NewsNation investigative correspondent Rich McHugh has shared a clip from his interview with pastor John-Paul "JP" Miller that wasn't included in Netflix's documentary Death of the Pastor's Wife, which explores the death of his wife, Mica Miller.
Background on the case
Mica Miller was found dead at age 30 in April 2024 at Lumber River State Park in North Carolina, two days after serving JP, pastor of Solid Rock Church, with divorce papers. Her death was ruled a suicide. The Netflix documentary reconstructs the years leading up to her death, drawing on accounts from Mica's family, friends, and former church members, who allege JP subjected her to coercive control and emotional and sexual abuse. JP was arrested in 2025 and charged with cyberstalking and making false statements to federal investigators, charges he has pleaded not guilty to.
The interview Netflix didn't show
McHugh interviewed JP for nearly two hours, three months after Mica's death. In the portion shared publicly on X, McHugh directly asked JP whether he had ever abused Mica. JP denied it outright, saying he had taken better care of her than anyone else could, and pointed to specific examples, including never once asking her to clean the house, cook, or work throughout their marriage, and insisting she was never physically harmed.
What JP admitted to
McHugh then raised an email in which JP had reportedly apologised to Mica for tracking her, damaging her car tyres, and posting a topless photo of her. When pressed on whether the apology was genuine, JP confirmed he had written it, explaining that during their final night together, he'd spent hours trying to convince Mica to take her medication, and that she'd agreed to come inside and take it only if he paid her $10,000 and wrote her an apology letter.
JP also admitted to hiring a private investigator, which he described as "the PI thing," saying he'd learned over the years that when Mica was in what he called a delusional state, he had to go along with her requests to get her back on her medication. He denied actually slashing her tyres or posting the nude image, suggesting instead that her tyre had simply run over something and that he hadn't seen anything relating to the photo. He said he stopped paying the investigator three weeks before Mica's death, and claimed the investigator was hired only to alert him if she tried to purchase a weapon from a gun store, a claim that contradicts FBI filings alleging the investigator was hired to monitor whether Mica was being unfaithful.
His response to claims he drove her to her death
Asked to respond to allegations that his behaviour contributed directly to Mica's death, JP dismissed the suggestion, saying she wasn't with him at the time and calling the claim the "dumbest thing" he'd ever heard.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1-800-799-7233, available 24/7, or visit thehotline.org to chat online. If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988, chat at 988lifeline.org, or text MHA to 741741 to reach Crisis Text Line.
