Celebrity Lawyer Analyzes CyberStalking Charges Against Pastor

[Source: Fox One]

Celebrity lawyer and legal analyst Christopher C. Melcher, who is ranked as a best family law attorney in California, analyzes the cyberstalking charges against a Pastor on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Fox One.

Summary:

Nancy Grace reports on the federal indictment of Myrtle Beach pastor John Paul Miller following the death of his wife, Mica Miller, whose body was found submerged in the Lumber River State Park. Investigators allege Miller cyberstalked and harassed Mica through repeated unwanted communications, threats involving nude photos, and the use of a GPS tracking device. The panel discusses key evidence from the scene, including the recovered firearm and 911 call, while experts debate the circumstances surrounding her death. Celebrity legal analyst Chris Melcher explains how the defense may attempt to challenge the allegations, despite the serious federal charges.

Transcript:

What Happened in the Mica Miller Case That Led to Federal Charges?

Nancy Grace:

Breaking news tonight, busted. The feds finally indict a Myrtle Beach pastor, preacher John Paul Miller after the swamp death shooting of his wife, Mica Miller. Good evening. I’m Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

Mica Miller:

I just want my family to know where to find me.

Nancy Grace:

Mica now dead by gunshot wound, her body found submerged in a body of water.

John Paul Miller:

I even tried to raise her from the dead one time.

Nancy Grace:

Did he just say he tried to raise her from the dead and he laid by her body four times?

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

Was she convinced by someone to… A possibility.

Why Did Federal Authorities Indict Pastor John Paul Miller?

Nancy Grace:

In the last hours, the feds do what state authorities would not do. They bring down the hammer on the so called pastor, John Paul Miller, after the shocking death of his young wife, who he allegedly harassed straight into a gun shop. But first, before I get into those charges, thank you, feds. Let’s take a listen to the now federal defendant, John Paul Miller, at his finest.

John Paul Miller:

I got this lay next to her body and spend time with her body about four times this week and each time it still didn’t hit me. I thought she was going to wake up. I even tried to raise her from the dead one time this week. And she was so creative. Everything she did was so creative. What’s the next picture? I’ve been speaking for many years, and for the first time I don’t really know exactly how to open or how to close, or any of that.

Nancy Grace:

I’m going to have to play that again. That is from Solid Rock Ministries. Does he actually think I’m buying this? There were no tears and definitely no snot. I need to see that one more time.

John Paul Miller:

I can’t wait to see her again one day. I’m good. I’m good. And that’s nothing. She was so creative, it was just always just coming out of her.

Nancy Grace:

So many things just jump out at me. Again, that is from Solid Rock Ministries. For those of you just joining us, the pastor, John Paul Miller, finally facing federal charges in connection to his wife, Mica Miller. First of all, he says, “Oh, after all these years speaking…” He suggests that he is short of words, he doesn’t know what to say, but yet he keeps talking. He says he doesn’t like pain, well, get ready for a boatload of it, John Paul Miller. Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we are learning. Straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, Crime Stories investigative reporter. Alexis, the Feds finally bring down the hammer. This after hundreds and hundreds of online protests appealing to LE, law enforcement, to bring charges. What are the charges, Alexis Tereszcuk?

What Cyberstalking Allegations Are Included in the Federal Indictment?

Alexis Tereszcuk:

He has been charged with cyberstalking. And I’m going to read exactly the indictment that he, John Paul Miller, sent or caused to be sent unwanted and harassing electronic communications to her, used or threatened to use nude videos and photographs of her, posted a nude photo of her online without her consent, placed or caused to be placed a tracking device on her vehicle with the intent to harass and surveil her. And he interfered with her finances, banking, and interfered with her daily activities. He also made a false statement to law enforcement. They said he did knowingly and willfully make a material of false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement in representation in this case. He said that they had been calling each other back and forth. The fed said, “Nope, you called her more than 50 times in one day harassing her.” He said, “I never damaged her car tires.” They said, “You actually bought a tool to deflate car tires and in fact you caused these tires on her car to be deflated.”

Nancy Grace:

That’s a lot from the feds. Guys, finally, what many people, what many justice champions have longed for since Mica’s body was found at the Lumber River State Park, the feds bring down the hammer and do what state authorities refused to do. Listen.

What Evidence Did Investigators Find?

Speaker 8:

Law enforcement is notified by 911 dispatch that Mica Miller is in Lumber River State Park and they begin searching. Mica Miller’s phone is pinged at 03:20 PM and law enforcement has a drone dispatched to the area to help search. At 03:42, Mica’s car is located in the parking lot of the Lumber River State Park. Inside the car, investigators find a nine millimeter SIG Sauer hard gun case and receipt showing the location of where the weapon was purchased.

Nancy Grace:

Many [inaudible 00:05:40] still insists Mica Miller was murdered, but here is hard evidence.

Speaker 9:

Investigators at Lumber River State Park are notified by a kayaker at 04:23 PM that a body is in the river, and a black bag with ID and money found on the bank of the river is turned over to law enforcement as well. Officers recover two spent casings and one live round on the bank of the river, and there’s no sign of a physical struggle. A regional pathologist is called to the scene for assistance. Mica Miller is found submerged in the river beside tree limbs, about 100 feet from the casings.

Nancy Grace:

There is a concerning aspect to the discovery of a nine millimeter SIG Sauer. Dr. Kendall Crown’s joining us. He is a renowned chief medical examiner out of Tarrant County. That’s Fort Worth. Never a lack of business in the morgue there. He is the esteemed lecturer at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, and he is a star of a new podcast, Mayhem in the Morgue. Dr. Kendall Crowns, thank you for being with us.

Could the Firearm Have Ended Up in the Water After the Shooting?

The nine millimeter is removed from the river using a magnet. The serial number on the gun matches the number on the gun case in Mica’s car. Is that feasible that she committed… And the SIG is abandoned in the river?

What Did Medical Examiner Say About the Cause of Death?

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

Yes, it is. Her body is found in the river as well, so the potential is she places the gun to the right side of her head, pulls the trigger, and then instantly her body goes limps, she falls into the river while still clutching the gun or holding the gun. Or the gun itself just falls into the river and slides down in the mud, her body falls in, floats away, gun goes into the river as well. It is consistent with someone shooting themselves in the head and then losing body function, dropping the gun and falling into the waterway.

Nancy Grace:

There’s also the issue… And let me go to Regina Ward. She is the attorney for Mica Miller’s sister. She is with her law firm that she founded, the Regina Ward Law Firm. And she has been staunchly supporting Mica’s family since before Mica was killed. Regina Ward, thank you for being with us. Is it true that SIG Sauer was found about five feet underwater submerged from Mica’s body?

Regina Ward:

Well, I can’t say for myself if it was true or not, but that’s what was reported. Obviously I wasn’t there for that, but I’ve had several questions about that entire investigation. It was just approached in the wrong manner, in my opinion. So as far as whether it was or not, that’s what the report says.

Nancy Grace:

Curious that you would say that. Dr. Kendall Crowns, if the SIG was found, say, 20 or 30 feet away from the body, would you still think it was…

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

So there’s a potential when you shoot yourself in the head for there to be actual movement after the wound occurs. It really depends on what is involved in the brain. There’s an area of the brain called the motor strip that kind of sits on the side of your head that controls your function of your arms, your limbs, et cetera. If that isn’t hit, if you go a little more forward, you hit the frontal lobes of your brain, which is more memory, feelings, emotions, things of that nature, you are able to still walk after a gunshot wound to the head, albeit not super far, but you can’t do that-

Nancy Grace:

Or, dear Lord in heaven. Do you hear yourself? That after she shoots herself in the head, she can still walk?

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

Oh, I do, and I am obviously right. It is potential, yes.

Nancy Grace:

Okay. You know when a witness says something crazy on the stand, I have to declare them a hostile witness and I have to cross-examine them. And that’s what I’ve got to do now. Dr. Kendall Crowns, of course, you are the medical doctor. I’m just a JD, you’re the MD. But let me go out on a limb here. How many times have you seen a victim shoot themselves in the head and their body is still where the gunshot occurred and they continue to walk? How many cases have you personally dealt with like that?

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

I wouldn’t be able to give you an exact percentage. It’s a small percentage of cases, but I have seen it with-

Nancy Grace:

I didn’t ask for a percentage. I asked you how many. I bet you can count them on one finger.

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

No, I can count it on probably more than 10 fingers. In over 25 years of doing autopsies, I have seen multiple cases of individuals still able to function after shooting themselves in the head. I can’t tell you exact numbers while we’re sitting here.

Nancy Grace:

You said walk. I don’t mean function. You said walk. Take steps after they shoot themselves in the head.

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

Okay. Well, I’ll rephrase function to walk, but I have seen multiple individuals-

Nancy Grace:

Yes, you go ahead and rephrase it, Crowns.

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

… Walk after shooting themselves in the head, including with shotguns. It is all placement on where you hit yourself in your brain and how much you’ll be able to do afterwards. And it is, it depends on where she’s shot in her brain, how much movement she can have, but placement of gun, if you’re going to do theoretical, yes, someone could shoot themselves in the head and then walk several feet, maybe even 10 yards away from the gun before they collapse or fall into a river and float away.

Nancy Grace:

Dr. Kendall Crowns, just so you know, you’re losing a lot of credibility right now, but I guess you’re sticking up from one of your medical examiner friends that performed this autopsy. Dr. Kendall Crowns, there’s a fly in the-

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

I’m not sticking up for anybody. I’m just sticking up for science.

Nancy Grace:

Do I have to cut your mic?

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

Feel free.

Nancy Grace:

There’s a fly in the ointment. And that fly in the ointment of your scenario is she would’ve had to walk through water after she shoots herself in the head. How many cases have you seen like that where after the person shoots themselves in the head they walk out in the water?

Dr. Kendall Crowns:

I’m not sure how she’s walking in the water. How is she not shooting herself on the riverbank and then falling forward into the water, floating away while as the gun floats down underneath her? That part I don’t understand your theory there.

Nancy Grace:

Dr. Kendall Crowns, you have a second career in writing fiction. In the meantime, while I let Dr. Kendall Crowns think about what he just said, Regina Ward, the significance of this line of questioning is if the investigation had shown that the weapon, the SIG nine, was substantially far away from her as if it had been thrown in the river to discard of it after the shooting, that would open up a whole another investigation, wouldn’t it, Regina Ward?

Regina Ward:

Absolutely it would. And let me tell you something else that would’ve opened up a better investigation in my opinion is that had the Robeson County authorities who were doing the investigation, had they known about the history of this case and the sheer terror that Mr. Miller put her through and the harassment and so forth, had they known about that history prior to their investigation into her death, they may have approached it a little differently. I feel like that they approached it with the mindset, “Oh, it’s a self-taking of a life. Therefore, let’s go find the proof to prove that’s what happened,” as opposed to walking into it saying to themselves, “This may not be what it appears, so let’s look closer for evidence that may prove that it was not a self-taking of the life.”

Nancy Grace:

We do, however… And let’s see it, control room. We do have her supporting Dr. Kendall Crown’s assertion in a gun store shortly before purchasing the six hour. That is significant because it can be matched up by serial number. The gun store keeps a log of serial numbers on guns sold. She did buy the weapon. Alexis Tereszcuk joining us, Crime Stories investigative reporter, was outlining the charges in the new federal indictment. For those of you just joining us, the feds bring down the hammer on Pastor John Paul Miller in connection with his wife, Mica Miller, found dead in a public forest. Listen to this.

Speaker 9:

Just weeks before her death, Mica Miller calls police for help when she finds a tire on her car is flat. Police discover a tire deflator is used on the tire. Mica goes to East Coast Honda in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to get a new tire where John Paul Miller shows up. The two get into an argument.

What Video Evidence Shows John Paul Miller Confronting Mica Miller?

Video shows John Paul Miller aggressively walking around Mica, threatening to post a picture online while Mica says, “Walk away.” A mechanic later shows Mica a GPS tracking device had been placed on her car.

Nancy Grace:

A geo tracking device placed on her car. Video has actually caught John Paul Miller aggressively walking around Mica threatening to post a picture online. Alexis Tereszcuk joining us, Crime Stories investigative reporter. What picture would that have been, the one he threatened to post?

Alexis Tereszcuk:

A topless photo of her, so a topless where she doesn’t have anything on and exposing her breasts.

Nancy Grace:

Joining me now, Chris Melcher. He’s a veteran trial lawyer, celebrity lawyer, partner at Walzer Melcher & Yoda, which is ranked as a best family law firm in Los Angeles, CA. He has deep experience in complex family law litigation at walzermelcher.com. Chris Melcher, this isn’t helping anything. That is encompassed in this new federal indictment against John Paul Miller. Even if you’re married to someone, you can’t just post nudey shots of them without their consent.

What is the Defense Strategy?

Chris Melcher:

What’s going to be difficult is is that the victim of these alleged offenses, Mica, can’t speak for herself. And that creates a difficulty for the prosecution and an opportunity for the defense to try to explain these things, because couples do get into arguments, they’ll do things for whatever reasons, and this gives John Paul Miller potentially a free hand in his defense to try and explain away what looks like some very awful facts.

Nancy Grace:

Such as posting nudey shots of Mica that he took in private, posting them online. Let’s just follow your argument through, Chris Melcher, to its logical conclusion. I think what you’re saying, in regular people talk, not lawyer ease, is that Miller could now argue his wife, Mica, was fine with the nudey shot being posted on social. That was okay that she was into that?

Chris Melcher:

This is the problem is that he can start making up or manufacturing defenses like that, that this was consented to, this was part of their relationship, she was okay with it, it was a joke. Whatever he’s going to say, now maybe these things don’t make sense or they’re not credible, but Mica’s not there to defend herself. They’re not there to say, “No, I wouldn’t have done that.” Now, sometimes the circumstances show that no reasonable person would consent to something like that and it’s just a ridiculous defense, but my sense is there’s going to be a lot of communications between these parties and he may be able to establish something here. Example, for the tracking device, he’s had some explanation why he wanted to track her, why he wanted to control her movements, why he wanted to control her spending. He has had some explanations around that.

Nancy Grace:

Okay. Well, you know what you are reminding me of, Chris Melcher, my days as a felony prosecutor when a defendant would say, “Ms. Grace, I want to plead guilty with an explanation.” I don’t care what his explanation is. Guilty. If he put a tracking device on her car and she did not consent to it, I don’t care why he thought he needed to do it. Doesn’t matter. State doesn’t have to prove motive, does it, Chris Melcher?

Chris Melcher:

Well, so there’s difference between being a crime and being an act of domestic violence, which is a civil matter. So under South Carolina law and other states-

Nancy Grace:

Domestic violence is not a crime in your world?

Chris Melcher:

No, it can be both. It can be an act of abuse that justifies a restraining order and also can form a crime.

Can a Spouse Legally Place a GPS Tracker on a Vehicle Under State Law?

But with the tracking device, the owner of a vehicle, whether it’s jointly owned or solely owned, I don’t know how this was titled, has the right to place a tracking device on it. So it’s not a crime to do so, but placing a tracking device on her vehicle, even if legal under South Carolina law without her consent and done for the purpose of tracking her movement for purposes of harassment would be an act of domestic violence. But what I understand his statements to be is that he was concerned about her conduct and safety, and that he wanted to protect her. And just like a parent might put a tracking device on a child or any loved one who maybe has issues, that is a protective measure. So this is what I’m saying he may very well claim.

Nancy Grace:

Okay. Chris Melcher, now I know why you win so many cases. You’re like a snake charmer, you go that way and that way with your crazy legal defense, and some people are actually going right along with you.

Make sure to follow Chris on Twitter at @CA_Divorce.

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