The estranged wife of a South Carolina pastor who claimed she died by suicide posted a seemingly cryptic video about abuse weeks before her death.
Mica Miller, 30, died Saturday from a fatal gunshot wound, her father Michael Francis, confirmed on Facebook.
Francis said a no contact order was filed just days before her death. Court records indicate Mica was also in the middle of divorce proceedings with her husband, Pastor John-Paul Miller.
The Robeson County Sheriff's Office has launched a death investigation, however Miller said his wife of seven years struggled with suicidal ideations in the past. He announced to churchgoers Sunday at Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that her death was "self-induced," according to a video of the sermon posted to social media.
But, weeks before her alleged suicide, Mica shared a foreboding clip of herself speaking about the struggles of being in an abusive relationship.
"I just want to tell you what a lot of people have told me lately... because I think I forgot. I pushed it in the back of my head because of my situation," said Mica, without elaborating.
"You are the bride of Christ before anybody else's bride. My bible says that He took all the abuse you could think of for you, so that you didn't have to live that life of slavery and bondage and pain," she explained.
"Jesus took it all for you, so you don't have to stay in an abusive relationship – whether that's sexual, whether that's somebody forcing you to take illegal drugs or alcohol abuse, or physical abuse, psychological abuse – making you think that this is all your fault, or you're a bad mom... or you're not giving it your all, when you know you are."
"So, I want to remind you, like a bunch of people have been reminding me lately: You are the bride of Christ, first before anybody else's. And He's got you, and He sees you, and He loves you," said Mica.
In a Facebook post confirming Mica's death Sunday, her sister, Sierra Francis, wrote in part, "Mica was a God-fearing, joyful, loving woman who did not deserve the abuse she endured," without elaborating on the abuse. "If you hear anything about this from anyone other than her family please question it, reach out to her siblings or parents."
Speaking with WPDE-TV this week, Miller described Mica as "probably the greatest wife anyone could ask for."
