[tense music playing]
[operator] Cherokee County communications.
[Sierra] I had called earlier
and filed a report
with my sister about her spouse.
He's saying he's gonna come over
and that he was threatening…
that he had a weapon with him.
He said that he was gonna come here.
He just texted her and said,
"You… you better drive
down the road now, um,
or I'm coming,
and it's gonna be hell to pay."
"I'm… armed and ready."
[operator] What is his name?
[Sierra] John-Paul Miller.
[operator] What's your sister's name?
[Sierra] Mica Miller.
[indistinct police radio chatter]
[Sierra] The police came to my home
to verify he was not waiting
at the end of the road
like he was telling Mica.
She decided not to press charges.
After the police left,
I asked Mica to not leave.
I said, "Just stay a few more days."
But John-Paul kept messaging her
and calling her
and texting her how much he loved her.
And just trying to manipulate her
any way that he could
to try to get her to come home.
She said if she stayed,
it would just get worse, so she had to go.
I did get really upset.
And she always had the same answer, like,
"You're supposed to cover your spouse."
If she kept being a biblical wife
that things would get better.
Uh, Romans 13:1 says this,
"Obey those who have authority over you,
for no authority can exist
without God's permission."
[Mica] Ephesians 5:22.
"Submit to authority of husband."
[JP] Ephesians 5:33.
"The wife should always honor
and respect her husband."
Don't give 'em respect in their home,
they'll find it somewhere else.
I think he used the Bible over her.
She just couldn't really see up from down.
[Mica] Ephesians 5:31.
"Leave family, cling to spouse."
"Submission to spouse
reflects your love for God."
Mica needs to get away from him.
This isn't just red flag here,
red flag here.
This is, "You're not safe.
This is serious."
[tense music swells]
[tense music fades]
[Charlotte] The day after this big fight,
Mica ended up driving back
to Myrtle Beach that day.
And she told Sierra and I
that "John-Paul and I, we're gonna turn
our phones off all weekend."
They're trying to work on their marriage.
[suspenseful music playing]
She's then cut off from everybody.
Mica texts me on Monday.
"Phones are back on."
"Just got done
with a wonderful weekend together."
It almost seemed like John-Paul
was looking over her shoulder
during this text.
Because about ten minutes later,
she wrote me,
"It actually wasn't wonderful."
After JP threatened Mica,
Sierra, myself,
I think it really got to Mica.
I believe it took a toll on her mentally.
[JP] Mica, stop. Stop.
Calm down, Mica. Stop.
There was apparently a big fight.
[JP] Stop, Mica!
Please stop, Mica! Stop!
Over the course of the next ten days,
she said, "I'm not doing good."
-You've been through my purse.
-[JP] I don't have your purse.
I was just so worried about her.
It just felt like something bad
was going to happen.
-[calming worship music playing]
-♪ Bending to bloom ♪
♪ The weight of his wind and mercy ♪
♪ All of a sudden, I'm aware ♪
-[worship music fades]
-[unsettling music rises]
[Sierra] Mica had only been home
for a little over a week
when JP put our whole family
in a group chat.
He says, "Mica's having
a bipolar episode."
When we try to call Mica,
he's like, "Her phone's on silent."
"She doesn't wanna talk to you."
And he's keeping her from us.
[Abigail] Instead of talking to her
as someone who loved her
and cared about her,
it was, "We need to get her detained
and forcibly into the hospital."
[Anna] He would not tell us where she was,
give us any details…
other than the fact
that she was in a hospital.
John-Paul is not letting Mica talk
to anybody.
He wanted to continue isolating her
further and further.
[Sierra] After Mica was released,
she did go home with John-Paul.
He still continued saying that he was
the only one who could take care of her,
and that he's the only one who knew her.
[Mica] Lord, please keep working on me
so my marriage can be restored.
I will never give up on it,
and I'm willing to do
whatever you ask of me
to get healthy, and ultimately,
grow your family and build your church.
[applause]
Good morning, Solid Rock.
Uh, my name is Mica.
If you're new or visiting,
I'm John-Paul's wife. Pastor John-Paul.
He's taking
a well-needed Sunday off today.
But I'm glad to be here
with you guys today.
I'm so glad you guys came out.
[energetic music playing]
[Charlotte] After Mica was released
from the mental hospital,
Mica and I decided to meet up for dinner.
I never actually heard
what the initial reason was
for her being admitted.
She said, "JP is obsessed with medicine."
Mica told me on numerous occasions
how he would withhold her medication,
especially in an attempt to lure her back.
He is trying to control her mental state.
And it was just… atrocious.
At that point, I knew my husband and I had
no intention of ever going back
to Solid Rock.
Now my only goal is to look out for Mica.
[Mica] Charlotte is good at everything.
We were such great friends
in the beginning.
And I needed a friend so badly
when God brought her to Solid Rock.
It's good timing,
though, for her to move away,
because she no longer sees John-Paul
the same.
And I can feel a disconnect.
Me, Bruna, and Erica
have become closer, though.
They both have rock-solid faith
that God will work everything out.
Mica took her role
as pastor's wife very seriously.
Very focused on trying to be
the best spiritual wife she could.
John-Paul would use the term to Mica,
"You're my helpmate."
"Wives are helpmates."
If you don't meet
your husband's sexual needs,
Satan will put 20 different options
before his eyes
before the day's over with.
And if he falls, it is not your fault.
You do not take responsibility
for someone's actions.
I'm just telling you, as a helpmate,
that God's created you to be,
this is something that you can do
to help him very, very much.
The Bible does say,
leave your father and mother
and cling to your spouse.
She was very submissive,
and she felt that was
how she could honor God, you know?
God asked her to do it, and so she would.
I noticed some changes in her behavior.
I said, "Do you wanna talk about it?"
And… and she said, "No."
"I want somebody
who is gonna help my marriage."
She said she had scheduled
to meet with a counselor
the following Monday.
[Laura] When I first started meeting
with Mica,
I had heard of Solid Rock for years
because I had friends that attend there.
So I knew that church.
But I didn't know JP.
And didn't know
the details of the situation.
In that first month,
she was so guarded.
She would only explain herself
through JP's eyes.
[Mica] I hurt for John-Paul
because I know he deserves more.
He deserves an on-fire, enthusiastic wife
who loves him and God
and is talented
and always is his biggest cheerleader.
I want to be that so bad.
-I used to be.
-Good morning, Solid Rock!
[Mica] I wish I could forget the hurt
and just move forward.
[Laura] There were even several times,
periodically throughout our meeting,
that she would pull out her phone and say,
"He wants to make sure
that I tell you this."
[wolf whistle]
[Laura] I was starting to see
some indications in her
that she's not free to be herself.
This servant goes out
and finds another servant…
[Laura] JP was in her life
from a very early age.
[choir singing]
[Laura] She was on the worship team
as a very young girl.
So he had a position of influence
over her when she was young.
She just listened to his voice.
A voice of a pastor, a voice of a mentor,
and then a voice of a husband.
[bright music rises]
[voice cracking] Sometimes it feels like,
for me, my voice is struggling.
I don't know if you've noticed,
I'm not leading any songs.
I took about a month off.
My hair's fallin' out. I'm gainin' weight.
I'm on this med… It's like…
I'm goin' through a lot.
And sometimes I justify it…
Maybe God doesn't want it
if it's not my best.
If it's… If I'm not singing my best,
maybe God doesn't want it.
And then I'm learning,
though, that's not true.
-He just wants my all.
-[audience murmurs in agreement]
He just wants it all.
[Erica] Mica was usually
very well put together.
But lately, she didn't really look
like herself.
She had started having trouble
with her voice.
There were times off and on
where she would lose her vocals.
Or she would have her voice changed.
She said, "You know all the problems
that I've been having with my voice?"
"It's 'cause I took testosterone."
And I said, "What? Why would you do that?"
And she said, "Um, honestly,
I heard that it would help me keep up
with his sex drive and make it easier."
When she told me, I was in total shock.
Singing was such an important
and big part of her life.
Her range totally changed,
and they had to adjust
all the pitches when she was onstage.
[voice breaking] I was so mad.
I was infuriated.
Why would you ever recommend that,
or do that, to your wife?
[JP] We love to close our worship out
with a parody.
When we take a secular song
and rewrite it for Jesus.
And today's parody
is by somebody we're hoping
they're getting their voice back.
We're praying their voice
is coming back to her. Here we go.
[audience cheering]
[Erica] I told her, "I want
to address this with John-Paul."
And she said, "I don't wanna turn people
away from Christ."
At the top of her heart,
Mica was so concerned
about the people of the church.
♪ I stay so low… ♪
[Erica] I told her, "I'm here for you."
"I don't care
about the church more than you."
"I don't care about John-Paul."
"You know, if anything ever gets
to a point where you need help,
I hope you'll call me."
And she said, "No, no. I know.
It's not like that. It'll be fine."
Husbands and wives, listen…
Uh, ladies, your husband, um…
If you don't…
If you're not a big giver
in that marriage, and I mean you give…
And both y'all, both need
to romance each other during the day.
You need to give affirmation
so that when you're in the bed that night,
you have a good time and you have fun.
But listen, look,
if you don't give in your marriage,
the enemy will, just like that,
send whoever or whatever he can.
And I would hate to think
your husband's getting needs met
by a computer screen rather than his wife.
[unsettling music playing]
[Pam] I'm home on a Saturday,
and my church phone is blowin' up.
And I pick it up.
[notifications chiming]
[Pam] On my phone,
I am seeing text messages to and from JP,
as though our phones have synced somehow.
There was a conversation going on
between he and Mark Kaufman.
JP was at his home with Mica, in bed.
And Mark was being asked to pick up
a young woman from the airport,
who was supposedly coming in to see JP.
I sat in shock.
It was at that process
that I realized how little I knew
about what had really been going on
in his life.
I had the perception
that Mica was a one-time mistake.
That was obviously not the case.
[indistinct chatter]
[Pam] I went to church the next morning.
I said, "You have 24 hours
to make the elders of the church aware
of this situation, or I will."
Elders can ask
for disciplinary action and get it
because they are
the voice of the congregation.
He started to cry.
He started to try to rationalize.
He started to explain.
He begged me not to.
I said, "I have no choice
because you have put me in a situation now
where my credibility,
my integrity is on the line."
I left, and within minutes,
Mark Kaufman is on my phone.
"You can't do this to him."
"He's in a bad place."
"This is gonna end everything."
"How can we change your mind?"
I said, "I'm gonna stop you right there."
"This is a done deal."
The next day, I met with the elders.
They listened
but weren't willing
to do anything about it.
It was in that process that I learned
about the structure of Solid Rock Church.
They had no power over JP at all.
In no church situation in my life
have I ever seen that to be the case.
I had to get out of there.
It was time to go.
[somber music playing]
[Charlotte] I hadn't seen Mica
face-to-face for a while.
So we got together,
and when I saw her, it was…
Uh… It was… shocking.
I mean, she looked
like she had been dragged through hell.
Even the way she was holding herself,
almost in a protective way always.
She was just sad.
She was just a shell of herself.
We were having
a little bonfire that night.
And that's when she told me about
JP's ongoing affair with Suzie Skinner.
Good morning, Solid Rock.
My name is Suzie Skinner.
Suzie Skinner, as in,
husband passed away a year ago.
-In Jesus's name. Amen.
-Amen.
She told me
that she had known for a while.
"That starts a fight
every single time I bring it up."
[woman] Chris Skinner is my brother.
He had been in a major accident.
He was paralyzed from the shoulders down.
He ended up going to physical therapy,
and that's where he first met Suzie.
She was his physical therapist.
My lovely bride and Vanna White.
[Tamra] Chris really loved Suzie.
Suzie was a strong influence to Chris.
He started sayin',
"Hey. I'm going to this new church."
But the last three or four months
of his life, he started telling me
he didn't like that pastor.
And that he wanted to stop attending
the church to find a new church.
But Suzie didn't want to stop attendin'.
She would go without him.
There was
a significant mental health decline.
He felt that his wife
was pullin' away from him.
And he felt this coldness.
He wasn't being showered.
Like, he was a burden to his spouse.
And one day, he decided to attend church
for the first time in months.
He said he was gonna confront the pastor.
He felt the pastor had a crush
on his wife and was hittin' on her.
On September 6, 2021…
[indistinct radio chatter]
…I got a phone call.
Neighbor called me and said,
"Your brother was found
in the bottom of the community pool."
[disturbing music rises]
JP and Mica arrived
to the scene to meet Suzie.
The fact that JP was called to the scene
prior to any family members
even being notified…
I was disgusted.
We were told by the coroner
that Chris had accidentally fell
into the pool.
But given
my brother's mental health decline,
I feel like it was an intentional act,
due to the fact that he gained information
that devastated him.
[churchgoers applauding]
Suzie wanted the funeral held
at Solid Rock Church.
Um, it's very, very exciting.
I'm… I was Chris's pastor.
One thing Chris is not.
He is not in a wheelchair anymore!
-And that is very, very exciting! [laughs]
-[churchgoers cheering]
That was a very hard day
for me and my family.
[crying] Jesus opened his arms
and welcomed him in that finish line.
And gave him a huge hug
into heaven and said,
"Well done, my good and faithful servant."
After Chris passed, it was almost
like our relationship was nonexistent.
Suzie immediately started
kinda separating herself from us.
Things just didn't seem to add up.
Everybody wave at Suzie
back there in the back. [laughs]
[churchgoers clap]
Man, this excites me so…
Look what God's done for this guy!
Now, listen,
all you in here that are holdin' back
'cause there's something on your body,
birthmark, weight, whatever it is,
don't let it hold you back.
If this guy can get this hot mama
right here in a wheelchair,
you have no excuse!
[Mica] Today was
a roller coaster… emotionally.
I did the sermon and new members videos
like normal, but through tears.
Then finally, John-Paul found me
in the back room crying,
and he held me while I fought
through emotions
from failure to unsure of the future.
It was nice to feel him hold me
while I cried.
Felt like he still loves me.
Mica said, "I'm not doing good."
"If this affair doesn't stop, I'm out."
He said, "You know, if you leave me,
the church is gonna split again."
I think she looked at the church
as something that she could protect
and shield.
[crowd cheering]
He knew she would never leave the church.
And I said, "So what are you trying now?"
And she said, "Well, I got him
to sign a piece of paper that I wrote
that said
if any of these behaviors continue,
if the affairs don't stop,
if any of these things happen
one more time, I'm out."
And he signed it.
[solemn music playing]
[JP] You're needed.
The First Lady
is desperately needed…
-Um…
-[Mica] Who is the First Lady?
Mica Miller.
And I never once…
honored her
to the level that I should have.
[clicks tongue] I was scared that
she was gonna leave me one day.
Or I was scared that she was gonna say
something to hurt me.
And so I was just scared, and out of fear…
I did it out of fear. It was always fear.
I don't know what was wrong with me.
I don't really have an excuse.
I loved God. I… [hesitates]
I loved you. I just… I don't know why.
[Mica] What would you do to get me back?
And she really loved the pastor a lot.
[sighs] To get you back?
There's no limit. There's no limit.
I would put myself in a psych ward.
Until they released me.
She always wanted
to be the person that did not follow
in our mother's footsteps
as far as getting divorced.
That's something
that our entire family has dealt with.
I just didn't know what to think.
[Charlotte] She said,
"I'm not even 30 yet,
and I already have
one divorce under my belt."
"So before I add another one to that,
I wanna be able to say
that I have tried everything."
[energetic music playing]
[Laura] We had coffee,
and she starts telling me
that she was greatly hurt
when she realized
how toxic this marriage was,
with the lie that it can get better.
She was struggling.
She loved the church.
All she wanted to do was love
and serve in Jesus's name.
That was her heart.
-[man] Okay.
-[JP] Action.
Hey, ladies of Solid Rock.
It is that time of year again!
It is going to be the Ladies' Tea Party
on October 12,
from two o'clock to 3:30 p.m.
See ya there.
[blows raspberry]
That was a horrible take.
I gotta do it, like, five more times.
…believe when we're teenagers,
it's the lust of the flesh.
"Gimme, gimme, gimme. I want."
"I want, I want what I want,
and I want it now."
Then you get married,
and then you battle the lust of the eyes.
You start lookin' at things
that don't belong to you.
[excited chatter]
[Nate] I was trying to keep tabs
on what John-Paul was doing,
if I saw anything.
We went to go get coffee
before worship rehearsal one night,
That's right, yup.
And we saw JP and Suzie together,
standing at the counter,
waiting for coffee.
[Nate] I saw John-Paul
and Suzie holding hands.
I was just… I was so upset.
And as soon as we walked up to them,
JP's like, "Do you want me to pay?"
As if he was trying to cover something.
I told Mica what I had seen.
She was torn up.
She keeps on having to deal
with sexual immorality
from a man
that is supposed to be a pastor.
Mica called me, and she said,
"It's still going on."
"He won't stop."
I feel so disrespected
and so belittled,
and so just dehumanized
in the way that he treats me."
"In the way
that he treats our marriage bed."
"In the way that he perceives intimacy."
There was no hesitation whatsoever.
She said, "I'm going to file for divorce."
God hates divorce, but why?
According to everybody I've asked,
and the scriptures that I've found,
it's because it hurts people.
But does abuse hurt people?
How do you think God feels about that?
She said, "I'm done."
He started getting angry.
And he said they got in an argument.
[Laura] JP asked her
to come pick up her belongings.
And when she picked up her box,
in there was a g*n and b*ll*ts.
And she was so uncomfortable
that she called her brother.
And Nate came immediately
to pick up the g*n.
Male or female, it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter what gender you are.
Abuse is abuse.
And my Bible says that he took
all the abuse you could think of for you.
So that you didn't have
to live that life of sl*very
and bondage
and
pain.
Mica was in our house,
She said, "I need to tell you
what's been happening in my marriage."
She told me everything.
There's incredible danger in unmet needs.
A fantastic marriage is simply this.
My needs are being met. Today.
The horror that she had to live with
was something I never heard of.
Many times, they would leave dinner,
and he will pull the truck
and just see a random homeless person,
and he'd pay him to do things.
"I'll give you $100
if you just let her grab her boob."
And other times, he'd forced her
to allow a man to finish on her.
She said she couldn't wash her skin
with enough things
to feel clean ever again.
She thought that she was doing
what God had asked her to do
by being obedient to him.
When your husband wants sex,
God does not send an angel from heaven
to take care of that.
She told me that at nighttime,
after they've had sex
four or five times during the day,
and he would try and initiate something,
and she would deny him,
he wouldn't let her sleep.
Biblically, the sin that has
the most horrifying results in your life
is sexual immorality.
Denying sex in your marriage,
sexual immorality.
It's the same thing as r*pe,
sex trafficking, h*m*.
[Bruna] Sometimes she said
he would wait till she's falling asleep,
and then he'll go and turn on
all the lights in the room
just to wake her up.
He would mentally t*rture her like this
until she gave to him what he wanted.
Do not refuse sex to each other,
then Satan won't be able to tempt you
because of your lack of self-control.
Can you believe…
And I don't know if y'all get tempted.
Maybe only pastors get tempted.
'Kay? Maybe it's only me.
So many nights, I would get to church
and see her with deep, dark eyes.
And think, "Mica, what are you doing?"
She, "Ah, I was up all night."
And I just wish I could hug her.
She said that sometimes her body
was physically in pain,
and there was nothing else she could do,
and so she just accepted it.
[JP] When you refuse
to meet this need in your marriage,
your spouse will leave you emotionally.
They'll put up a hard heart.
And a man never wants to be rejected
more than once.
After that rejection,
unless there's forgiveness
and you repent for it,
his heart gets hard, his heart gets hard.
[crickets chirping]
[Bruna] She told me that JP kept pictures
and videos of her
while they were having intercourse.
He manipulated her with them.
He used them to control her.
He told her, "No church is gonna want you
when they see this."
Not even her sisters knew
what he had done.
She was trying to protect everyone's heart
who was part of the church.
[crying] Bruna told me the horrific things
Mica had told her had happened to her.
And I was just sick.
The level of depravity is unimaginable.
There was no going back.
I couldn't have gotten away
from John-Paul faster.
I told my daughters
that if they ever saw him again,
they needed to run away
as fast as they could. [sighs]
[Mica] I'd forgotten what my own voice
sounds like when it's healthy and whole.
Today I found hope. Joy. Peace.
I don't feel scared.
I feel excited
and at ease at the same time.
Thank you, Lord, for this lifted burden.
Amen.
[exhales deeply]
[Anna] We could finally talk
to her clearly.
All of us took a long walk on the beach.
She said she was going
to divorce John-Paul.
We had a sigh of relief.
She was seeing
straight for the first time.
She says that she's done.
She doesn't wanna put up with him anymore.
She's doing better.
She wants to stay away from him.
She confided in me,
"I'm not sure how long
I'm gonna have the money for this."
And that's when I realized
JP was also pulling
the financial strings with her.
And I said,
"Let's not even worry about that."
Our relationship transitioned more out
of a counseling, professional relationship
into a "let's grab coffee, catch up."
I felt like there was
just this relief in her.
[Mica] Restore who I am
before I knew pain.
Childlike Mica needs
to preach to adult Mica.
Give me fresh eyes, Lord.
Here I go! Whoa!
-That's really cold!
-[group laughing]
[Anna] Mica was trying to get back
to a normal life.
A life she could build for herself.
She just had started working
at a restaurant.
-[Nate] She was independent.
-[group] Oh my gosh!
She had nothing under JP.
[excited chatter]
[woman] Hi to Sierra.
[woman 2] What up, Sierra?
[Victoria] She was hopeful for her future.
She was excited about starting over.
She just couldn't get away from him.
He knew that it was over,
but some people
don't know what "no" means.
[Abigail] I had gone to lunch with Mica.
And behind her, I see JP in the window.
And I said, "John-Paul's behind you."
"He's walking up."
And then he comes over, says,
"You took my laptop."
She's like, "I do not have your laptop."
[indistinct chatter]
[Abigail] "It's not in my car."
And he said, "Your doctors called me."
And he just like stormed off.
[Anna] Mica called me, freaking out.
She said John-Paul
called a mental hospital
and said Mica was trying to k*ll herself.
[tense music playing]
[Sierra] She has 72 hours
where if the police go get her,
she has to be institutionalized
for them to do an evaluation on her.
I called Mica, and I said,
"Come see me. Everything's gonna be fine."
"We'll get through this."
While Mica was on the phone with me,
she got a call on the other line
from a church member at Solid Rock.
He said, "I'll take you so that you can
voluntarily get a psych evaluation
and show you're not being manic."
She got there. He wasn't there.
But the cops were there
and physically took her out of her car,
and detained her
and took her to the hospital.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Sierra] While Mica was
in the mental hospital,
John-Paul takes her phone,
her car, her laptop, her everything.
[Mica] Me and my husband are separated,
and since I was admitted to the hospital,
I have been told that he's taken
possession of my phone, laptop,
and car, which are all in my name.
How do I get a deputy out there
to get those items surrendered over
to be temporarily held
until I get out of the hospital?
My phone and laptop
have naked pictures of me on them.
[operator] So, were they brought
to the hospital and he took those items?
[Mica] Yeah, and now
he's going through my phone
and texting people, impersonating me.
[operator] Okay. Do you want the officers
to come to you to make a report?
[Mica] No, I'd rather them show up
at the house.
Because he works from home.
He's a… a pastor, doing this.
[Victoria] At the time
she was in the hospital,
there was posts made on her Facebook.
Just pictures of John-Paul and Mica.
It was just pictures of the two of them.
Hundreds of pictures were posted.
And I made a comment, and I was like,
"This isn't Mica. She's been hacked."
Three days later, I end up getting a call
from the person that was in charge
of releasing or keeping Mica.
She told me, "I can now see this time
that this is a marital issue."
"I'm releasing her."
Every time she spoke up of something
she didn't like in the relationship,
"Oh, you're crazy.
Oh, there's something wrong with you."
She really was like,
"This is a man of God."
"Is he wrong, or am I wrong?"
That was her struggle
for the most of their marriage.
You know, was she being
a good servant to Christ
and… and being an obedient wife or not?
The only reason a man
would not want to touch
or hold a woman who he's married to
is 'cause he doesn't like her.
The only reason he doesn't
is 'cause of her mouth.
So, I wanna remind you, like a bunch
of people have been reminding me lately,
that I'm God's bride first.
You don't have to stay
in an a*usive relationship,
whether that's, um, sexual,
or alcohol abuse, or physical abuse,
uh, psychological abuse,
making you think
that this is all your fault,
or you're, um…
you're not giving it your all
when you know you are.
Encouragement in all this
is you are the bride of Christ first,
before anybody else's.
And he's got you.
And he sees you.
And he loves you.
[Nate] Mica was speaking out
about the abuse.
She wanted people to know
what she was going through.
What she was used to
was an entire church, hundreds of people.
Her circle was huge.
And then it went
down to essentially nothing.
[JP] You know, there's a big battle
going on around here right now.
Huge battle.
To let you in on a little bit of it,
after my wife got
out of the mental institute, she's left,
and kind of evaded things,
so… um, there's a battle going on.
[Mica] I just got out of the hospital
a couple days ago, and when I got out,
he was impersonating my identity.
He hacked my social media.
There's been domestic violence.
He put his hands on me.
The people that he's come in contact with,
based on how he's talking, they feared
he had k*lled and buried me somewhere.
[Nate] She was constantly moving so that
John-Paul could not know where she was.
Thank ya.
She stayed a few weekends in my house,
but she mainly lived with Dianna.
And she trusted Dianna.
I was invited by a neighbor
to attend Solid Rock Church.
I began working with Mica
on a couple of her women's presentations.
Mica calls me, and she said, "Hi, Dianna."
"I was wondering
if I could stay with you."
"Maybe two weeks, maybe three weeks."
"Maybe longer. I don't know."
For Mica's sake, I didn't question it.
She thought of me as her grandmother,
and I thought of her as my granddaughter.
I wanted to keep her safe.
I wanted her to feel safe.
Mica insisted that we get a Ring camera,
just in case he came over
and tried to get in.
I didn't trust him,
and she didn't trust him either.
There was a knock on the door one day.
It was a florist delivery person.
And he said,
"There'll be one every day this week."
And Mica said,
"I don't want any more flowers
delivered here from John-Paul."
He managed to continue to harass her
with a constant barrage of texts,
telling her
that she wasn't being biblical,
that she was going against God's will.
He had tried to contact her 53 times
within a three-hour period.
Mica had multiple phones.
She had to change her number
multiple times.
Somehow, John-Paul would get her number
and just start texting her.
Somebody was giving JP her phone number
every time she changed phones.
Every single day, he did one
or two or three things,
whether it was a message or email,
somebody calling, chasing her.
Something that would throw her off.
Hello?
Hey, Mica. It's Mark.
I know.
I'm not calling on John-Paul's behalf.
I'm calling on… [chuckles]
…both of y'all's behalf.
Well, I don't need your help.
Thank you so much.
[Anna] Mica had to call work
and tell them,
"I can't make it today
because there's razors in my tires."
[operator] Myrtle Beach Police and Fire.
This is Ashley.
[Mica] Hi, um, I got a razor blade put
in my tire at the Springmaid Pier,
and I wanted to make a police report.
My sister was being told by the police,
by everybody she was trying
to get help from,
"There's nothing that can be done
because they're married."
[JP] A lot of you, of course,
have been asking about my wife, and…
The way I want you to pray for her
is I need you to pray
that she will hit rock bottom
so that she can come to her senses.
Sometimes people need to lose everything.
But until then,
just pray that she comes to her senses,
hits rock bottom.
Y'all know that she's mentally ill,
and the stuff she's doing is not her.
She's in and out of psychosis,
and so, just pray for her
and… and… and pray for me as well.
[Charlotte] She said,
"He's been following me."
"He's been stalking me."
"He'll send me text messages."
"'I hope you had a good time
at the festival in Murrells Inlet today.'"
[Victoria] Mica and I were out to dinner
one night with a few of our friends.
Twenty minutes later,
he walks in, and he's like,
"Oh, I didn't know you guys were here."
And the look on Mica's face…
I have never seen her look
more terrified in my life.
[Nate] I went to her car
and found a tracker.
We took the tracker to the police station.
Five minutes after we get there,
we're outside talking to the police.
Based on the description of the vehicle
my sister told me was following her,
the exact vehicle pulled in.
I went and started recording.
[tires squeal]
John-Paul whips it around,
peels out, and leaves.
The trackers were being replaced
once we found them.
The next day,
another tracker would be on the car,
or a tire would be popped, or something.
Just absolute relentless chaos.
I'll fight tooth and nail
to get what I want.
What I want is the thing that matters.
I don't care what you have to say.
He threatened to expose her to…
to everyone.
-[Mica] Walk away.
-I'll show you the pictures.
-[Mica] Do you wanna go to jail?
-They'll be on Facebook in a few hours.
She was afraid of what he could do
with her image.
That he always threatened her
that he would ruin her image.
That no church would want her
when he was done with her.
He threatened, and he did.
He posted a picture of her to Facebook.
She was in disbelief. Complete disbelief.
My wife left me a few weeks ago.
I don't even know
what I'm doing with my life.
The City of Myrtle Beach called us
last week. Guess what?
We got Best Church of the Year,
four years in a row.
[churchgoers cheering]
You can call my church members.
Do whatever you wanna do.
[voice breaking] You're not gonna stop me!
You're not gonna stop me!
[churchgoers cheering]
[Bruna] He is trying
to stop you from leaving.
You need to just not answer the phone.
Cut off anybody that is speaking for him.
I don't know how you're handling this.
Let me pay for your ticket.
Go to your sister in Kansas.
Stay there for a while.
And she said, "No, I can't leave."
She just couldn't do it.
"I don't wanna put my family at risk."
"I don't wanna go there
and then he follows me there."
"I'd rather be here."
Hey, everybody.
I just wanna let you know
that I'm alive and well, and…
Life's been kinda crazy
the couple past weeks,
months, years.
I'm so thankful to God
for a strong family and the friends
that God has put in my life
to be there for me at this time.
So, keep praying for me. Thank you.
And, um, I love you.
I'll be praying for you.
God bless you. Bye.
[mouse clicks]
[Bruna] Mica was confident.
She was determined to be divorced,
and she was ready for a new life.
She finally found this lawyer.
She said, "She's really strong,
and she's tough."
My name is Regina Ward.
I'm an attorney in Myrtle Beach.
I have been practicing since 2005.
And in the fourth grade,
I beat up my first bully.
I don't like people
who take advantage of the vulnerable,
the weak, the meek, and the poor.
When I met with Mica,
she was truly ready
to divorce John-Paul Miller.
[chilling music playing]
[Regina] JP was losing his grip on her.
One minute, he's a menace,
and then the next,
he's asking for forgiveness.
And in fact, he sent an apology letter.
Mica forwarded that
to my office right away.
That apology letter basically confirmed
the things that Mica had alleged
that he had done.
Because he apologized for them.
"I already told him to leave me alone,
and he didn't. And he won't."
"Made it clear he won't ever."
[Nate] John-Paul wanted Mica to feel
that the only way she could feel happiness
and safe again is if she came back to him.
[Bruna] Mica told me and my husband
that she was afraid for her life.
She's sitting in our living room,
and she's saying, "I don't wanna die."
She says,
"He's gonna put a b*llet in my head
and then tell everybody I k*lled myself."
[chilling music peaks, fades]
[unsettling string music playing]
[string music ends]
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