From the outside, the Myrtle Beach-based Millers appeared to have a picture-perfect marriage. Mica Miller was a beautiful pastor’s wife whose husband, church leader John-Paul Miller, led a devout congregation. But the Solid Rock Church community did not know that behind closed doors, Mica and John-Paul had a tumultuous relationship, and Mica would ultimately be found dead in a state park with a gunshot wound to her head, after telling authorities she planned to take her own life.
The next day, on April 27, 2024, John-Paul took the stage at Solid Rock to share the news: The congregation was now without a creative director to lead the worship, youth, and women’s ministry, and he was without a wife. It wasn’t long before the Solid Rock patrons began to ask questions about what led to Mica's death. The new three-part Netflix docuseries, Death of the Pastor's Wife, charts the now infamous—and ongoing—case against John-Paul, who has been charged with cyberstalking and making false statements to federal investigators, and seeks to uncover what really led to Mica’s death at age 30.
Co-directed by showrunner Mike Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason (Murdaugh Murders, American Murder: Gabby Petito), the series looks back on Mica’s life with never-before-seen footage and firsthand accounts from her friends and family, many of whom are speaking out for the first time. Showrunner Gasparro tells TIME that Mica’s story is “complex and deeply resonant.” The responsibility of bringing what really happened to her to light was key to making the docuseries. Here’s everything we learned about Mica’s story from the new series.
John-Paul Miller first saw Mica Francis when she was a teenager attending Solid Rock Church. The Francis family had recently relocated to Myrtle Beach and soon became regulars at the evangelical parish. At the time, Pastor John-Paul was a married father of five.
Mica worked as his nanny, according to an affidavit filed by Miller’s first wife, Alison Williams. Mica got married at 18 to her first husband, who was also a member of Solid Rock Church. Mica and John-Paul began having an affair in 2015, when Mica was 20 and John-Paul was 35, according to the Francis family; the couple then divorced their respective spouses and wed each other on Nov. 7, 2017 when Mica was 23 and John-Paul, 38.
Mica looked up to JP as both a pastor and an authority figure. As we examined their relationship, it became clear how deeply that imbalance influenced its development. He held a position of tremendous power in her life long before they became romantically involved.” Mica’s sister, Sierra Francis, alleged to the Myrtle Beach Sun News that she believed John-Paul “had his sights set on [Mica] from a young age,” and that he had groomed her.
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