Attorney urges passage of 'Mica's Law' after death of pastor's estranged wife

CONWAY, S.C. (WTVD) -- The attorney for the family of a pastor's wife whose death was ruled a suicide held a news conference on Wednesday to give an update on Mica Miller's estate and discuss "Mica's Law."

Miller, 30, who lived in South Carolina, was found dead April 27 at Lumber River State Park in Robeson County. She was in the midst of divorce proceedings with her estranged husband, John-Paul Miller, a pastor at Solid Rock Church in Conway.

An affidavit released to ABC affiliate WPDE said that Mica Miller's sister Sierra Francis applied to be the special administrator of her estate on May 2, four days before the Robeson County Medical Examiner announced Miller's cause of death as suicide. In the affidavit, Francis claimed that her sister said she experienced "abuse and violence" from her husband.

Miller's death came just days after she told a police officer "she was scared for her life" after finding a GPS tracker on her car and a razor blade in her tire.

On Wednesday, Ward said Miller's phone, purse, and vehicle were still in the possession of the Robeson County Sheriff's Office.

Ward also unveiled Mica's Law, also known as the Coercive Control Law. Ward said the Coercive Control Bill has been sitting in the state legislature's Judiciary Committee since 2020.

Ward said that the bill has been languishing.

"This bill has been put in a folder in a dust-covered box, in a back corner of the closet in the Judiciary Committee's Office," Ward said. "I challenge them to go back there and find it and bring it out and assign a committee to it. Let's get this done. It is important. It is extremely important."

Ward said the Coercive Control Bill refers to a pattern of behavior used to "dominate manipulate and intimidate" another person with an intimate and familiar relationship. She said acts include threats, humiliation, emotional abuse and isolation.

The goal is to harm, punish, and frighten the victim," Ward said.

Ward compiled what she called "Mica's List," allegations taken from Miller's spoken words, journals and other writings she left behind. The list was used to show examples of "abusive coercive control."

She did emphasize that Miller's husband had not been arrested or charged with any crime related to the case.