Embattled Myrtle Beach pastor John-Paul Miller appeared in federal court today and pleaded not guilty to charges of cyberstalking and making false statements to federal investigators in connection with the harassment of his estranged wife, Mica Miller, leading up to her death. MyHorryNews reports:
“Federal magistrate Thomas Rogers III ordered an unsecured bond of $100,000 and that Miller wear an ankle monitor. Other conditions of the bond include turning in his passport, no contact with Mica’s family or potential witnesses, refrain from excessive alcohol and drug use, no possession of weapons and periodic reporting to the U.S. Probation Office.”
Miller’s trial is likely to begin in March. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for cyberstalking and two years for making false statements, along with fines of up to $250,000.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, the indictment alleges that beginning in November 2022, Miller sent unwanted and harassing communications to his estranged wife until her death on April 27, 2024.
The harassing behavior included posting a nude photo of the victim online without her consent, causing tracking devices to be placed on her vehicle, and, in one instance, contacting her over 50 times in a single day.
Federal investigators allege that Miller lied to them about his involvement and role in these allegations.
The story of John-Paul Miller and his wife, Mica Miller, went viral in May 2024 after we shared a video showing him announcing her death in a strange way following the church service, two weeks after she filed for divorce. At the time, John-Paul preached an entire sermon and then, at the very end, sprung it on the congregation that his wife died last night by killing herself and then told the congregation not to talk about it.
This led to worldwide speculation that he may have been involved in ‘unaliving’ her, but a police investigation concluded that she acted alone.
However, troubling details of their relationship came to light following her death, prompting the belief that he took advantage of her frail mental health and drove her to suicide, including by allegedly posting nude pictures of her on a Facebook group and tracking her vehicle.
Since then, he’s been separately accused of sexual abuse of a minor by two women who have filed lawsuits against him, along with having his home raided by the FBI in November.
Speculation about John-Paul Miller’s affair emerged when he was spotted laughing and having drinks alone with parishioner Suzie Skinner four days after Mica’s death. Skinner’s own husband allegedly committed suicide a few years earlier after discovering his wife having an affair with Paul-Miller, in a case that is still open by the FBI.
Following the death of Mica, Alison Williams, John-Paul’s first ex-wife, filed for sole custody of the children, citing in part the affair he had with Suzie in 2021 that she confronted both of them about and that she said was an open secret, causing embarrassment to their children.
Williams divorced Miller in 2015 after discovering he had been having an affair with Mica Miller, who joined his church in her teens, and who he married in 2018.
In an April 2025 interview with Crime and Cask, John-Paul Miller confirmed that he was now dating Suzie Skinner but insisted they didn’t start their relationship until January 2025.
This telling of events conflicts with Suzie’s own testimony in one of Miller’s sexual assault cases, however, where Skinner admitted she’d had an adulterous affair with him.
This past summer, John-Paul Miller and Suzie Skinner got married.
