Mica Miller: Death of pastor’s wife ruled suicide, but questions of abuse persist

globalnews.ca:

NOTE:The following article contains content about suicide that some might find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.

Advocates are calling for South Carolina to enact tougher laws to protect victims of stalking and harassment as the investigation into Mica Miller’s death continues.

Mica, 30, was found dead on April 27, two days after serving divorce papers to her estranged husband, pastor John Paul Miller, 44. Claims from Mica’s family members, including police reports that the pastor’s wife filed herself in the lead-up to her death, paint a picture of a woman being relentlessly stalked by her former husband.

But police and medical examiners ruled last week that Mica died by suicide, and said her estranged husband wasn’t even in the same state when it happened. John has denied allegations of abuse in statements through his lawyer.

Despite her death being ruled a suicide, police have reached out to the FBI for assistance in the case, according to reports from NBC News and Myrtle Beach’s Sun News newspaper.

The lawyer who represented Mica in her divorce proceedings told NBC News that she unsure why local police reached out for federal assistance, but she has doubts that Mica died by suicide.

“I’m concerned the scene was investigated for the purposes of looking for evidence to support a finding of suicide, as opposed to investigating the scene,” Regina Ward said.

Mica was found dead in Lumber River State Park in North Carolina, roughly 100 kilometres north of her home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where she used to live with her husband.

The local Robeson County Sheriff’s Office released a 911 call that Mica made just before she died, during which she asked the 911 dispatcher to track her phone location.

“I’m