The FBI searched the home of former Solid Rock Church pastor John-Paul Miller on Friday, using a search warrant that has not yet been made available to the public.
John-Paul Miller said Sunday that any requests to comment should be sent to his lawyer, Russell Long. Long did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Sun News has requested the search warrant and incident report from Friday’s search of Miller’s Myrtle Beach area home.
It has been reported that the search warrant was sealed. But whether the public can have access to such warrants has been inconsistent and most often outright opposed in many cases.
Kevin Wheeler with the FBI Columbia Field Office said Friday that he could not provide details, only that a court-authorized law enforcement activity was taking place at Miller’s home.
John-Paul Miller was thrust into the national spotlight following the suicide of his wife, Mica Miller, on April 27. The pair had been separated for months prior to her death.
Mica Miller was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a North Carolina state park, according to Robeson County Sheriff’s Department. Her death sparked rumors that John-Paul Miller was involved in her death. Mica Miller’s family has also alleged that John-Paul Miller abused his wife.
Miller has repeatedly denied abusing his wife and was in Charleston the day of her death, sheriff’s officials confirmed.
Rumors about Mica Miller’s death have slowed since the summer but re-emerged on Friday after FBI agents showed up to Miller’s home in the Market Common area.
Here’s what we know about the court documentation and Mica Miller’s life and death.
How did the FBI obtain a warrant?
Federal police officers or government attorneys request the ability to search for evidence, illegally possessed items, items used for crime or for people to be arrested, according to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. A judge grants the request, giving police the ability to search.
In order for a warrant to be approved, there has to be reasonable evidence to seize a person or search for information. The warrant will state which person or property police are searching for. Police have 14 days to execute the search warrant and it must be done in the daytime.
If the FBI takes property into its custody, an officer must create an inventory of items taken. The list has to be created in the presence of the owner or an officer if the owner is not present. The inventory and a copy of the arrest warrant are then given to the person whose property was taken or left at the place where the search occurred.
Once the search is over, the officer who requested the warrant will then return the search warrant and a list of seized property to the judge who signed off on it.
It did not appear that Miller was home at the time of the FBI search. It is unclear when Miller was served the warrant.
Why would a warrant be sealed?
Courts may seal, or keep documents private, if an investigation is ongoing, deals with classified confidential information, contains trade secrets or deals with minors, Robert Timothy Reagan wrote in, “Sealing Court Records and Proceedings: A Pocket Guide.”
It is the judge’s decision to seal documents and it’s often done to keep secrets confidential.
“Sealing of judicial records is not considered appropriate if it is done merely to protect parties from embarrassment,” Reagan wrote.
News officials and members of the public can periodically appeal for records to be unsealed, although it is not always granted, Times Union reported. Officials seldom notify the public or the news when documents are available to be unsealed and sometimes search warrants remain sealed indefinitely.
The controversy surrounding John-Paul Miller
Shortly after her death, Mica Miller’s family began to allege that John-Paul Miller abused Mica, which John-Paul Miller has denied. The story became popular among true crime circles, leading to the case gaining national attention.
Mica Miller’s death was ruled a suicide. Security footage showed her buying a gun at a Myrtle Beach pawn shop before driving to a state park in Robeson County, North Carolina. She called 911 and asked them to find her location because she was planning to kill herself and wanted her family to find her body. She was then found floating in a river.
John-Paul Miller said Mica Miller struggled with mental health problems and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dependent personality disorder. He alleged her family was not supportive of her mental health and encouraged her not to take her medications, he told The Sun News in an exclusive July interview.
The family lawyer, Regina Ward, said Mica Miller had no mental health problems until she started dating John-Paul Miller.
Her death has sparked debate and true crime podcasts and speculation on social media. Protesters asking for “justice for Mica Miller” have been outside the Solid Rock Church this summer and were at Miller’s home on Friday.
In July, John-Paul Miller and Mica Miller’s family ended their legal battle by reaching a settlement in which both parties agreed to end current litigation and to not file future lawsuits.
Mica’s family previously went to court to gain control over her estate, as she had filed to legally separate from John-Paul at the time of her death. Later additions were added because the house John-Paul and Mica lived in is now church property.
The Francis family filed a lawsuit against Solid Rock and John-Paul Miller for the property the church owns, including the land the church sits on and where it plans to expand.
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