herself that her now husband groomed her leading up to their marriage. Now they got married in 2017. So Micah was of age she was about roughly 23 years old at the time and throughout their seven-year marriage, there was a history of abuse, according to allegations made by Micah in a February 2024 police report. So let's start there in the timeline, because this is where it gets crazy, y'all.

Speaker 2: 6:46

February 21st 2024, micah filed a police report with the Myrtle Beach police stating that her vehicle had been stolen after she was released from an involuntary hospital stay. Now let me repeat that. Now let me repeat that she filed. 10th informed her that her husband, john Paul Miller, had came and picked up her purse and her keys and took her vehicle. Micah believed John Paul had her committed so he could steal her vehicle, according to court documents. So this has been confirmed in court documents.

Speaker 2: 7:43

John Paul had power of attorney over Micah's health care and he told officers that Micah was prone to psychotic episodes on an annual basis. He also said his wife spends large amounts of money when she stops taking her prescribed medication. And then he acknowledged that he took her car to prevent it from being sold. I don't know about you, but that seems a little suspicious to me. So you're telling me you knew exactly how long her supposed psychotic episode would last and why would you be concerned that her vehicle would be sold? There's no clarification on that, so we just have to speculate at this point. John Paul then told police that the vehicle was marital property and that he was unwilling to give it back to his wife for at least a month, which he stated was usually the time frame of these supposed episodes. Again, how do you know, unless it's something that's consistent, which I haven't seen any reports that state that she's had consistent episodes that last a month long. But this is what he's claiming.

Speaker 2: 8:55

Micah's sister, sierra Francis, said in her affidavit that her sister told her that people were following her and indicated that her husband had hired people to follow her. This affidavit also alleges that John Paul transferred assets, including the deed, to their home to one of his sons and moved his wife's personal belongings from their home while she was undergoing treatment at the mental health facility. Sierra also said her sister was hopeful for her future after filing for divorce but was still very afraid. So why would John Paul, unless he had some type of motive or plan, why would he have committed Micah to this mental health facility, unwillingly on her part, and then start moving her belongings, transferring the deed to the home? I mean, clearly he has a plan. Why would you be doing all of these things and making sure that she is locked away somewhere. So she has no knowledge of what's happening during that time. So you can be free to do all of these things without her knowing.

Speaker 2: 10:05

Right Now, another person comes forward from Micah's family, her brother Nathaniel Francis, and this is according to his affidavit. He states that Micah expressed to him around the same time that she was fearful for her life. So now you have two people amongst many others that Micah had reached out to and confided in, stating that she's afraid for her life. She also told Nathaniel that she believes she wouldn't make it to the divorce and that her life would be taken from her. That's just absolutely devastating to hear. I can't even imagine the fear that Micah had been feeling at that time for her to say that, to make that statement. Nathaniel also mentions that once John Paul started moving Micah's belongings out of their shared residence while she was being hospitalized remember so she's still in this mental health facility she retained an attorney with the intent of filing for divorce and she also ended up joining a new church. This shows that Micah was looking forward to the future and she was making plans to start fresh. So all of this took place in February, so let's fast forward to March.

Speaker 2: 11:20

On March 11th, micah contacted the police again while she was at the SpringMade Pier, claiming that there was a razor blade in her tire. She claimed this was the second time a razor had deflated her tire within that week. That is terrifying. The report also said that as Micah was leaving the pier she heard a pop and noticed metal protruding from her tire. The responding officer said the metal was a tire deflation device that could be bought online. So this was something that was purposely put in her tire. Micah believed that a suspect purposely put in her tire. Micah believed that a suspect whose name is redacted in the report, which I find very, very strange that they were the ones that placed the item on the tire. The report also stated that Micah noticed strange activity and believed people were following or watching her. She told police that the unidentified suspect had a history of similar actions against her, according to the report. So this is something that has been going on and this is all documented. I mean these are documented reports stating everything that happened leading up to Micah's death.

Speaker 2: 12:32

Later that same morning another officer responded to the East Coast Honda dealership, which is where she took her vehicle, and the officer spoke with Micah, who advised that another officer helped her change her tire and that she went to the gas station and then went straight to the Honda dealership to get her tire fixed. Micah said that while she was at the gas station, the same suspect in the incident pulled up next to her pump trying to talk to her. She told him to go away him now she told him to go away and that she did not want to talk. Per the report, when she pulled out her phone to record, the suspect reportedly sped off in his vehicle. Micah then left the gas station to go back to the Honda dealership where the suspect again showed up, according to the police report. So this person is clearly stalking Micah, clearly. Similarly, while the officer was standing with Micah so this is the officer that is now with her at the Honda dealership.

Speaker 2: 13:41

She receives a blocked call on her phone, which ends up being the suspect, according to the officer, because he made this note in the report. The suspect was advised that Micah did not want any further contact and if he proceeded to contact her or call her, that warrants would be written up. And, according to the officer, the suspect acknowledged this and that was the end of that. Micah then told the officer that she was afraid for her life. So now you have even more witness accounts and now you have an officer that Micah is stating she's afraid for her life too. She also said that she blocked the suspect's number and would still get calls and texts from him on other numbers Again stalking Do we not see this? This is stalking.

Speaker 2: 14:37

After the officer left, micah contacted him again via phone to say that the mechanics that were working on her vehicle at the Honda dealership found a tracking device on her vehicle. If this couldn't get any scarier, on top of the stalking attempts, now she has a tracking device on her vehicle. An hour later, micah also notified the officer that she was at the magistrate's office to get a restraining order against the suspect, and the officer ended up meeting her there to get access to the GPS device. Now this is all the same day, while Micah's now in front of the magistrate's office with this officer to get this restraining order. The officer claims in the report that he sees now a white Honda Accord slowly drive by, and Micah confirmed that it was the suspect. The vehicle then sped up and drove away, and that's where the report concludes.

Speaker 2: 15:45

Nothing but red flag after red flag. Unfortunately, we can only assume and speculate who this individual was, but we don't know for sure Because, again, their name is being redacted from these reports. I'm very curious to see why that is. Was it John Paul or was it someone he had following her? Again, nothing is confirmed nor denied, and this is alleged and all speculation at this point. But I think we can come to our own conclusions. Now let's jump to April 28th. So this is after Micah's body is found.

Speaker 2: 16:27

When John Paul announces to the entire Rock Solid Church congregation that Micah committed suicide and shared details about her mental health, he mentions that she didn't have her meds during that time and it was hard to get them to her during that time and it was hard to get them to her. I'm not really understanding that statement. That's a little weird to me. Why would it be difficult to get her her meds? The whole sermon is completely distasteful and unethical in my opinion. There's also previous sermons that are available online that you can watch, where he talks about Micah leaving him and airing his marital issues to the congregation. It's just mind-blowing to me how he continued to pastor at this church and how they let him give a sermon when he should have taken time off to mourn his wife's death. I mean, isn't that what normal people would do? To me, this behavior is extremely odd and suspicious.

Speaker 2: 17:21

It's also alleged in reports that John Paul was seeing someone and during the time that Michael was found, he and his girlfriend were, ironically, on a road trip. Now there's also some speculation, because there's some conflicting information in one of the police reports where the suspect is named as a he and then later on in the report as a she. Now this can easily just be a typo, or it could be that there was a male and a female suspect involved. Could that have been John Paul's new girlfriend, who was possibly stalking Micah as well? Now, this is clear speculation and this is only alleged information, but if we're laying out all the facts and the evidence, it seems highly likely. Now Micah's death was officially ruled a suicide.

Speaker 2: 18:14

Police recently released the 911 call that Micah made prior to her death, alerting authorities of where she is, so her family could find her death, alerting authorities of where she is, so her family could find her. There's also video evidence of her purchasing a handgun prior to that, and that 911 call is heartbreaking. If you haven't heard it, it is out for the public to hear. I know a lot of news media outlets have it and have published it. It's so sad, but what we can definitely confirm is that it's very clear that John Paul's actions show that he had motive to want to cause strife in Micah's life, knowing that she suffered from a mental health disorder, separated from John Paul back in January of 2023. So she had been separated from him for over a year and things really started kicking up in February with the tire incident and more of the stalking and who knows, it could have been going on longer than that. It could have been going on since she separated from him in 2023. It's very possible. But what we do have is the reports, the recounts, the testimony from the officers, the incidences that had happened with the stalking. So it's there, it's evidence, it's clear that this was happening. It's evidence, it's clear that this was happening.

Speaker 2: 19:45

The other thing I want to mention is Micah's obituary. That was written by John Paul. It's very disturbing. He mentions in there about himself and how Micah thought he was. This great man and great pastor to me reads complete narcissist and it does not seem like an obituary that you would write for your loved one. Very strange, this whole case is just so incredibly sad because, at the end of the day, micah felt like she had no way out no way out of the situation and ultimately made that decision to end her life.

Speaker 2: 20:29

Now, again, micah's death was ruled a suicide and there is evidence to corroborate that. But we have to again look at the facts, look at the events that led up to this. Again look at the facts, look at the events that led up to this. And it's very obvious that John Paul Miller had something to do with Micah's decision to end her life. He played a part in that stress and that strife and he should still be held accountable for his actions because he knew what he was doing. And it's so unfortunate because there are so many women that are in very similar circumstances where they're experiencing abuse and they're trying to get out of an abusive marriage or an abusive relationship, and many of them don't make it out. If you're struggling today, please know that you are wanted, you are needed and you are loved. Thank you so much for tuning in with me today. I'll catch you in season two.