A new Netflix documentary series has cast a fresh light on the tragic death of a young woman, with viewers taking to social media to point out glaring plot holes.
The three-part series, Death of the Pastor’s Wife, dives into the death of Mica Miller, the wife of a South Carolina church pastor, John-Paul (JP) Miller, who was 15 years her senior.
The pair met at the Solid Rock Church, when Ms Miller joined the congregation at the age of 13, along with her family.
She was a talented singer and quickly found a place as the leader of the choir by the age of 16.
In 2012, she married Jeremy Deas at 18, with Pastor JP Miller officiating the ceremony.
The marriage lasted four years before an affair between Mica and the pastor led to a church-wide scandal that triggered their divorce.
JP had also been married at the time.
Sierra Francis, Mica’s sister, claims in the series that the pastor began to test boundaries, texting “more romantically, and it kind of spiralled from there.”
After news of the affair came to light, JP stood before the congregation, admitting to the “moral failing” before messaging members to gauge their thoughts about dating Mica, who had been 21 at the time.
Allegations of control
Over the course of their courtship, her family noticed concerns, including Mica getting a tattoo of JP’s name on her side, which her sister described as a mark of “ownership.”
The family also alleges that during their courtship, the pastor was “possessive” and “used the bible” over her, that he refused to let her sleep unless they had sex, and that he engaged in multiple affairs over the course of the marriage.
“The broad thing that JP was doing was trying to strip away her freedom, her independence, her self-esteem. Not through one single event, but through years and years of continuous micro-events that trapped her in a state of dependence on him,” executive producer Alana Goldstein told Netflix’s news site Tudum.
Family and friends recall attending the couple’s wedding at their church with great sadness and worry.
“I just attended to be there for Mica, but I did not support their marriage,” Ms Francis said.
Close friend, Charlotte Korn, recalls some of the rules that Mica was dictated by.
“Mica told me multiple times, ‘Don’t call me before 11:00, unless I call you first. John-Paul does not like it if I get out of bed before him,’” she explained in the documentary.
JP preached that a wife’s duty was to serve as her husband’s “helpmate”, with sex as a non-negotiable obligation.
“Do not refuse sex to each other, then Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control,” he told his congregation at one point.
In another, he insists: “If you don’t meet your husband’s sexual needs, Satan will put 20 different options before his eyes before the day’s over.”
Perhaps the most concerning factor to the family was JP having “control over her medically.”
Mica was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, dependent personality disorder, and experienced manic episodes.
Throughout their relationship, she was committed to mental health facilities, with her siblings’ alleging they weren’t always voluntary on her part, and JP had a habit of restricting her from medication.
Eventually, Mica attempted to leave after the discovery of an affair with his current wife, Suzie Skinner, whom he married in 2025.
The documentary alleges the harassment became relentless, with claims he slashed her tyres, posted a naked photo of her online and left her countless text messages and voice messages.
She made dozens of calls for help to emergency services in March and April amid their 2024 split.
In a handwritten affidavit, she wrote: “Since the day we became husband and wife, I have been abused in every way I can think of – emotionally, sexually, spiritually, financially, and physically.”
Ms Francis recalled her sister’s chilling warning “on many occasions” – “If I end up with a bullet in my head, it was not by me; it was JP.”
April 27, 2024, her body was discovered by a kayaker in a state park in North Carolina, a short time after she made a chilling 911 call.
A chilling call
CCTV showed Mica attending a pawn shop where she purchased the gun hours beforehand.
“I’m about to kill myself, and I just want my family to know where I am,” she said during the call.
The conversation lasted just over two minutes, however the dispatcher was able to ping her phone signal successfully to send officers.
At the scene, detectives noted the discovery of two shell casings, despite Mica suffering a single fatal wound.
Her body was also located face down in the water, roughly 30 metres away from those casings and her personal belongings.
The autopsy concluded there were no physical signs of struggle or self-defence.
The circumstances surrounding her death have sent social media into detective mode.
“Finally Netflix is using the platform for good cause, highlighting such horrible cases of manipulation,” one person wrote.
Another claimed: “That church was a CULT! No way the members sat there and listened to him preaching about those things.”
“Could someone have used an app to recreate her voice on the 911 call?” a third questioned.
JP has never been officially accused of involvement in her death, with police confirming his alibi and finding no physical evidence linking him to the scene.
Less than 24 hours later he stood at the pulpit of the church announcing Mica had died by suicide before the coroner’s ruling had been completed.
“Y’all knew that she wasn’t well mentally,” he told the congregation.
“And that she needed her medicine that was hard to get to her … just keep our family in your prayers.”
Family and friends reported JP became obsessive in the days and weeks that followed, attempting to access her belongings.
Mica’s therapist, Laura Hucks, claims he also attempted to access her journals and her counsellor’s notes.
“He tried to take control of every communication she could have possibly had with any person, so he could end her narrative and start his narrative,” Ms Hucks explained.
Both JP and his new wife, Suzie Skinner, refused to participate in the documentary or sit down with Netflix for an interview.
JP is currently facing charges of allegedly cyberstalking Mica prior to her passing and making false statements to the FBI.
“Though JP did not kill her, through over a decade of grooming her from a young age, and then the abuse in all sorts of ways … there was an escalation of the abuse, both mentally and psychologically, that led her to those circumstances,” Goldstein says.
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