Transcript of 7) How Horry County Police And Robeson County Medical Examiner’s Office Failed Mica Francis Miller

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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Camp Swamp Road, and somebody just 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 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. Summer travel has a funny way of making you look at your home differently. You stay somewhere with actually good furniture, a rental with amazing patio furniture, and you come home thinking, I can do better than this. This article is what happened when I decided to do something about it. I ordered a piece of furniture for our pool deck. You know, where it's totally appropriate to wear a stylish bathing suit. The design, modern and super comfortable, pairs seamlessly with everything else in our garden. It's the kind of piece that makes our backyard feel intentional instead of assembled. And their customer care team is available 7 days a week with free interior design services. There's also a 30-day satisfaction guarantee so you can shop with confidence. Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim, visit articles.com/coj and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

That's articles.com/coj for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. This is Coerced: The Devotion and Death of Micah Francis Miller. A Luna Shark drop fee. 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. By this point in our series, you know what Micah was living through. You've heard the allegations of control, isolation, and abuse. But here's the thing about Micah Francis. She did what we tell every victim to do. She documented. She called the police. She filed reports. Over and over and over again. In this episode, you're going to hear a lot of Micah's actual voice crying out for help. You will hear her calling 911 from a hospital bed in February 2024, calm and clear. Telling police exactly what is happening to her. You'll hear her a month later reporting a razor blade deliberately planted in her tire, already anticipating the excuses police would use to do nothing because she had heard all of them before.

And then you'll hear about the document that came after her death, a 4-page medical examiner's report that closed the book on Micah's case without an autopsy. A report so sloppy, so stitched together, that it lists a time of death that conflicts with law enforcement's own records. The systems that were supposed to protect Micah failed her while she was alive. And as you're about to hear, they kept failing her after she died. Let's dive in.

Okay, let's start with a call Micah made from South Strand Hospital in Myrtle Beach in February 2024. We don't have the exact dates of these calls yet, but we're going to try to discern where they fall in the timeline based on the context that we already know. This call seems to match up with Micah's hospital stay from February 7th through February 12th of this year. She references that she was getting discharged on a Monday, and February 12th is a Monday.

Hi Diana, um, I'm needing somebody to go to my house, um, the house that I currently reside in. Me and my husband are separated, and since I was admitted to the hospital, I have been told that he's possession of my phone, laptop, and car, which are all in my name. How do I get a deputy out there to get those items surrendered over to be temporarily held until I get out of the hospital? You want an officer to go to your home and temporarily hold your items? My personal property, that's got very, very, very sensitive information of me, um, on those items that I don't trust are not being used for my Against me, I guess you would say.

Less than 5 months before this, Micah had filed for divorce from JP, citing adultery as that reason. They briefly reconciled, and a hearing that had been scheduled in November regarding Micah's request for temporary relief from the court got postponed. When Micah was hospitalized February 7th, the divorce was still in play. The day before her hospitalization, JP was trying to track her down because, according to him, her doctor had decided that she was having a schizophrenic episode and she needed to be picked up by police and taken to a facility. When Micah was hospitalized, according to texts between her sister and her best friend, JP took Micah's wallet, laptop, and phone. On February 17th, Sierra warned Charlotte not to text or contact Micah because JP had taken Micah's stuff and still had possession of it. She told Charlotte that JP had Micah hospitalized so he could kick her out of the house while she was gone. Here, Micah appears to have learned that JP was responding as her to her friends and family, and she was rightfully worried.

So your husband— We're legally separated. We both have lawyers and we're pursuing divorce.

Copy.

And he took possession of my items while being hospitalized. I will put this in here for an officer. I'm not sure what they'll do.

She is not sure what they'll do. The dispatcher is basically saying, good luck, honey.

And it's my phone, my laptop, and my car. And my phone and laptop have naked pictures of me on them. Okay, what is your address? Copy. I also have a police radio, so bear with me. I'm trying to do more than one thing at a time.

I understand that dispatchers have to think fast on their feet and are often multitasking. Regardless, this comment adds to the idea that Micah's problem does not matter to police. Regardless of any harmless intent here, the police have communicated this idea to her. Any caller on Micah's end is going to hear, your problem isn't big enough for me to stop what I'm doing and listen. The dispatcher asks Micah for her name and JP's address. She also asks Micah for a callback number. Micah tells her, if you call my number, JP is going to answer. So, she decides to give police a number that they can call at the hospital.

Okay. And while I was admitted here, they— my soon-to-be— my husband, who we're legally separated, swooped in and claimed my personal items as my husband, not as my legally separated husband, and my car and my laptop. So, were they, like, brought to the hospital and he took those items?

Yeah, yeah. Okay.

And now he's going through my phone and texting people impersonating me. Okay, do you want the officers to come to you to make a report about this? No, I'd rather them just show up at the house because he's— he works from home. He was a— he's a pastor doing this. Call safety time.

5-10.

Safety in, outside out of the dorm, begging Campbell. And I'd like it to be as soon as possible because from what I hear from just people calling me at the hospital, that it's been multiple people that he's sending out messages from my phone saying it's me, but it can't be because he has my phone.

Notice that the dispatcher seems a little bit at a loss as to how to handle this. She seems a little ill-equipped. She's asking Micah whether she wants the officers to come to the hospital to take a report, and Micah is like, no, I want them to stop JP from impersonating me. He was not my next of kin. The hospital wrongly gave these items to him, and I was in no position at the time to stop him. And now he's using this as an opportunity to engage in harassing behavior against me. This moment should have triggered something for the dispatcher where she no longer viewed this as a report of a civil issue between a fighting couple and instead understood it as potentially criminal behavior. Now, remember how much we've spoken about the February 21st call, which was about 2 weeks or so after this call? We talked about how JP was able to squash Micah's report by telling the police officer that the car she was trying to get back was marital property, when we know it was in Micah's name only. And remember how we played the call about Springmaid Pier and what happened there on March 11th when Micah seemed like she was trying to preempt any dismissiveness from the police by explaining, this car is in my name only?

Micah does the same thing in this call, which means from the beginning she understood how police were looking for a reason not to help her. And she was saying to them, the T's are crossed, the I's are dotted. This is my property. There is no ambiguity here. Now please help me.

And the phone is in my name. It's not a dual phone, and it's— the bill is in my name and everything. And the car, the car is on my name. The car insurance is in my name, everything. The laptop. And he's taken advantage of me being in the hospital, and he's taken possession of them, even though we're legally separated and both have lawyers and everything. And you want the officers to hold on to your belongings or take them to the hospital? Uh, they can be— they can actually be put in a holding locker or something at the police department that only I can get them out, if that's okay. I just need them to be confiscated and put in a holding thing, and I get out, I believe, on Monday is when they're released. I have my release date with the charts and stuff. On Monday is when they'll think I'll be fully recovered.

I want to break in real quick here to remind everyone about how JP characterized this time. According to JP, who, in my opinion, is very close to Alex Murdaugh's level of credibility at this point, he claims that Micah was all diagnoses at once. That she was homicidal, suicidal, off her meds, having a manic episode, having a schizophrenic episode, off her lithium, etc., etc. Notice how calm she sounds here. Notice how linear and logical her thinking is. JP's narrative has been that Micah's dad busted her out of the hospital when she needed to be there. But here, it seems like Micah has respect for the medical care that she's receiving and that there's a treatment plan for her that includes a scheduled discharge. Remember this moment when you listen to JP's call at the end of the show.

Is he at home right now? Do you know? He probably will be, yeah. What's his name? John Paul Miller. And if you cannot get Officer Wilson to do this because they are friends— he's a parishioner at our church, so I think it would be a conflict of interest.

Wilson?

Yeah, yeah, it would be a big conflict of interest because he is a church elder. Brian. No, he won't. Okay, good. It would just be a really big conflict of interest, and I'd hate to put him in the middle of it anyway.

The dispatcher asks for more basic information about JP, such as his physical description, and Micah makes sure to tell the dispatcher that she doesn't live with JP anymore. And then she tries to share a fact that she thinks is pertinent and tells the dispatcher that JP's sister currently lives with him. And it's not clear if the dispatcher heard that. According to reports, JP's much younger sister had moved in with him because of personal problems that she was having. And Michael will refer to her again later in another 911 call, and it's pretty clear that this is a sticking point for her, that this is a problem. The picture that's coming together is that, one, JP's house appears to be more chaotic than we thought it was, and two, JP and his father appear not to be the only ones with these kinds of problems. It seems like JP's older son and his sister are part of the problem too, at least from Micah's perspective.

That call came from a hospital bed in February 2024. Micah got out on February 12th, and the harassment did not stop. It escalated. One month later, Micah called police again. And this time, you'll hear something heartbreaking. A woman who had learned exactly how police would dismiss her, trying to close every loophole before they could use it. Here is a clip from True Sunlight Podcast, Episode 57.

In this case, we want to talk about one of the 911 calls we've received back, along with reports that were filed by JP's ex-wife around the time of their divorce. So let's start with the call. As you all know from our previous reporting, in the weeks and months leading up to Micah's death this past April, she had filed a number of police reports alleging persistent harassment against her by JP. On March 11th, she filed a motion for a restraining order against him because on that day, she had clearly had enough. And it's no wonder. In episode 52, we first told you about the call to Horry County Sheriff's Office that Micah had made after she found a razor blade protruding from the side of one of her car's tires when she was at Springmaid Pier on the waterfront. According to reports, Micah was at Springmaid Pier until 1:30 that morning. And according to multiple other sources, it is believed that she was with a man in his 20s who was a key member of JP's church and close to his inner circle. This young man also has a family connection to an Horry County deputy.

That same deputy, by the way, is purportedly the person JP was referring to when he threatened responding officers in November 2022. That was when police were called to Waccamaw Center for Mental Health, where Micah's sister had taken Micah against JP's wishes, and where JP was trying to drive away with Micah, who, according to the police report, appeared to be under the influence of some sort of drug or medication. Back to March 11th, though. The young man Micah was apparently with that night is someone JP believed Micah was having an affair with. A reminder, Micah had filed for divorce in October 2023, and after she dropped the filing in early February at behest of JP, according to Micah's team, JP immediately turned around and filed his own divorce papers against Micah. So at this time, there could be no such thing as an affair. She was separated and living on her own and had just purchased a new car. With the help of the woman she was sharing an apartment with because JP would not allow her to use either of the cars that were in her name at the time. JP appears to have exploited this friendship between Micah and this young man to gain sympathy with people in their lives, asking church members for prayers and claiming he couldn't eat or sleep because of this purported relationship.

Also, I should mention that Micah believed JP to be having an affair as well, according to her October divorce filing. JP's ex-wife also believed JP to be having an affair during his marriage to Micah, as evidenced in her affidavit filed this past May in family court. And according to Micah's list, JP had multiple affairs and basically told Micah that if she didn't satisfy him sexually in the way he wanted, that she was a bad wife and he would be justified in seeking that sex elsewhere. Okay, so that was a whole lot of ick. Anyway, on March 11th, Micah called 911 to report the razor she found in her tire. We're going to play the call and comment throughout because there are a few really significant things that we found here.

Spring Dispatch, this is Wendy. Hi, um, I got a razor blade put in my tire at the Springmaid Pier and I wanted to make a police report.

The dispatcher then asks Micah for her name and address. Micah lets her know that her car is now parked in front of her apartment building. Again, the car in question is one that JP has nothing to do with. He didn't buy it. His name is not on it. And this is important to remember.

Okay, tell me exactly what happened. I was parked at the, um, parking garage right there at the Springmaid Pier. Walked on the beach. It was around, um, 1:30-ish, like AM, that I got back to my car. And, um, when I got back and I pulled away, I heard the pop in my tire. So I immediately got out and I took a picture. It's a giant razor sticking out the side of my wheel. And this same razor was put in my tire the day that I had to appear at probate court on March 5th. In the parking lot of the, the county clerk's. They saw the videos. They said nobody came near my car, but it's— I have pictures of both Razors and they're identical.

So in previous reporting, we've told you that JP Miller had mentioned that he tried to get Micah committed to a mental facility. He said that he tried to get her help and that no one would listen to him. Not doctors, not judges, not her family. According to Micah's list, he tried to have her involuntarily committed 2 times. We've also told you about how a mental commitment works in South Carolina. First, JP would have had to go to Waccamaw Center for Mental Health to get a referral from them that he could then bring to a probate court judge. He would not have needed to have Micah with him when getting that referral. It appears that his account would have been enough to get the wheels moving on this. What happens after that is probate court would then schedule the person for a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether or not treatment or hospitalization is warranted. We knew that Micah's list included an accusation that JP's effort to have her involuntarily committed was denied by a probate judge, but there's no record of that because commitment cases are not subject to FOIA. So, When Micah mentions she was at probate court on March 5th, that of course perked up our ears.

From a previous police report, we knew that she had been at probate that day because of the other razor blade she found, but we didn't know for sure why. We could guess. March 5th was a Tuesday, and Tuesdays are the day when Ore County Probate Court holds commitment hearings. Now, 2 things. One is that according to the medical examiner's report, Micah was involuntarily committed to Waccamaw in February for 5 days because of an emergency order from her therapist. Again, we do not know who her therapist was or what connection, if any, they might have had to the church or Micah's husband. And we say that because there are accusations in this case that JP used Micah's mental health as a weapon against her. Mr. I've tried to get her help and no one would listen to me tried to prevent her from getting care back in November 2022, according to police reports. Additionally, he stands accused of plotting her with his own lithium prescription, according to Micah's list, and he attributes her death to her not taking her prescriptions for lithium and Seroquel, which, by the way, is a drug often administered to those with the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

In a TikTok video, JP contended that Micah had bipolar disorder, dependent personality disorder, and schizophrenia. The medical examiner's report Mentions her 2022 diagnoses, as we told you, and schizophrenia is not on there. More than that, the report only mentioned one prescription, and that was for that antihistamine used to manage anxiety, which was prescribed again 3 days before her death. Nowhere does it mention a standing prescription for lithium, and it seems like if you're going to be writing a report about why you think a death was a suicide, and in that report you're mentioning a prescription the deceased person was on at the time of their death, He might also mention that there were other prescriptions, no? Especially when the man who is under a spotlight now for his alleged actions leading up to her death, and who appears to be under investigation by the FBI for those actions, is claiming she was not, quote, taking her meds, and yet that report did not mention that. Second, Micah's account of her February stay according to police report filed that month is Again, that she was there for 2 days and then checked herself out. That would speak to the unnecessary nature of her stay, right?

But again, according to the medical examiner's report, she was there for longer. It's not clear what is at the heart of that discrepancy because we do not have her records from that stay, but we also do not fully trust the medical examiner's report because of how incongruous and sloppy it seems to be in places. Anyway, as you heard, Micah told the dispatcher that when she reported the razor blade that was put in her tire outside of probate court on March 5th, investigators looked at video footage and did not see anyone go near her car. The dispatcher inquires more about this.

So when they watched the videos— So someone's obviously following me. But when they watched the videos, they never saw anyone going near your car? Correct. Which means that Someone was trying to get me to not be able to go to court, and they wanted me to have a flat tire. It was a psych evaluation from my ex-husband. It was a mandated psych evaluation, which I got dismissed after that day. They cleared me, dismissed, and dropped the case. But there was still a razor in my tire that day at court. And then just now, less than a week later, there's another razor in my tire. And he's accusing me of having an affair and all this crazy stuff.

Okay, so this call finally confirms for us that on March 5th, Micah was indeed at probate court for a psych evaluation. Meaning, she had a psych evaluation by 2 doctors from the state of South Carolina and they did not agree that she had a problem requiring hospitalization. Also note that she referred to JP as her ex-husband and how she confirms that he was accusing her of having an affair at that particular time. Again, that corresponds with JP's purported text messages to church members in which he painted himself as the poor old devoted but scorned husband who was crying so much and not eating because of this supposed affair. We need to talk more about why someone would have been trying to prevent Micah to show up to court that day on March 5th after this quick commercial break. And we'll be right back. 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.

Camp Swamp Road, and somebody just 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, um, 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. 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.

Thanks to Aqua Omega for sponsoring this episode. Now, let's talk about why a person would have been trying to prevent Micah from showing up to court that day on March 5th, 2024. It's pretty simple: it would have put her on a path for more unnecessary drama And trauma. If she didn't show up to court that day, the court would reschedule for another Tuesday. If she showed up at the next scheduled evaluation, it is likely that doctors would have heard her story about a flat tire and thought, huh, yeah right, and that could have contributed to how they viewed her during that meeting. If she did not show up at that next scheduled meeting, Well, she would be arrested, basically. The judge would have sent deputies to her house and they would have brought her in for evaluation. Meaning, if Micah didn't show up, it would have cast further doubt on the state of her mental health and it would have made it look like she was avoiding something. Worse, it would have lent credence to JP's assertion that Micah was sick. If someone was trying to keep her from that hearing, then they failed spectacularly.

And again, the motion to have her committed was dismissed, meaning they determined that she did not need treatment. Now, something I want you to keep in mind is this: remember when we told you about the healthcare power of attorney that JP had drawn up the day Micah was hospitalized? per her and her family's request and against his wishes in November 2022, that document gave JP broad and seemingly absolute power over Micah's healthcare, including when she should be admitted to a hospital and when she should be discharged. That document also included a directive on deciding whether she should be resuscitated. On the day Micah was released from the hospital in December 2022, She appears to have signed the POA, and that POA remained dormant for 15 months until March 20th, 2024, when it finally got filed in the Register of Deeds office. This would be 15 days after JP's effort to have Micah committed to a mental facility failed. In just 9 days after this phone call and Micah filing for a restraining order, Against JP. As we told you before, we discovered that the POA could be filed by anyone. It did not need to be filed by Micah Miller, but it's Micah's name that does appear on the receipt from the day it got filed.

We are still digging to find out whether this means Micah for sure filed this on her own, which would make absolutely no sense, or if someone else filed it on her behalf, Just over a month before her body would be found. Okay, now regarding the tire razors, these do not seem like ordinary razors, but rather razors designed to do damage on tires. Let's go back to the call.

And the car is in my, uh, like, god— basically godmother's name. So it's not marital property.

This is important. This shows that Micah had tried and failed to get help so many times by this point that she was now speaking the language that one develops when repeatedly hitting a wall with law enforcement. She is telling the dispatcher a piece of information that she knows law enforcement will end up using against her to say they can't do anything. In her previous calls to police about trackers that she was finding on her car and her February 21st call, when she told police that JP had had her involuntarily committed so that he could take her car from her and leave her without transportation, she was told sorry, but because marital property is involved in this case, it's a civil case. The police didn't seem to check to see that the car in question in February was actually Micah's. It was in her name alone. Her bringing this up to the dispatcher at this point is just heartbreaking. She's trying to preempt their dismissal. She's trying to show them that this is a problem. This is not just some random case of vandalism. She's trying to show them that she's being systematically harmed. So, a little aside.

Have we ever talked to you about Bicycle Face? It's this condition the all-male medical community made up in the late 19th century claiming that the concentration it took to remain upright and balanced on a bike would lead to a sort of frozen look of exhaustion and worry on someone's face, which could lead to depression and heart problems. According to Vox, which quoted an article from a London magazine in 1896: To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of devices they knew in their work and play. To women, It was a steed upon which they rode into a new world. Meaning, the ability for women to transport themselves from point A to point B was seen as a big threat to the patriarchy. Before this, women relied on men to get around. But now they had a contraption that they could power themselves. So, to counter that, the men made up a health condition. Which brings us back to Micah. We've said this so many times before, but she needed her car. She needed her car to get away from JP. She needed her car to build a life of her own.

She needed to have a reliable means of transportation. In February, he allegedly took that from her, telling the cop that Micah was lying about being separated. She was not. And then she was in the middle of an annual bout of mania, and that's why he took the car from her. He told the cop, He was afraid she was going to sell it, and the cop believed him. In response to that, Micah found a way to get her own vehicle. For the first time in this call, we're learning that it was her godmother, or a person she considered to be her godmother, who had signed for the car she was driving at the time of her death, which means she was living with her godmother at that time.

So your tire popped after this happened? No, my dad's on the way now to crank it up, put the donut, and then hopefully the razor sticking out the side So hopefully we'll be able to pull it and plug it, you know. Um, so hopefully— but the other tire did have to be replaced 100%. Um, the one that he put— this person, whoever it is that put it in at probate court, um, that had to completely be replaced.

Got it.

This one's on the side and it's not all the way in. It's sticking out really far. So you can see the whole razor and hopefully I'll be able to— East Coast Honda will be able to pull the razor out. Is there like a way to check for fingerprints on that thing or something?

So again, these razor blades are no small issue. Whoever was putting them in her tire was trying to keep her from her own independence. Whoever did this was trying to wear her down. The police report estimates this razor Cost $200 in damage. This is after having to replace a tire 6 days earlier and at a time when Micah was really hurting for money. And can we talk about how sad it is that a victim feels like she has to point out evidence that can be gathered in an investigation? At this point, Micah already knew the failings of law enforcement. And how every time something happened, it ended up going nowhere and she continued to suffer. The dispatcher told Micah that she had no idea if they can get fingerprints off the razor and that this would be for the responding officer to decide. According to the written report, Responding officer observed the tire and upon removal of the metal piece, it was found that the metal With a tire deflation device that can be purchased online. The officer notes that Micah believes that JP has people following her. There's about half a line of text that is redacted, so we do not know what that says.

Did the officer ever submit the razor for evidence? It is very unclear. But it also seems like the answer is no, because in this very same report, He closes the case. He writes, evidence was not sufficient to prove that suspect placed the razor device under the tire. No mention of looking for surveillance footage from Springmaid Pier. No mention of dusting it for fingerprints or swabbing it for DNA. No mention of a forensic report coming back inconclusive. Just one big meh at the end of the report. At the end of the month, Micah went to her hearing to get the restraining order against JP. It appears that she was unable to convince a court that there was a problem. We do not know exactly what went down because there is no transcript from that hearing, but we can guess that law enforcement's repeated dismissals of her complaints played a role. Here is the saddest part.

Okay. All right, I'm gonna put this information in and we'll have officers out to you as soon as possible, okay? And they may want to call you to get some more information. If they do, it'll be from an unblocked or private number. Just make sure you answer, okay?

Yes, ma'am.

All right, good luck.

She said good luck. Sadly, at this time in her life, Micah really did need that luck, and she did not get it.

Good luck, the dispatcher said. 6 weeks later, Micah was dead. Those 911 calls were the record that Micah made while she was alive, in her own words, in her own voice. And what you're about to hear is the record that the state made after her death, the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Report. We broke it down page by page in True Sunlight Podcast, Episode 57. Now, Let's start with the bizarre North Carolina Medical Examiner's report in Micah's case that was released last week. We need to talk about it because it shows, in my opinion, how unserious this investigation was from the get-go. Now, this is not a report from an autopsy. Why wasn't Micah's death, the mysterious death of an otherwise healthy 30-year-old woman who was trying to divorce her suspicious pastor husband, that grabbed headlines around the world? Why wasn't that deserving of an autopsy? Well, the last line of the 4-page report, which was given to us on bright yellow paper for some reason, states that, Upon further consultation with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and law enforcement, there was no concern for foul play and an autopsy was not warranted. Micah's body was cremated, unfortunately, so that decision by the medical examiner's office and the Robeson County Sheriff's Office cannot be undone.

So this 4-page report is really all we have, aside from the Robeson County Sheriff's Office odd PowerPoint and the redacted 2-minute 911 call, to see what evidence led police to believe that Micah Did in fact end her own life. I want to remind you real quick, whatever law enforcement and the medical examiner encountered on April 27th in that park, it wasn't immediately clear that this was suicide. How do we know this? For one, the medical examiner on call felt the need to call for help to get more eyes on the case. And frankly, we'd have a lot fewer questions If that second medical examiner had not commented in the press that the nature of the wound was indicative of suicide, when we know all good and well that getting shot in the side of the head with a gun pushed up against a person's temple is not just an act that a suicidal person can do. Right off the bat, it seemed to us like the medical examiner's office was trying to portray this as an open-and-shut case. When really, investigators needed to turn to other evidence in order to be sure. And now that this report is out, we are questioning some of that evidence.

The first page of the report covers the basics. 30-year-old Micah Miller died on April 27, 2024, at 2819 Princess Anne Road in Robeson County, North Carolina. Micah's probable cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. The time of injury and the last time she was known to be alive were marked as 2:54 PM, the same time that she called 911. The report lists her time of death at 4:25 PM, more than an hour after she called 911. It also says that the medical examiner was notified at 6:30 PM. Jennifer Altman, an RN, signed the report on May 15th, 2024. The report, for some reason, wasn't released until last week. Page 2 notes Micah's medical history, or lack thereof. No boxes are checked for alcoholism, cancer, depression, diabetes, substance abuse, heart disease, or hypertension. However, in the box marked other for medical history, it says bipolar, suicide attempt. And then it notes that Micah did not have a primary care physician, which would beg the question, who was giving police all of this medical history? And who exactly diagnosed her as bipolar? And also, who was medicating her? Further down in the report, it says a 9mm caliber handgun was the weapon used.

The report says that Micah's fatal injury was, quote, Shot self with handgun. Micah's body was intact and her liver was pink and posterior and non-fixed, according to the report. Photographs were taken of her body but not radiographs. She was found wearing a long-sleeve black shirt, black pants, a black belt, a green bra, black shoes, black socks, and gray underwear. She had a yellow necklace around her neck with a clear stone on it. On her finger was a metallic ring. A black bracelet and a black watch were found on her wrists, and a pair of bird earrings hung on her ears. Page 3 of the report shows a diagram of Micah's body. It says, Entrance of the bullet above her right ear, 4.5 inches from the midline of her head, with black particulate material deposited along edges of wound and within the wound. The diagram notes an irregular exit wound above her left ear, but we are told that most exit wounds are irregular unless the body is shot while up against a hard surface. The report said that there was a muzzle imprint on her head, which means the gun was pressed firmly into her head.

This was likely a piece of evidence that the ME used to point to suicide. But, like I said, it could also point to an execution-style murder. The diagram notes 2 closed skull fractures at the top and back of Micah's head and bruising around her eye, which we are told could be caused by the force of the gun. However, an autopsy would have made this a lot more clear. The report notes several small postmortem wounds Consistent with retrieval from the river and brush, including briars. And yet, again, an autopsy would have clarified how they are sure that those wounds were in fact postmortem and that they were caused by river brush. I am also told that it is more difficult to determine whether or not wounds are postmortem when the body is found in water. We will talk more about this report after a quick commercial break. We will be right back. 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 myaquaomega.com/MANDY and use code MANDY for 20% off. Also available on Amazon. Thanks to Aqua Omega for sponsoring this episode. 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, back up! Weld him 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.

I don't really trust the media too much because they're just looking for a story, and instead of helping, 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. They said, call the cops, I don't care. I'm, I'm, um, 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. That brings us to page 4 of this report, the preliminary summary of circumstances surrounding Micah's death. The report states that according to Micah's family, which, to be clear, could very well be JP, the quote-unquote family had tried to call and text Micah on the day of her death, But didn't succeed in reaching her. We're trying to find out more about that because it is curious to us why it would be considered suspicious that she wasn't answering calls or texts when we all know that Micah was on his way to work when she decided to go to the pawn shop to buy a gun instead. We know from speaking with her manager at the restaurant where she worked That she was on schedule for noon that day. So this is an interesting note to make. It's like the ME is presenting this as some sort of first clue that something was wrong with Micah that day, but it just doesn't make sense to us.

The report says, as we all know, the last place she was seen on camera before her death was at the gas station in Mullins, South Carolina around 1:33 PM. And she was last verbally heard on a 911 call at 2:54 PM, in which she asked if the dispatcher could see her location.

Tell me what's, um, happened. Um, I'm about to kill myself and I just want my family to know where to find me. Okay, ma'am, just listen to what I'm saying, okay? Let me make sure I got the exact location where you're at, okay? Just one minute.

I should note here that this is the only part of the 911 call that authorities have released so far. We do not know if the call was redacted or if it simply ended there abruptly. And we hear you all on the possibility of this call being manufactured using artificial intelligence, but so far we haven't found any real evidence to support that thought or to even debunk it. So law enforcement began searching for Micah at Lumber River State Park after the 911 call was made, and I just want to talk about this timeline for a minute while we're here. At 3:01, Lumber River State Park Superintendent Brett Godwin Got a call from Robeson County 911 regarding a suicidal female near the observation deck. At 3:03, the sheriff's office was dispatched to Lumber River State Park, and at 3:05, the Lumber River superintendent spoke to the sheriff's office. So real quick, when Mandy and David were at Lumber River State Park a few weeks back, they were really shocked at how small the area of focus was. If park rangers had started looking for her around 3, as they should have, wouldn't they have heard the gunshot and reported that as her time of injury?

Why did it take so long to find her? At 3:20, Micah's phone was pinged, and at 3:33, law enforcement dispatched a drone to find Micah. At 3:42, Verizon was notified and verified her location at Lumber River State Park, which begs the question, Again, how did it take so long to find her? Her time of death was listed to be 4:25, and we are so not sure why, because the kayakers called 911 at 4:23 to report a dead body. It's likely that law enforcement reported her time of death as the time an officer discovered her as dead, but something like that really should be noted in this report and maybe even on her death certificate, because Timelines in criminal cases are absolutely crucial. As we found out in the Murdaugh case, every single second matters down to the very last detail. They should list Micah's time of death as being between the time she hung up the phone with 911 and the time kayakers discovered her dead, because again, that's the kind of detail that can really trip up juries and allow murderers to walk free. So, ugh, I cannot stress enough how frustrating this stuff is for families trying to find answers about their loved ones.

It's hard to trust an agency's conclusion of no foul play when the same agency is careless enough to include a factually incorrect time of death in its report, one that conflicts with their own records. According to this report and the medical examiner's official account, Law enforcement found Micah's car while they believed Micah was still alive at that same park. That part really breaks our hearts to think, what if a park ranger or deputy had found her before the gun went off? The report states that law enforcement found Micah's 9mm handgun case in the car along with a receipt that she purchased the weapon with her own debit card at 12:32 that day at Dick's Pawn Shop in Myrtle Beach. So, are you noticing anything so far? This medical report that's explaining why it medically believes Micah died of suicide has so far been reliant on clues unrelated to the story that her body told them. At 4:23, kayakers reported discovering Micah's body in the river, and 2 minutes later, law enforcement found Micah and apparently declared her dead. Now, Here's where things get strange. The report mentions that law enforcement was also given a black bag with ID and money that was found on bank of river by a person at river.

I want to pause from the report to talk briefly about that person at the river because this is a part of the story that has bothered us and only added to our personal suspicions here. The man at the river was a fisherman named Johnny James who has spoken to a number of reporters and podcasters And he even gave a 1-hour interview on something called Rumble. James has said 3 things that we want to point out. One is that he heard Micah crying and heard the gunshot, but never heard a splash. 2 is that he found Micah's belongings on the riverbank and looked through her bag before giving it to police and said her bag had $500 in it. And 3, that he encountered 3 people in a jon boat who also said that they had heard a gunshot. So trauma can distort memory, so I want to point out here that I'm not accusing this man of anything, but simply saying his story is strange and there are elements of it that just don't add up. If he was close enough to hear Micah crying, which she was not crying on the 911 call, why didn't he hear a splash when she entered the water, as the report from the medical examiner suggests happened?

Unless Micah was sobbing loudly, it seems like This fisherman would have had to be really close, right? Close enough to hear dead weight going into the water. And by the way, fishermen generally keep their ears open for sounds like splashing. It's part of fishing. It would have been noticeable to him. But fine, he says he heard her crying. So why didn't he call 911 immediately to report the crying and then the gunshot? In the park? Why didn't he seek out to find out who was in distress? Why on earth would someone who just heard a gunshot in a state park pick up a random bag on the riverbank and go through it? Wouldn't he think, oh hey, there might be a crime scene here, maybe I shouldn't touch anything? And if he was in the area where her bag and belongings were, by the way, why didn't he notice her? Also, why did she have $500 in cash on her? According to sources, Micah was struggling to make ends meet around the time of her death. Her friends were shocked that she had the money to purchase a gun with a debit card that day, considering how much she had just paid her attorney to help her divorce JP.

Why did she have $500 in cash on her? Was she planning on doing something else at the river that day? All of it is odd, but then it gets a whole lot weirder. I'm gonna have David read this next part of the report to you.

Law enforcement recovered 2 spent casings and 1 live round on the bank of river. Regional pathologist was called to scene for assistance. Decedent was found prone, submerged in river beside tree limbs about 100 feet from casings. No signs of physical struggle at location of casing.

Decedent was removed from water by law enforcement in a boat and brought to bank of river. Bank of river was muddy and had heavy brush with briars.

Decedent had dirt and debris on her hands and clothing. At 1911, a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol was removed from river approximately 5 feet from bank Using a magnet, and serial number on gun matched the gun case found in decedent's car. Okay, so to break that down, Micah was found face down in the water, 100 feet from not one but two spent casings and one live round on the bank of the river. This is strange. We should note here that Beth Brayden called Robeson County authorities a few weeks ago to ask about the multiple shell casings at the area, and she was told that the area was a hunting area. Except it is not. Hunting is strictly prohibited at Lumber River State Park. We have heard old school investigators claim that women Who choose to die by suicide typically fire off a round before using the gun on themselves because they are not familiar with handguns. There is literally no research to this that we can find. But what we do know is that roughly 32% of women who do die by suicide used a gun to do so. Also, We question the reasoning there because a person unfamiliar with a handgun and its kickback and loudness might be more likely not to follow through with their plan if they are confronted with what is about to happen to them.

But how were there 2 spent casings and a live round on the bank? Why and how? Was her body found 100 feet away from where the casings were? When we visited Lumber River State Park a few weeks ago, the water was extremely still. On Twitter, Beth Braden pointed out that according to NOAA, April was very dry in Lumberton. The last significant rainfall had been on April 21st and that was just 0.8 inches. of rain. Micah died on April 27th. There would have been no reason for the water to be running faster than usual with no rainfall. The water could have moved the body, as undercurrents are always possible, but it is strange to me how quickly they would label this as suicide when her body was found so far from the casings. And that there were multiple casings. What it comes down to is this: wouldn't that have been enough evidence to at least warrant an autopsy? The report notes no sign of a struggle near casings, but what does that even mean? Why is a medical report including an investigatory detail that is actually meaningless? Even when it is considered along with everything else.

Does there even have to be a struggle when the threat of a gun is involved?

No.

So why is the absence notable here? My opinion is that it's only notable because of how stitched together their conclusion is. Each detail in this report is meant to support their theory of suicide. Which means they either thought these weird little details were significant or they were using everything they could to bolster a theory that was not based on an autopsy or a comprehensive toxicology report. In the same paragraph, the report abruptly and incorrectly summarizes Micah's medical records. It says that she was hospitalized on November 29th, 22 until December 5th, 2022. But as we know, she was admitted November 28th, not the 29th. That might seem like a small detail, but it makes you wonder if this is a typo from them, from the hospital, or were they relying on someone's memory? The report does not mention that Micah herself wanted this hospitalization. She wanted to find out what was going on with her. It does not mention that a police report indicates that she seemed to be drugged, nor does it mention that there were serious concerns and accusations that she was not just drugged, that she was being drugged. That alone should have been a prompt to conduct a more thorough examination.

And we'll be right back. 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.

Hey, hey, hey! Back up!

Weld it 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.

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 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. The report says that Micah was hospitalized on suicide precautions for bipolar 1. recurrent manic episode, tetrahydrocannabinol dependence, and dependent personality disorder.

Whew, that's a lot.

So let's start with, uh, THC dependence. That was likely self-reported by Micah, by the way. And we're sort of confused. Is the ME hinting that people who use weed are suicidal?

Huh.

The report then says Micah was again hospitalized on February 7th until February 12th, 2024, and it says, quote, secondary to emergency protective custody by her therapist. So that raises the question, who was her therapist? And were there any connections between them and her estranged husband? We do not have the answer, but it is important to note that a lot was going on at the time Micah was involuntarily hospitalized in February. Shortly after her stay, she told a police officer that JP had orchestrated this hospitalization so that he could separate her from the car that she was driving, which is what he did. Shortly after her stay, she also told the police officer that he was able to check herself out. A few weeks after this, JP tried to get her committed to a mental ward, but the state of South Carolina determined that she didn't need treatment. Funny, I didn't see any of that mentioned in this report. Additionally, there are no real details from this February stay. Why were we given the diagnosis from her 2022 stay and not from this one? Why not conclude what she was most recently treated for? Why not include her prescriptions?

If she was suffering from a mental illness serious enough to have a therapist intervene, it would seem that there would be some prescriptions. We will talk about that in a second. The report Goes on to say that the medical records stated a previous suicide attempt with a firearm, which is likely the incident in Kenya that Wayne Miller, JP Miller's felon father, mentioned in his strange letter to the Daily Mail. After Micah's death, an odd video started circulating from Micah's time in Kenya in October 2023 when she spoke to the missionary, aka JP's people about a time when she held a gun to her head and she tried to kill herself, but the gun jammed. Sources close to Micah said that she was not in her right mind in Kenya as she was surrounded by some of JP's biggest supporters and that she would never say a thing like that unless she was on serious medication. I still find it really odd that in October 2023, Right after she filed for divorce from JP the first time, JP's people managed to record a video that would later be used as evidence to support her death being ruled a suicide.

Now, I went into this report thinking surely these medical professionals trained in death investigations had more evidence to conclude that Micah died by suicide. But here's the thing, they didn't. Instead, they muddied the water to make it look deep. The medical examiner added hot nonsense to attack Micah's character and bolster their conclusion that no autopsy was needed. The report said that records on 2/7/2024 also state Delta-8 gummy consumption and increased paranoia with bizarre behavior. I question those records. Was that an observation of the medical staff, or was that what the therapist said in their emergency order? Whose account was that? We also don't know how they would have known she was using Delta-8. Were they told that by her, by her therapist, or by JP? Did they do a screening? More than that, we do not know what other medications Micah was either on or supposed to be on at that time. The use of Delta-8 in February might be notable to them, but it does not explain her suicide. Finally, the report notes that Micah was seen by someone 3 days before her death and given a prescription for 25 mg of hydroxyzine for anxiety.

We looked up that drug and it is an antihistamine, which is used a lot to relieve itching caused by allergic skin reactions, but also sometimes used for anxiety. The report did not mention if the medical examiner spoke to whomever prescribed this medicine and the reason, nor did they say how they knew it was specifically used for anxiety. The toxicology report is even more strange, by the way. It appears that the ME's office didn't collect her blood to be able to conduct a test, instead used fluid from her eyes that were extracted at an organ donation lab. Did they forget to do a toxicology at first? The toxicology report only tested for a few things. Interestingly enough, THC components were not among them. Seems like if you're going to use Delta-8 and THC as evidence for a person's suicide, you would want to test for that, right? Also, perhaps most importantly, the report does not note anything about what would be causing this woman's anxiety. Like, for instance, a long history of reported harassment and stalking from her pastor husband Who she was desperately trying to leave. You know, the one who was served divorce papers just 2 days before her death.

How is that not even mentioned as a single circumstance surrounding her death? It is arguably the most important circumstance in this story, in every woman's story who leaves a man and ends up dead because of it. Finally, the report says that a regional pathologist assisted and examined Micah's body and that that exam was consistent with the reported incident. To which the ME was like, great, nothing to see here, and concluded no foul play or autopsy needed. This report has us questioning whether the medical examiner was initially influenced by accounts other than the facts in front of them. Did they hear the narrative that Micah was sick and her poor, poor husband had been struggling to get her help? And did that narrative ultimately cause this stitched-together sloppiness of a report? I mean, we are not questioning all of this for fun. The FBI is now investigating, and despite what the powers that be in North Carolina want us to think, It actually does seem like they are looking into her death to some extent. So, in summary, like everything in this case, the report did nothing but remind us of yet another government body that failed Micah Francis and her family: the medical examiner's office.

7 calls to police between 2022 In 2024, a hospital hallway, a parking lot at Springmaid Pier, and in the end, a 4-page report on bright yellow paper that decided, without an autopsy, that there was nothing more to see. Here's what I want you to hold on to as the series continues. Micah left a paper trail— police reports, court filings, journals, medical records. And so did JP Miller. In the coming episodes, we are going to follow that trail, including police reports that were allegedly weaponized against Micah, accusing her of theft, probate documents, emails, and medical records that tell a very different story about who was actually controlling Micah's healthcare. Records that raise the question at the very center of this case: was Micah actually mentally ill, or—

Was she?

Was her husband making it look that way? 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.