‘Mica’s justice.’ SC pastor John-Paul Miller in court regarding his late wife, Mica Miller

John-Paul Miller and the family of his late wife, Mica Miller, ended their legal battle by reaching a settlement in which both parties agreed to end current litigation and to not file future lawsuits.

Miller, the Francis family and their lawyers met Monday at the Horry County Court House for what was expected to be an estate hearing with multiple witnesses and a wide stack of exhibits. Instead, an agreement was made to stop the legal filings.

“Mica’s family, Pastor Miller and the church have set their differences aside to allow Mica’s memory to live on without the encumbrance of contentious litigation,” said Russell Long, John-Paul Miller’s lawyer, during a press conference Monday afternoon.

On April 27, 2024, Mica shot herself in the head, after calling 911. Her body was later found by police officials at a North Carolina state park and ruled a suicide. She was separated from John-Paul at the time.

Long and Regina Ward, Mica’s family lawyer, gave statements together, saying they want to end Mica’s case. Part of this agreement involved Sierra Francis, Mica’s sister, withdrawing her petition to be in charge of Mica’s estate. This means her estate will go to John-Paul.

Mica’s family previously went to court to gain control over her estate, as she had filed to legally separate from John-Paul at the time of her death. Later additions were added because the house John-Paul and Mica lived in is now church property.

The Francis family filed a lawsuit against Solid Rock and John-Paul Miller for the property the church owns, including the land the church sits on and where it plans to expand.

Following her death, people online started saying that John-Paul abused Mica, which led to her death. This turned into a rise of TikTok videos and Facebook groups dedicated to “finding the truth” with the hashtag, #justiceformica. The same group also protests outside Solid Rock every Sunday.

John-Paul Miller has continuously denied abusing Mica.

Ward said she urges Justice for Mica supporters to place their energy in getting a bill on coercive control abuse passed. Coercive control is a form of abuse that involves creating where the abuser develops a pattern of behavior that scares the victim into submission, according to Healthline.

“We are ready to go to the next chapter,” Ward said in the Monday press conference. “The next chapter is to go and convince our general assembly to take a look at the coercive control law bill. We need that on the agenda ASAP.”

Long asked for the protesters, who have been gathering outside Solid Rock Church every Sunday for three months, to leave the church alone.

“The point is, this is over,” Long said. “This global agreement that’s been signed by everybody involved is Mica’s justice.”

A split between John-Paul and the Francis family

Mica’s family and John-Paul have pointed fingers at one another since the beginning, each blaming the other for her death. Mica’s family claims that John-Paul abused Mica for years while John-Paul alleges that Mica’s family convinced her not to take her medications, which led to her suicide.

“When she was with me for seven years, she was happy, healthy, whole and lived her life and loved it. Apart from me for three months, she committed suicide,” Miller said in an interview on July 14, 2024.

Her death gained national attention after allegations that Miller had abused Mica, stemming from Facebook posts made by Mica and her family. Miller has not been charged with abusing Mica and he denies the claims.

Ward in earlier interviews refuted any claims that John-Paul did not abuse Mica. She said Mica’s mental health problems did not develop until her relationship with John-Paul began.

Sierra and Michael Francis, Mica’s sister and father, both said Mica’s family never liked her relationship with John-Paul.

“He’s developing a pattern of obtaining a wife ... as a possession and if they got away, he would just get another one and do the same thing,” Michael told The Sun News on May 15.

The Francis family put up with John-Paul because they loved Mica and wanted to support her the best they could, Sierra said. This included some family members attending Solid Rock.

What happened to Mica Miller, the SC woman married to a pastor

Mica left her apartment on April 27, stopped by Dick’s Pawn Superstore in Myrtle Beach and bought a gun before driving to Lumber River State Park in Orrum, North Carolina, The Sun News reported. Once there, she called 911 and asked the operator to locate her because she was going to kill herself and wanted her family to find her body.

Shortly after, Mica hung up. An individual told police he heard a gunshot. Mica’s body was found in the river and her death was caused from a gunshot wound to the head.

Her death was ruled a suicide by Robeson County Sheriff’s Department and the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.