If he had known that the crying he heard at Lumber River State Park on April 27 was that of a woman who was about to take her life, Johnnie Jacobs believes he would have tried to help. Jacobs now regrets not checking to see what was going on before he heard a gunshot when Pastor John-Paul Miller’s late wife, Mica Miller, decided to kill herself.
“If it had been a person that was crying in the open, I would have checked on them all day long,” Jacobs told News 13 in an interview on Thursday. “I just wish I would have gone in there and checked on her.”
Jacobs’ comments come after the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina presented a detailed report of “clear and compelling” evidence Tuesday showing that Mica Miller took her own life, including a 911 call in which she told a dispatcher, “I’m about to kill myself, and I just want my family to know where to find me.”
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Police said they traced Mica Miller’s call to the Lumber River State Park in Orrum, North Carolina, where they searched for her with the help of a drone. They found her black Honda Accord and inside was a Sig Sauer gun case in the passenger seat and a box of ammunition in the center console. A receipt inside the vehicle showed that the gun was purchased from a pawn shop that same day.
As investigators kept searching for Miller, they noted that “an individual who had found a bag near the water edge with an identification belonging to Miller” also “stated that he heard someone crying and a gunshot while he was fishing.”
In the interview, Jacobs said he wanted to set the record straight about what exactly happened in the park.
He said he only decided to check what was happening after he heard a gunshot go off and the crying stopped. He later decided to investigate what was going on and found Mica Miller’s personal belongings.
“She had her license, her bank card, keys in the bag, a little small Bible, her purse, all of her credit cards, and a few receipts and some things,” he recalled.
He now wishes he had checked on what was going on a little earlier.
“As I decided that I was going to stop fishing, I came back through, stopped where they call it a slew or a lake off of the river,” he said. “I pulled in there with my little boat and, maybe five minutes after … I heard a cry. I heard it for about two or three minutes. Then I stopped, heard a gunshot. Then, the crying stopped.”
Knowing that the crying he heard was Mica Miller in distress has devastated Jacobs, who says he’s been leaning on his faith to cope with the tragedy.
“I’m just going to depend on the Lord to get me through this,” he said. “It’s changed my life.”
On Tuesday, Mica Miller’s family visited the restricted area in the park where officials found her body. About two days before she killed herself, officials say she filed for divorce from Pastor John-Paul Miller of Solid Rock at Market Common in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who was recently granted a leave of absence to care for his family and mourn his late wife.
Despite the findings of the police investigation and stating that his wife was diagnosed with “bipolar II, schizophrenic and dependent personality disorder,” John-Paul has been accused online of abusing wife or driving her to suicide.
In a press release on Thursday, the pastor’s attorney, Russell B. Long, refuted the claims and threatened legal action against any person or media organization that perpetuates false narratives against his client.
“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. This created a buzz, causing local and national media outlets to begin proliferating these falsehoods, on a mammoth proportion,” Long said.
“Our client refutes any report that suggests he ever abused his wife. Recent reports claim that Pastor Miller ‘groomed’ his wife from the age of 10 years old couldn’t be farther from the truth. She moved to Myrtle Beach at the age of 15, was married to another man at the age of 18 and divorced at the age of 21,” he insisted.
Long further pointed to Mica Miller’s mental illness and suggested that her death highlights a need to destigmatize mental health issues in society.
“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,” he wrote.
“Some reports made by her in the recent past are nonsensical. This unfortunate reality underscores the importance of destigmatizing mental health issues and ensuring those affected receive appropriate support and treatment.”
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