Haunting newly released CCTV footage shows Mica Miller appearing without a care in the world as she ran errands shortly before her death, deepening her family’s suspicions of foul play.
The eerie footage shows Mica, 30, pulling up in a black sedan at a North Carolina gas station and entering it, just hours before authorities say she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In the clip, Mica can be seen stepping out of the car, before opening the gas tank and walking inside the store, around 1:30 pm.
The April 27 footage then shows her go over to a row of refrigerators where she picks out an energy drink, purchases it, and returns to her car.
Mica, dressed in all black with her hair neatly tied back and sunglasses on her head, then waits for her tank to fill up, while sipping her drink, then driving away.
Mica’s body was found in Lumber River State Park in Robeson County, just days after she had served husband John-Paul Miller, a pastor at Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, with divorce papers.
John-Paul, 44, is not suspected of involvement in his wife’s death, as police confirmed he was in a different state with other people at the time Mica died.
Robeson County Medical Examiner Dr. Richard Johnson also concluded Miller died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The owner of the remote gas station told NewsNation when he saw Mica that day, everything seemed fine.
“Nothing, nothing special. Nothing, you know, like, just regular, regular day, regular thing,” the manager said.
The FBI has now launched a “parallel investigation” with Robeson County Sheriff connected to the case, but is not investigating
Damien McLean with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office told the magazine: “[The FBI is] investigating separate from her death. Her death has been ruled [a] suicide.”
However, several of Mica’s family members continue to insist she didn’t die by suicide and claim something more sinister is at play.
“I believe that it was all staged. I believe that the whole thing was premeditated,” Mica’s father, Michael Francis told NewsNation.
Mica’s sister and brother have also been vocal in their distrust of John-Paul, and continue to say they believe he is responsible for Mica’s decision to take her life.
Robeson authorities previously provided a timeline of when Miller left her house and went to buy a gun at a store — which was also captured on CCTV — on her way to the state park.
Another clip, from a ring video camera, showed her earlier in the day on her front porch.
Since Mica’s death allegations against John-Paul, also known as “JP”, have surfaced, including that he abused and groomed Mica, whom he had met while she was still a teenager.
Mica had contacted police a handful of times and made many allegations against her husband before her death.
In one police report, Mica alleged her husband had “groomed” her before they married in 2017.
John Paul has strongly denied all the allegations against him and said Mica suffered from mental health issues.
His lawyer Russell B. Long said in a statement: “It has come to light that Mica Miller struggled with mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, which when not properly managed, led to paranoid episodes and self-destructive behavior.”
In a 911 call made at 2:54pm on the day Mica died — just over an hour after she was seen on video leaving the gas station — Mica told authorities she wanted them to trace her phone to the wooded area where her body would later be found.
“I’m about to kill myself and I just want my family to know where to find me,” Miller said, according to the audio provided by the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.
Long, meanwhile, has strenuously denied any allegations against his client of grooming and abuse.
“Following the untimely death of Mica Miller, unfounded rumors and false accusations began circulating on social media and in various media outlets, suggesting Pastor Miller’s involvement in her demise,” the attorney said.
“This created a buzz, causing local and national media outlets to be proliferating these falsehoods, on a mammoth proportion. Our client refutes any report that suggests he ever abused his wife.”
