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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
South Carolina pastor John Paul Miller has been charged in federal court with allegedly cyberstalking his estranged wife, 30-year-old Mica Miller, for more than a year before her death, authorities said.
She was found dead on April 27, 2024, at Lumber River State Park in Robeson County, North Carolina. Her death was ruled a suicide.
A federal grand jury in Columbia indicted John-Paul Miller, 46, of Myrtle Beach, on one count of cyberstalking and one count of making false statements to federal investigators, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina on Dec. 18.
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The indictment alleges that beginning in November 2022 and continuing until Mica’s death, Miller engaged in a pattern of harassment that included sending repeated unwanted communications, contacting her more than 50 times in a single day, interfering with her finances and daily activities, and damaging her car tires.
Prosecutors say Miller also placed tracking devices on her car and posted a nude photograph of her online without her consent.
Miller’s alleged cyberstalking put his wife in “reasonable fear of death and serious bodily injury,” according to the federal indictment, which added that his conduct “would be reasonably expected to cause [Mica Miller] substantial emotional distress.”
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Federal authorities say that Miller also lied to investigators when he was questioned about damaging Mica’s tires. Investigators later found that Miller purchased a tire-deflation device online and sent messages to others referencing her vehicle, according to the indictment.
Miller could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the cyberstalking charge and two years for making false statements, along with fines of up to $250,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 12, 2026, in federal court in Florence, South Carolina. Court records did not immediately list an attorney for Miller.
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In a statement released Thursday, Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said his office initiated the request for federal involvement shortly after Mica’s death, after investigators uncovered information that, while not directly related to the cause of death, warranted further review.
Deputies responded to Lumber River State Park on April 27, 2024, after Mica called 911 expressing concern that she might harm herself, Wilkins said.
She was found dead in the water with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the gun was located nearby. The North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled the death a suicide.
Wilkins said his office contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina on May 6, 2024, requesting a federal investigation into alleged conduct that occurred outside North Carolina’s jurisdiction. Detectives shared all evidence with the FBI and met with Miller’s family the following day to explain the findings and the referral.
“Unfortunately, during the course of this investigation, rumors, speculation, and conspiracy theories spread rapidly,” Wilkins said in a statement posted on his office’s Facebook page, along with photos of both John-Paul and Mica Miller. “The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office made decisions based solely on facts, evidence, and verified information obtained through a very detailed and thorough investigation.”
The sheriff said that while the federal charges do not alter the official determination of Mica’s death, they bring attention to the seriousness of domestic abuse, including nonphysical forms of abuse.
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“This case underscores the seriousness of domestic violence abuse and related offenses and serves as a reminder that such behavior has no place in our society,” Wilkins said.
Miller was a pastor at Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach at the time of his wife’s death. The pair had separated, and Mica filed for divorce two days before she died, according to FOX 8 Greensboro.
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