Transcript of 3) The Terrifying 2022 Incident That Changed Everything For JP And Mica Miller

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Wherever It Leads is Luna Shark's brand new podcast, and it's nothing like the travel content that you've heard before. We go deeper. We talk to locals, reporters, and people who actually live where you wanna visit, not just the ones who want your tourist dollars. We cover the food and landmarks, sure, but we also ask the harder questions. What is the real history here? The often sad and traumatic history. What new challenge is this place facing? And how can you show up as a visitor who actually makes things better? My co-host David Moses and I, along with a team of journalists, are hitting destinations around the world To expose the truth, give voice to victims throughout history, and get the story straight. With new destinations and episodes every other week. Wherever It Leads from Luna Shark. Find it wherever you listen to your podcasts or visit whereveritleadspod.com. This is Coerced. The devotion and death of Micah Francis Miller. My name is Mandy Matney. Journalists Liz Farrell, Beth Braden, and I have been reporting on Micah's story for more than 2 years now for True Sunlight Podcast. Coerced is a Luna Shark production made possible by producers Kate Thomas, Grace Hills, and David Moses.

Welcome back to our remastered Drop Feed series on the life and death of Micah Francis Miller. I'm Grace. I'm a producer here at Luna Shark. The True Sunlight podcast often goes over multiple cases per episode, so this feed is a way to combine all of Mandy and Liz's coverage of Micah into one. In our last episode, you heard from Micah's best friend, Charlotte, who told us about the night everything boiled over, the night Micah fled to her sister's house in Gaffney just to feel safe. Today, Mandy and Liz are taking you deep into that night, November 16th, 2022, and the chain of events that set it in motion. You're going to hear the actual 911 calls Micah's sister Sierra made to Cherokee County Dispatch as John Paul Miller texted the family that he was, quote, armed and ready, end quote, and on his way. You'll hear the fear in these women's voices and the way they tried to protect themselves and a 6-year-old boy sleeping down the hall. Then you'll hear JP's own words, a barrage of text messages he sent Micah that night, and what happened just 12 days later when Micah was committed to a mental health facility.

A hospitalization that JP, by his own congregation's account, tried to stop. Until he didn't. And finally, Mandy and Liz walk you through the healthcare power of attorney Micah signed the day she was released and the questions about who witnessed it. when, and who quietly filed it 16 months later, right as Micah was fighting to break free. These clips come from True Sunlight episodes 52, 53, and 54. Let's dive in.

First, let's go back to how the system failed Micah. We want to talk more about what happened in November 2022, starting with 2 calls that Micah's sister Sierra made to police on November 16th, 2022. The incident that Charlotte told us about in the last episode. These calls, combined with a litany of texts we will talk about in a minute, are alarming, and they show just how much JP terrorized both Micah and her family. The texts also show that JP seemed to be delighting in the fear that he could cause in Micah and her sister. That night, Sierra did the smart thing and enlisted the help of law enforcement.

I need to report a non-emergency at this point. Okay, what's going on? Uh, my sister came here today to visit because her and her husband were having issues. She came from Myrtle. She told him she'll be home on Tuesday, and he is texting me at this point saying, I'll be at your house at 12:55. I'm armed and ready, and I will keep you up all night. I'm going to get her back. And I said, you're not welcome at my house. There are no trespassing signs up. You cannot threaten weapons. He has 6 guns that he just purchased recently, and he's saying, I'm armed and ready, I'm coming to get her. Okay, what's your name?

Sierra Francis.

You said Sierra? Yes, it's S-I-E-R-R-A. And last name Francis?

Yes. Okay.

Obviously, I want the cops to be able to come up here if they need to. You said this was your sister's husband? Yes, ma'am. And he'll be coming for Myrtle. So he said 12:55 ETA, armed and ready.

No woman should ever have to make a call like that to police. Sierra had to decide whether to close her gate so JP couldn't get in or leave it open so police could access her house should they need to do that because of JP. Again, JP wasn't getting what JP wanted, so everyone had to suffer JP's wrath. Shortly after midnight, Sierra made another phone call to police because it wasn't enough for JP to threaten that he was armed and ready and coming to get Micah at a house, by the way, where there was a 6-year-old boy sleeping. He decided to taunt the women while threatening to kill himself.

I had called earlier and filed a police report with my sister about her spouse. He's saying he's going to come over and that he was threatening that he had weapons with him.

Yes, ma'am.

Um, he said that he would be here at 12:55. Um, GPS shows that he supposedly hasn't left, um, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but he just texted her and said, you better drive down the road now, um, or I'm coming and it's gonna be hell to pay, like acting like he's outside. So we just want to verify that he's not. Okay.

The call is long, so we are not going to play the whole thing, but Sierra describes 3 different vehicles that JP could be driving, which, by the way, begs the question, how many vehicles did this man have access to? And are we sure that he was driving the truck that police identified on traffic cameras on the day of Micah's death? Listen to the fear in these women's voices.

Now he's texting her saying that, like, suicidal stuff, so I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he traded in the other car that I was going to mention. Okay. Um, okay, so he's doing it to get you to call him. Yes. You tell her not to answer the phone. Is it just you guys? I don't answer the phone. Is it just you guys in the house, or do you have— No, it is— we have— my husband is asleep because he has to wake up at 3 to go to work, so we didn't even wake him up. Um, and then he has our— my 6-year-old son in the bed with him. He said he's, um, he said he's texting her threatening that he's going to kill himself. Yeah, he said, my blood is going to be on your hands. But prior to that, he was threatening to come in here, and he said, call the cops, I don't care, I'm, I'm, um, armed and ready.

Okay.

Which he is. He just purchased about 6 firearms in the past couple of days. Oh my goodness.

JP said, quote, My blood is gonna be on your hands. Haunting, isn't it? When you think about where we are now. The Cherokee County 911 operator named Hannah McCracken, who was fantastic, by the way, stays patient throughout the phone call, and she asked for Sierra's number to text her a link where Sierra can send the police screenshots of those text messages.

Just let me know when you get that link, sweetie.

Okay.

How long has your sister been with you, sweetie? She just got here at 7:30, and she was supposed to stay until Tuesday. Um, she was supposed to meet him for a hot air balloon something in Asheville this, this weekend, and it was supposed to be whatever, but now he's changing the locks on the house and all kinds of stuff, so he's gonna throw all our stuff in the yard and then Since she said she wasn't coming home, he said that he was going to come here and he didn't care if we called the cops. He was going to be ready. Okay.

The dispatcher then walks Sierra through the form that she sent her in order to report JP's threatening text messages. Sierra then tells the dispatcher Micah's name, JP's name, and JP's contact information. Minutes pass as the officers are still on the way. JP was previously sharing his location with Micah, And vice versa. And Sierra said the location hadn't changed all day, which was freaking them out. The dispatcher, named Hannah McCracken, again, who was amazing and deserves Dispatcher of the Year Award for this phone call alone, she kept cool, calm, and collected as she asked questions about Sierra's property and where her partner and child were sleeping so the cops wouldn't startle them. Micah was next to Sierra for the entire conversation. Both women were pragmatic and calm. You can hear Micah on this part.

Okay, I've got a couple officers on the way out there, sweetie. They're just, um, looking here. They shouldn't be too far. They were just coming from town. I believe they were both at the sheriff's office, but I promise they're coming to you. Okay, and he hasn't texted anything else since?

No.

And you said he tried to call you one time? Yeah, he, he tried calling and then I didn't answer, so he didn't call after that. And I have a friend on the way to my house to see if he's at the house because he wasn't at the church, which she lives right By the church, and she's headed to our house, which is like 7 minutes away from the church.

This is when Charlotte sent her husband to JP's house, as she told us in the last episode of True Sunlight. About 20 minutes into the 911 phone call, the officers finally arrived on Sierra's property. I just want to play this last part as a shining example of how a dispatcher should end a traumatic 911 call.

Okay, sweetie, if y'all hear anything, I've got my officers out there. They're going to take a look around. Do y'all want them to come up to the house and talk to you? Uh, they're in our driveway. Okay, if y'all want to go out there and talk to them, um, please go ahead and give them whatever information you have. Okay? Okay. Um, are you gonna get off the phone with us now? Um, I mean, I can stay on it if you want me to, but I've got 2 officers out there. Yeah, that's fine. They're on my porch. I can let you go and talk to them. All right, go ahead, sweetie.

I mean, the fear and chaos that JP created in this situation. Sierra had to think about what would happen if JP showed up. She had to make sure her young son was in the same room as her husband, who was sleeping because he had to be up at 3 AM for work. The dispatcher had to map out where everyone was in the house for police. Just in case something happened. Also, it's worth noting that November 16th, 2022 was a Wednesday. This isn't some Friday night bad behavior. It's the middle of the work week and it's late. It's disrespectful in all of the ways. And now that we know how Micah's life ended amidst even more fear and chaos created by JP, it's even more sad to consider this phone call. To know that she lived the next year and a half of her life trying to extract herself from this kind of behavior. Okay, so let's talk about those text messages JP was sending to Micah that night. We recently obtained copies of them, and we wanted to share those with you. They start at 9:08 PM, about 2 hours after Micah arrived at her sister's house in Gaffney, which is about 4 hours from Myrtle Beach.

JP group texted Micah with Charlotte. We're going to have David read the first series of texts from JP in one big chunk since he sent these texts with no responses between them. Notice all the ways JP uses manipulation tactics here. He starts by putting Micah on a pedestal while also telling her that she treats him horribly. Then he tries to convince her that he's the victim and that she is the one who is selfish. Then he uses her faith in God against her. Trying to convince her that God wants her to do what JP says. Then he goes for the ultimatums. Notice JP's reference to his elders at the church.

I would leave anyone or anything for you. I'm only asking for the same respect. You can't treat someone like shit and then leave. You're supposed to work it out. Stay and do whatever it takes. Please don't be selfish this one time. I'm literally begging you to do the right thing, the godly thing, the only thing that will work. I'm asking you from the bottom of my heart. I need you. I want you. And I don't want to sleep alone, ever. But if you choose this, I will not beg you to come back. I won't put up with this again. This is literally your last chance to make things right. I'm too old, too hurt. And you have put me through too much to continue letting you treat me like shit. While I pay all your bills and do whatever you want, I need you to act like a godly wife this one time and prioritize your marriage over your family, friends, and feelings. Charlotte is in this text so she can hold me accountable for this. What you've done in our marriage this time is totally unacceptable, and no man would put up with it.

But I'm will to give you one more chance. I'm asking 1, that you repent. 2, hear my heart and pretend like you understand why I'm 3. Come home now. If you don't do these things that will help me feel loved, safe, and prioritized, then our marriage is officially over. And I cannot allow my heart to be put through this ever again. I love you. I'm willing to do whatever it takes But I will not be treated this way and defamed so horribly anymore. We used to be the best of friends. And I'm shocked that you would throw all of that away. Maybe it's because you want to live with Charlotte. Why don't you tell her why you want to live with her? Or should I tell her? Go ahead, Charlotte. Ask Micah why she would want to badly stay with you. Please ask her. I'd love to hear how honest she is. Since she threw me under the bus today with my elders. After everything else you've done... By 9 AM, there will be nothing left inside this house that has anything to do with you. If you want your clothes, shoes, jewelry, pictures, furniture, and books, anything that is an attachment to you, everything is going to Goodwill.

Micah responds, why are you being crazy? I just wanted to visit my sister. Keep in mind, according to Charlotte, who has receipts upon receipts upon receipts, to back up everything she has said. The fight all started because Micah and JP took gummies, and JP decided to interrogate Micah about, of all things, if she were to kiss a woman, who would it be? Micah, under pressure and searching for an answer, said Charlotte because she wouldn't tell anyone. And then JP, knowing how much time Micah spent with Charlotte, Lost it.

Why put your sister before your husband? That's the continual problem. Once, just once, put your husband first.

I do not feel safe coming home right now.

Micah, that's such a cop-out. Liar. You always say that to be able to leave. 3 hours, 7 minutes.

Just once, I make 100 decisions a day that put you first.

No wife would do this to her husband in his most desperate time of need. I'm coming to you. You're a horrible wife to do this. When I arrive, I'm going to raise hell. Sierra, Matt will be up all night. If you leave now, I'll turn around.

If you come here, you are trespassing.

IDC. Haha, haha, haha. That's funny. You can call cops. You did this.

You can't come to someone's house threatening with a gun. There's kids involved.

Haha, haha, haha, haha, haha. I don't care, lol. I have no gun. Crazy. See you soon.

You just texted my sister that you're armed, psycho.

That doesn't mean gun. Everyone gonna be awake all night. Bye. Can't text and drive.

You don't say shit like that!

Hahaha. You're upset, lol. That's funny. How should I handle it when you're upset?

I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry.

Then come home now.

I don't feel safe.

LOL, whatever. Then stay away forever. That's shit. We're gonna be up all night anyway. There's only one way this will work. You come home now.

12 days later, Micah was committed to a mental hospital.

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So let's talk about what happened on November 28th, 2022. We're still waiting for more information about this incident, but according to the initial police report, which does not list the time of the service call, Ore County Police Department was called to Waccamaw Center for Mental Health in reference to a woman locked in the bathroom with An unknown condition. The initial incident report is not only redacted, it refers to the people involved in code, such as O1, O2, and O3, with the O meaning other entity. From what we can make sense of and what sources tell us, Micah's sister Anna had brought Micah to the hospital, but JP showed up and was now trying to take her away from the scene. Why? Unclear. Obviously, this doesn't reconcile with accusations that JP would have Micah involuntarily committed against her will. And it doesn't reconcile with JP's own sermons and his own declarations post-Micah's death that Micah has significant mental health issues and that he tried to get her help. So what was different here? Why does it seem like he didn't want Micah to get help this time? Was it because it was her sister and not him taking Micah to the hospital?

Was it a loss of control? Was he worried about what they'd find in Micah's system or what she might tell the doctors without him there? Was he worried that she was questioning the medication she was on? This might shed some light on his reaction. Just before 5 AM on this same day when Anna ended up bringing Micah to the hospital, Sierra had texted Micah's friend Charlotte to give her a warning. Sierra wrote, just so you know, JP texted us saying he's going through Micah's phone and he's checking every call and text because Micah's not in her right mind. He also said he hasn't told the elders anything except Judy, the one who told Micah to go home and have alone time with JP when he was sending all those threatening messages. He is saying he wants her to go to the doctors, which means he's trying to get her locked up again. He said he can't handle it and he is all alone. When my sister and dad both reached out to Micah, he said she can't talk. I just talked to her yesterday, but I fell asleep, and then he started another group message saying she's going to kill herself if we don't intervene.

And no, Micah can't talk to us, and if we don't agree with him, He said he will remove us from the group chat, and if she kills herself and we don't help him, then we would be held responsible. Later that day, Sierra texted Charlotte again. So much has happened today. Micah is at the doctor's office. Anna was able to find her because JP wouldn't tell us where she was. Micah is definitely not in the right state of mind. She is acting very strange, and everything is a response of, as long as JP says so, or ask JP, or I don't think JP will be okay with that. Anna is trying to get Micah to stay away from her home and spend time outside. Hopefully they will come here. Best case scenario. I invited Micah to come help me do Christmas setup since they will be out of town then, and she said she would love to if JP says it's okay. He said it's okay if the doctor visit goes well. So Anna is doing her best to stay involved physically, and fingers crossed they will come here. If not, I will be there tomorrow to see Micah in person.

Also, JP did text our family group chat that he has all his guns still in his home, so he's still doing his threats, but in a very subtle way that only I would know because of the situation last week, saying he is the only one who knows the safe combination. Not a good situation. If she can't get Micah to come here today, I have already made plans to go there tomorrow.

According to sources, JP used Micah's mental health as a weapon against her when it suited him, when it allowed him to keep her from her family and friends, when he could paint himself as the hero or the victim with a sick wife. This visit to the hospital would suggest that he only cared about Micah's mental health when it suited him, when he got to be the one to speak for her. Because here is what happened, in complete contradiction of what Sarah says he was telling the family. When officers arrived at the facility, they were told that Micah had exited the bathroom and was sitting in the passenger seat of JP's burgundy Ram truck in the parking lot. The report notes that as officers were trying to speak to Micah, JP interrupted her answers and, would not allow her to speak to officers. According to the report, hospital employees told officers that Micah appeared to be extremely weak when she was inside the building and told them that she had passed out in both the lobby of the hospital and in the bathroom. They feared she was under the influence. According to the report, a woman who we know to be Micah's sister Anna, had driven Micah to the hospital to get mental health help.

Anna told police that JP pulled up, went inside the building, and wouldn't allow for Micah to get the help that she needed. Instead, Anna said that he brought Micah out to his truck and wouldn't let her out. According to the report, Anna told police that, this has been an ongoing issue between the group. It is not clear what group they mean, but it likely means Micah's family and JP. The report goes on to state that, quote, just weeks prior, Micah left the area seeking help in Cherokee County. Then a few words are redacted. Cherokee County, by the way, is where Micah's sister Sierra lived. Then after the redacted words, it says, quote, in an attempt to leave JP. While away, JP allegedly had a mental breakdown and stated he was suicidal, resulting in Myrtle Beach Police Department conducting welfare checks on him. Anna told police that JP, quote, had been mentally abusing Micah for an extended period of time by not allowing her to sleep, eat, or contact her family. The officer notes that all parties were separated. Allowing Horry County Fire and Rescue the opportunity to speak with Micah alone to determine if she needed to go to the hospital.

According to the report, JP was, quote, unhappy about being separated and made a call who he stated was to Lieutenant Wilson. The officer notes that Micah decided to voluntarily go with Fire and Rescue for a mental health evaluation. Anna was allowed to see Micah while she was on the stretcher to get Micah's personal items. Then the report notes JP was upset about this but was told due to the circumstances of the situation, he was being kept away from Micah. According to the report, JP then again called Lieutenant Wilson and advised the officer on scene that you will be getting a call. JP then walked to the far side of the parking lot. Again, a man used to getting his way has been told no. And this is how he acts. Also, this is how JP acted when Micah's family was simply trying to get Micah the help that she needed and wanted.

All right. So Micah was released from Wacoma on December 5th, 2022, a full week after her family fought just to get her there and after JP told anyone who would listen that she'd be locked away for months. Stick a pin in that date because what happened on the very day she walked out of that facility is one of the most unsettling documents in this entire case. Micah, still recovering, still without her phone, her keys, or her wallet, signed a piece of paper that handed JP legal control over her medical care, her treatment, her hospitalizations, even her organs. This next clip features journalist Liz Farrell from the True Sunlight podcast, episode 53.

Okay, so back to November 28th, 2022, just 12 days after their huge fight that involved police. Micah's sister Anna took Micah to the mental hospital, and for whatever reason, JP did not like that. Once Micah was admitted to the hospital, JP took on the role of worried husband, and he updated her friends, instructing them not to update her family on the matter. And letting them know he was relieved to find out that it was Micah's, quote, mental disease that caused their epic fight nearly 2 weeks earlier. During this time, JP had cut off Micah's family from receiving any information about her health. Micah's sister Sierra had to get information secondhand from Micah's friends. In the meantime, her family was blocked from even visiting Micah at the hospital. And JP was telling people, including Micah's brother Nate, that Micah was likely going to be in the hospital for a long time, possibly permanently. But Micah was released December 5th, 2022. That is a week later. At 9:10 that morning, JP texted Charlotte and others, quote, she gets out in a few hours with a smiley face emoji. Please wait and text her tomorrow as I'mma try to let her rest and relax before dealing with all her cell phone stuff.

Thanks. So did JP let Micah rest and relax? It doesn't look like it, because on the 5th day of December 2022, Micah Miller was signing paperwork to grant JP the power to make healthcare decisions for her moving forward. Now, there's a bunch of weird things happening here, but first, let's talk about what Micah was signing over. In December 2022, Micah was 28 years old. And other than the mental illness that JP told people she had, she was otherwise a healthy person. Again, healthcare POAs are typically employed by people expecting to be mentally incapacitated in some way. This POA uses standardized language established by South Carolina law. In it, Micah made John Paul Miller her agent, meaning the chief person who could make decisions for her should she become mentally incapacitated. Her first alternate agent was written in by hand with the initials MM written next to it, and it's her brother Nate. According to sources, Nate is the sibling who remained with the church at that time. Where she's to list a second agent, that's been left blank. In the POA, Micah granted JP full authority to make decisions for her regarding her healthcare. The document requires him to attempt to discuss the proposed decisions with her, if she's able to communicate in any way.

This means JP would now have the authority to consent to treatment for Micah or refuse and withdraw treatment for Micah. He could decide on medications and procedures to relieve pain and decide on when she gets admitted and discharged, even against medical advice from a hospital. In the POA, the initials MM are handwritten, granting JP the ability to consent to donating any or all of Micah's tissues and organs. And the initials MM are handwritten next to the option that grants JP the discretion to not allow Micah to get life-sustaining treatment, as well as next to the option where JP can decide on whether Micah gets a feeding tube to prolong her life. This is what Micah was signing on December 5th, 2022, the day she was released from the mental hospital that JP tried to prevent her from being admitted to. Now for the odd stuff. 2 people witnessed Micah sign this form. An attorney named Tom Winslow, who we told you about in True Sunlight, episode 52. He is an attorney friend of JP's and owns property near the park where Micah's body was found. Again, we are not making any suggestion that him owning that property means anything.

We're merely noting it as a coincidence. He signed the document saying Micah signed it in his presence. Also, Tiffany Marsh signed the form attesting to that same thing. According to Tom's law firm's website, Tiffany is the new client coordinator there. It isn't at all weird that a lawyer and his employee would sign a power of attorney form attesting to a principal's signature. What's weird is that they say they witnessed the signature of Micah's on November 28th, 2022, the same day Micah was admitted to the hospital. According to the update text from JP, he was telling people that even he wasn't allowed to visit Micah at the hospital at that time. So how were Tom Winslow and Tiffany Marsh able to do that? Additionally, and probably more importantly, how did they witness the signature that didn't get made until December 5th, 2022? This isn't likely a typo because there's a big difference between writing November 28th and December 5th. So did JP have these papers drawn up on the day Micah was admitted to the hospital? If so, that gives us an even bigger indication of just how much he did not want her in that mental facility at that time.

Like I said, it's very odd. The form is then notarized on a separate sheet of paper. Every sheet of paper has the initials MM, TW, and TM on it. Then there's the strangest part. The last page is a handwritten so-called test. With 5 questions. The first question is the date, December 5th, 2022. The second question is the day, Monday. The third question is the president, Joe Biden. The fourth is the next holiday, Christmas. The fifth is why present? And the answer written was select power of attorney. At the bottom is Micah's signature, which we checked against her restraining order from March 2024, and it matches. Micah's signature is interesting because it's very plain and very clean and nondescript. It looks like she would have gotten an A+ in cursive because it's so easy to reproduce. A friend of ours who is a probate attorney told us that this test is not the normal remedy to proving that a principal was of sound mind when they signed their power of attorney, and that a more typical and far more effective way to prove this would be to get a letter from the principal's attending physician to attest to their ability to sign legal documents at that time.

Regardless, this is what it looks like. After their epic fight in mid-November and JP's aggressive and scary response to it, Micah went to her sister's and at some point returned home to JP. According to the text we read you last week, JP was livid that she had left him after this ridiculous and manufactured fight on his part. According to Micah's friend Charlotte, JP outed Micah for the awkward reason they had been fighting that night. That reason being that JP had asked Micah to name a girl that she would kiss, and Micah hesitated because she didn't have a girl that she wanted to kiss, but he forced the issue and then became irate when she finally said Charlotte, her best friend. And she selected Charlotte in this hypothetical, nonexistent scenario because Charlotte was the friend who would never tell anyone that this happened. At this same time, JP was also threatening to donate all of Micah's belongings to Goodwill. This is what Micah was returning to and what was happening in her life leading up to her hospitalization. Sometime between when she returned home and November 28th, 2022, with her family worried about her health, JP started telling them that her demise was on them.

So her sister found a way to separate Micah from JP and used the opportunity to take Micah to the hospital to get checked out. JP showed up at the hospital and tried to leave with Micah, but police intervened. They separated JP from Micah to ask Micah her wishes, and she told them that she wanted to be admitted. In response to that, JP called his friend, Lieutenant Heather Wilson, at the Horry County Police Department. twice and told the officers at the scene that they'd be getting a call. Officers noted that JP was not happy and that he had stormed off from them. And then on that very same day, we either have JP's attorney and JP's attorney's staffer signing a healthcare power of attorney form saying they witnessed Micah's signature of it, which didn't occur until 8 days later, or JP had the attorney immediately draw up forms in a hotheaded effort To wrest power back from Micah, from Anna, and from the police over Micah's hospitalization. Then, and here is where it gets creepy, guys, nothing happens with the form. See, what's supposed to happen is that it gets filed with the county registrar of deeds office.

South Carolina law began requiring that in 2017. Ostensibly, if someone is signing a healthcare power of attorney, it's because they need it for something. But that didn't happen. And Micah was hospitalized at least one other time between December 5th, 2022, and her death. But the POA doesn't appear to have come into play. It did, however, suddenly get filed on March 20th, 2024. Someone went down to the Register of Deeds office to pay the $25 filing fee and finally put the POA for Micah's healthcare on the official record. We had reporter Beth Braden call over to the office to see if a POA needs to be filed by the principal, which would be Micah in this case, or if anyone could file it. According to the answer she got, anyone with a document could file it. So who filed it? We don't know yet. What we do know is that if you look at the timeline we gave you last week, here is where the filing falls in it. On February 8th of this year, JP had Micah involuntarily hospitalized at a mental facility. She was released 2 days later. 3 days after that, the motion for divorce she had filed for back in October '23 was dismissed by consent order, meaning both parties would have had to sign for that dismissal.

Texts from Micah's sister around that time, though, indicate that Micah left the hospital and was serious about leaving JP. We don't know what to make of that timing. Around the same time, JP's church also appears to be reporting Micah for stealing from their mission and youth group funds. A month later, police investigate and a judge determines that no crime has been committed. In late February, Micah tells police that she's been separated from JP since January and that he had her hospitalized so that he could take her car. She also tells them that he's been harassing her and that she was groomed by him since she was a teenager. JP tells police that he took her car to prevent her from selling it because she was having one of her mental episodes. The next day, he files a motion for relief with family court, the same court that just dismissed their divorce case 9 days earlier. In March, Micah tells police and the court that JP has been threatening her, harassing her, and putting trackers on the cars she was driving. She also finds razor blades and deflator devices in the tires of her cars. On March 26th, Micah found another tracker on her car, and on the same day, her motion for a restraining order was heard in magistrate court.

We still don't know the outcome of that hearing. A hearing had also been scheduled to hear JP's motion for relief, but he had dropped his motion 11 days earlier. Around this time, Micah posts a video on Facebook talking about her abuse. The next day, JP contacts police to tell them Micah and her family are harassing him. He mentions this video as evidence. Police watch it and say they found no evidence of him being harassed. On March 29th, even though she already appears to have been cleared in the thefts at the church, a church administrator again appears to report Micah's alleged theft to police. And amid all of that in March, amid Micah living separately from JP and trying to get the money to hire an attorney to divorce him, and amid her getting relentlessly harassed, someone files Micah's healthcare power of attorney from 2022. And then a month after that, she's found dead in a North Carolina swamp wearing the clothes she put on to go to work that afternoon. So why did the POA get filed? In order for it to be used, it had to be filed. It's the only reason to officially file it, to use it.

But what was it going to be used for? Well, the thing that makes it necessary, the only reason for it to be used, would be in the event of Micah being mentally incapacitated. Without knowing who filed it, we can only speculate as to the reasons. But one thing we can say for sure is that it would seem to be highly unlikely that a woman who was in the middle of getting a restraining order against her estranged husband would then go and file old paperwork that granted that same man power over whether she lived or died. And yet that appears to be exactly what happened. According to a receipt that we obtained from the Horry County Register of Deeds office, Late Wednesday, just after 3 PM on March 20th, which is 2 days before Micah posted a video about abuse and 6 days before her hearing to get a restraining order. It appears that Micah walked into that office and paid the $25 fee with a check to file the paperwork that put JP Miller in charge of her healthcare should she become mentally incapacitated.

I know.

You need a second to process that. Believe me, we get it. It's yet another strange detail that seems to make no sense whatsoever with this case. And there's so much more to learn here. We're on it. We'll let you know what else we find out in our next episode. In the meantime, if anyone has thoughts on this or information about it, please feel free to reach out to us through Luna Shark Media.

We expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to victims, and get the story straight. My name is Mandy Matney. Together with journalist Liz Farrell, we continue this mission with our newest evolution, True Sunlight. Luna Shark's True Sunlight podcast values accuracy over access journalism.

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Welding back up.

Camp Swamp Road, and somebody just unloaded, shot through his windshield, and shot this guy. True sunlight is shed with empathy, not exploitation.

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I weren't there, but I was in the shadows. We continue to shed light on Stephen Smith's case and Alex Murdaugh's co-conspirators. But also, we like to take deep dives into other cases around the country.

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And she actually said the FBI was looking into it.

And he said, call the cops, I don't care. I'm armed and ready.

True Sunlight empowers listeners to understand their legal and judicial systems systems with our unique brand of pesky journalism. Listen to True Sunlight wherever you get your podcasts or visit truesunlight.com to learn more, or join Luna Shark Premium for early episodes, video episodes, live or virtual events, bonus episodes, and so much more. My job is stressful and super taxing, so brain function is not optional for me. That's why in my daily routine, Aqua Omega and their revolutionary omega-3s are the one thing that never gets missed. Aqua Omega was built because most fish oils either cut corners on quality or charge luxury prices, and they believe you shouldn't have to choose. Every Aqua Omega batch is tested for purity, potency, and freshness. And this is my favorite part. Every bottle sold removes £1 of plastic and debris from our ocean and coastlines. It's been super easy to add to my mornings, and it's one of the few things in my routine that I never have to think twice about. For your daily dose of omega-3s, go to myaquomega.com/MANDY and use code MANDY for 20% off. That's myaquomega.com/MANDY and use code MANDY for 20% off. Also available on Amazon.

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So, a healthcare power of attorney with a witness date that doesn't add up, a handwritten competency test, No probate attorney would recognize. And then nothing. The document just sat there, unfiled for 16 months, until March 20th, 2024, when someone quietly walked into the Horry County Register of Deeds office, paid the $25 fee, and put it on the official record. That was the same month Micah was finding trackers on her car, reporting razors in her tires to police, and waiting on a hearing for a restraining order against JP. So who filed it? Mandy and Liz dug into that question. The next clip is from True Sunlight Podcast, episode 54.

We also told you about how that POA didn't get filed until March of 2024, when Micah was trying to escape JP and build her life, and when she was routinely reporting him to police for harassment and waiting on a hearing for a motion for a restraining order that she had submitted against him. Our confusion came from the fact that Micah's name and address, the address of the apartment where she moved after leaving JP, appeared on the receipt as a customer, meaning it appeared that she was the one who filed the POA, which again made no sense whatsoever. Why would she be giving JP control over whether she lived or died should she become mentally incapacitated? Why would she risk giving JP the opportunity to paint her as mentally incapacitated so that the POA would take effect? Reporter Beth Braden called over to the Horry County Register of Deeds office to get more information about that receipt. What we can tell you for sure right now is that the Register of Deeds office does not ask for identification. We told you that anyone can file another person's POA. It doesn't have to be the person whose POA it is.

This is all to say that even though it looks like Micah Miller filed that POA herself, it's also possible that someone else did, knowing that an ID would not be required. We are still getting more information about this and we think that it is important. If someone else filed the POA in the midst of Micah trying to escape an abusive relationship, Well, obviously that raises another set of questions. And if Micah did file that herself, that clearly raises more questions, such as, was she tricked into filing? Did she get gaslit into doing it? Or was she threatened? We will keep you posted on what we find out there.

That was November 2022. The month that changed everything for Micah. That night, the hospitalization her husband tried to block, and a power of attorney signed under mysterious circumstances. And remember, someone filed that healthcare power of attorney in March 2024, just weeks before Micah died. And as of the publishing of this podcast, we still don't know who filed it. Thank you so much for listening and for standing up and for seeking justice for Micah and for For every woman who's been dismissed by the systems that were supposed to protect them. Until next time, stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight.

Coerced: The Devotion and Death of Micah Frances Miller. is a Luna Shark production with reporting from journalists Mandy Matney, Liz Farrell, and Beth Braden, made possible by producers Kate Thomas, Grace Hills, and David Moses. Learn more about our mission and membership at lunasharkmedia.com. We expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to victims, and get the story straight. My name is Mandy Matney. Together with journalist Liz Farrell, we continue this mission with our newest evolution, True Sunlight. Luna Shark's True Sunlight podcast values accuracy over access journalism.

We're out.

Hey, hey, welding back up.

Unloaded, shot through his windshield, and shot this guy. True sunlight is shed with empathy, not exploitation.

I don't really trust the media too much because they're just looking for a story, and instead of helping with Stephen's story, they're actually hurting it.

True sunlight is the intersection of journalism, true crime, and systemic corruption.

I was in the shadows last night.

I weren't there, but I was in the shadows. We continue to shed light on Stephen Smith's case and Alex Murdaugh's co-conspirators. But also, we like to take deep dives into other cases around the country.

Robeson County 911.

And she actually said the FBI was looking into it.

And he said, call the cops, I don't care. I'm, I'm armed and ready.

True Sunlight empowers listeners to understand their legal and judicial systems with our unique brand of pesky journalism. Listen to True Sunlight wherever you get your podcasts or visit truesunlight.com to learn more, or join Luna Shark Premium for early episodes, video episodes, live or virtual events, bonus episodes, and so much more.