Topics: Police, Religion, US News, Mental Health, Domestic Abuse
A pastor who revealed that he attempted to 'resurrect' his wife after she killed herself has broken his silence.
In May, South Carolinian John-Paul Miller shared the news during a service at Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, that his wife Mica Miller had passed away.
The pastor told the crowd that her death was 'self-induced', with Robeson County Medical Examiner Richard Johnson concluding that she died as as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 27 April.
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On the day of 27 April, the 30-year-old drove to a pawn shop where she bought a gun and ammunition, before crossing the border into North Carolina, stopping only once at a gas station.
When she reached Lumber River State Park, she dialled 911 and informed the operator that she planned to kill herself and told them where cops could find her body.
It took just 10 minutes before her body was recovered.
During the eulogy shared on YouTube, Miller claimed he 'got to lay next to [Mica's] body and spend time with her body about four times this week', in the period after her death.
"Each time, it still didn't hit me. I thought she was gonna wake up. I even tried to raise her from the dead one time this week."
Now, in an interview with NewsNation he has explained why he did this on more than one occasion - something he has been ridiculed for.
John-Paul said: “Yeah, I tried raising her from the dead because you know what? If it had worked, we’d have a whole different story.
“God forbid me not try it and I always wondered the rest of my life ‘would it have worked?’ Jesus did it. Elisha did it. I had to try. There’s a few other people in the bible.
“So yes, if somebody I love more than anything in the world has passed away, what I believe to be an early death, you better believe I’m going to try to, in Jesus’ name, raise her from the dead.”
The lengthy interview continued, with John-Paul explaining he wrote a letter to his wife apologizing for some of the things she accused him of, although he claimed he only did so in order for her to take her medication.
While her death was ruled as a suicide, her family have urged police to 'deeply' investigate allegations that the pastor had been abusing her.
It came out previously that Mica had filed for a divorce against John-Paul, and had contacted the cops on more than one occasion regarding his behaviour.
There were allegations of slashed tires, an tracking device installed on her car, being hospitalized against her will by John-Paul, and being 'groomed' by him at the young age of 10-years-old when he was already an adult.
“The CP (complainant) stated that she had been separated from her husband since January of 2023. The CP stated that she was involuntarily hospitalized … when the CP was discharged from the hospital, hospital staff informed her that her husband picked up her purse and car keys.
“The CP stated that she has known her husband since she was 10 years old and that he ‘groomed’ her while she worked for him at Solid Rock Church until they were married six years ago,” the police report states.
The 44-year-old refutes those claims.
