The tragic story of Mica Miller
Stories of domestic abuse abound in true crime, as these fraught relationships often result in intimate partner homicide. Death of the Pastor’s Wife is an abuse story that parallels so many of those cases, but takes a different turn than the typical true crime episode. It tells the tragic tale of Mica Miller, her marriage to pastor John-Paul Miller, and the subsequent investigation into her death.
John-Paul and Mica met at Solid Rock Church in South Carolina, when he was a pastor, and she was just a teenager. They had an affair while they were both married, and after their divorces, they embarked on a marriage filled with his abusive behavior, cheating, and coercion. As the marriage fell apart and their relationship deteriorated, Mica filed for divorce. Soon after, she was found dead at a state park in North Carolina.
Helping fill in the story are video clips from John-Paul’s sermons and Mica’s social media accounts, texts between them, and interviews with her friends and family, who detail the shady goings-on behind the scenes at the church, how John-Paul used his powerful position against Mica and others, and the domestic abuse and stalking Mica suffered at his hands. Ultimately, they question the circumstances of her death and whether John-Paul was involved.
The three-episode Netflix docuseries is a tragic example of coercive control, the dark side of religion, mental illness, and how the convergence of these contributed to Mica’s death.
