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The family of Mica Miller has reached a settlement with her pastor husband John-Paul Miller, ending all legal disputes surrounding her death and calling on protestors to stop carrying out demonstrations in front of his church.
In a joint press conference outside the Horry County Courthouse, North Carolina, on Monday, attorneys for both parties announced the agreement, which settles all pending lawsuits confidentially, including the control of Mica’s estate.
Instead of any ongoing legal action, both parties said they want to push state lawmakers to adopt a coercive control law in 30-year-old Mica’s memory, following her suicide back in April.
Regina Ward, a Conway-based attorney representing Mica’s family, has previously pushed for the bill, which would criminalize coercive control, though it stalled a few years ago.
This means that John-Paul, who leads the Solid Rock Church in nearby Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, will not face any civil wrongful death claims as part of the agreement.
Mica was found dead in North Carolina’s Lumber River State Park on April 27 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a coroner ruled. A 911 dispatcher who spoke with her on April 27 said she had been crying for several minutes before her death.
Not long after Mica’s passing, her sister, Sierra Francis, filed a petition to become a special administrator of her estate, but the petition was withdrawn on Monday, attorneys said.
“This is over. This global agreement is Mica’s justice. The next step is the legislative goal. We only ask that you remember Mica as the wonderful, beautiful person that she was,” said Russell Long, an attorney for John-Paul Miller.
The settlement also hopes to stop demonstrations, in which protestors stood outside the Solid Rock Church in a picket line while shouting “Justice for Mica” every Sunday.
“The Francis family just asked them, through their attorney, to focus their energy on something else. She asked them to focus their energy toward the passing of this coercive control act,” he said.
“I would ask that they leave churchgoers alone. These poor people are just trying to go to church on Sundays, and they’re being harassed and being put in fear.”
Ward also explained why the family has decided to settle the legal disputes.
“I know that some of you are going to be disappointed,” said Ward. “Whenever you’re involved in litigation of this magnitude and this many things to cover, it could take years to go through a court system.”
“We don’t want to talk about Mr Miller anymore. We want to move forward to the next chapter, and that is getting this [coercive control] law passed,” Ward told reporters Monday.
“We want to focus on the memory and beauty of Mica and everything she has represented for herself and every single person that has ever been in her situation,” she added.
Mica’s family previously urged local police to further investigate her death amid allegations that her husband had abused and groomed her from the time she was a teen.
Those allegations started with Mica herself after she placed several calls to the police about her husband.
One police report includes allegations from Mica that her husband “groomed” her from the time she was a teen until their marriage in 2017. Other court filings include Mica saying she had confided in relatives and other congregants that she had been abused by her husband.
In an affidavit, her sister Francis said that Mica previously told her if she was ever found dead, that her husband would be the one responsible. Mica’s brother also said that his sister found a tracking device on her car, and that her tires had been slashed more than once in the weeks before her death.
Long, John-Paul’s attorney, has rejected all allegations that the pastor had anything to do with his wife’s death or that he abused or groomed her.
The Roberson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that John-Paul was not in the state on the day of his wife’s death and had been attending an athletic event in Charleston, South Carolina.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
