Controversial pastor John-Paul Miller has a new girlfriend – but the family of his tragic ex say they fear for her life.
John-Paul has come under scrutiny since his estranged wife, Mica, drove to a secluded spot in Robeson County, North Carolina, and took her own life almost exactly a year ago.
At that time John-Paul was in Charleston, South Carolina, and was quickly ruled out as a suspect. The Robeson County Sheriff’s Department and the medical examiner both ruled Mica’s death a suicide.
Since then John-Paul has moved on with a member of his flock from Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach named Suzie Skinner, whose quadriplegic veteran husband, Chris Skinner, also tragically took his own life in 2021.
Mica’s family are still rocked by the senseless suicide of their loved one, but remain wary of John-Paul.
“Suzie is probably thinking ‘Oh John-Paul is wonderful’ and all this. But her time is gonna’ come.
“I absolutely fear for her life and any woman John-Paul is with,” Mica’s mother Angelita Salas, 52, of Wichita, Kansas, told The Post.
Mica’s family point to the days and months before Mica’s death as evidence of John-Paul’s nature, and claim he is “controlling” and “narcissistic”.
In the weeks before her death, Mica accused John-Paul of grooming her as a teen before they got married in 2017 and abusing her throughout their marriage — all allegations he has strenuously denied.
Her family have also relayed things they claimed happened during their relationship, which they attribute to associates of John-Paul.
“I feared for my life whenever he would have people follow Mica around and she was at my place.
“A bunch of people would drive up and down creepily slow. We were like ‘this is not normal’. I would hear a little creek at night and I couldn’t sleep,” said Mica’s sister, Anna Francis, 28.
Police records show Mica had called 911 regarding tracking devices placed on her car four times in the weeks before her death, some of which were recovered by police.
Local news stations have reported John-Paul admitted in May 2024 to hiring a private eye to place trackers on her car, saying he did so to make sure she wasn’t going to a gun store to buy a weapon and harm herself.
“I think anybody in a relationship with JP, whether it’s being a friend, a colleague, an actual girlfriend or wife, or anybody who has ever had an interaction with him could be a victim of his coercive control, narcissistic abuse, or whatever,” Francis added.
Both Francis and Salas say they don’t believe Mica took her own life despite the evidence, including a 911 call she made, which they claim could have been created with Artificial Intelligence and video of her buying the gun she used hours earlier.
Both relatives also told The Post they believe John-Paul was in some way involved with Mica’s death, even though he wasn’t there physically, a charge he has denied.
Despite the findings of the authorities and the ruling of Mica’s death as a suicide, her family still have questions and suspect her suicide was somehow staged.
Anna said her “ultimate goal” is to “actually find out what happened that day”.
“It’s the biggest mystery of our lives. Why did she go there – that specific spot,” which she had never been to before, she added.
John-Paul could not be reached by The Post. His attorney declined to comment.
“Over the past year, I have seen and read hundreds of lies about myself,” Miller recently told local news site Crime and Cask. “I’m waiting and preparing to defend myself against harm caused to my reputation, career, or emotional well-being — from overzealous people, certain social media personalities, and news.”
John-Paul has also pointed to his wife’s history of mental illness before her death, and accused her family of keeping her off her medication.
Fuel was added to the fire when Chris Skinner’s sister, Tamra McDermott, claimed her brother’s 2021 death could have been caused by him finding out John-Paul was having an affair with his wife.
Chris drowned in his swimming pool in September 2021 and both the cops and coroner’s office declared the case an accidental drowning.
The coroner’s office briefly reopened its investigation into Chris’ death in March, although they have yet to comment on the reasons why.
“It would be fair to say that the coroner has reopened the case because there’s been evidence [that’s] come forward that it could potentially not be an accident,” Skinner’s sister, Tamra McDermott, told The Daily Mail in March.
Miller has claimed he had spoken to Skinner at church the day before he died and later presided over his funeral. He has claimed Chris was estranged from his sister at the time of his death.
However, John-Paul was alleged to be having an affair with Skinner in 2021 while married to Mica, in court papers filed by his first wife, Alison Williams, in 2024 over custody of their children.
Susie Skinner did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
She claimed in court papers: “When I learned [John-Paul] was exposing our children to yet another one of his adulterous affairs, I confronted JP and Suzie and told them not to let it happen again,” according to the Daily Mail.
In January, John-Paul confirmed he is now in a relationship with Chris’ widow, Suzie, but insisted the pair hadn’t started dating until this year.
In November, the FBI searched John-Paul’s home, although the reason for their investigation is unclear.
FBI spokesman Kevin Wheeler told The Post an investigation is ongoing.
John-Paul is also embroiled in two sexual assault lawsuits filed against him accusing him of sexual abuse, both by anonymous accusers.
He has denied the charges in both suits, and launched a counter-suit for defamation in one case.
“People say I should defend myself online and prove that what’s being said is a lie and show proof that what I say is truth, and I can,” he added to Crime and Cask. “But I believe that would only fuel their evil, ungodly gossip and strife that are in the world.”
