Part 3 (20ish minutes in to the video) - earlier parts linked at the bottom of this post
I highlighted a bit in red that I thought was good to note for those who hadn't seen/heard this.
Also some specifics on the grooming that I've not seen mentioned here previously (JP was friends with Mica's first husband, had her working for him, etc.).
So Sierra Francis now joins the conversation. This is Mica's sister. Thank you so much for coming on. (snip for apologies, etc.)
I've already spoken to your father a lot about what you guys believe might have happened here. I want to talk to you about this legal claim you have filed against Mr Miller and the church. Walk us through what that claim is and what you're hoping to get from that.
A (about 21:30) I don't have you know perfect details of everything. I'm just trying to pick up where Mica left off and make sure that justice is served and that we are able to remain over her estate and make sure that it is used or allotted in the way she would have wanted it to.
Q:
Do you know anything about the FBI being a part of this investigation now? Were you told anything about that? What they might be looking into?
A: So we are aware that Robeson County did come out and say that the FBI is involved. But as far as, you know, what they're investigating and the extent of their involvement, the family's not sure.
Q: (22 is minutes)
Ok, ok, um, I wanted to ask you this, both of you. So look, the main argument, and it's being put forward by Mr Miller, and um what we've seen is Mica, they say, had suffered from mental illness. Do you know anything about that? Could you tell us about that because one of the things that Mr. Miller has said is he had this power of attorney (POA) set up for that reason. Um, what can you tell us about what Mica might have been going through?
A (sister)
So before Mica married JP she had no signs, no history, no indications of mental illness at all.
Q:
Why did he, why did she presumably agree to a POA? Usually the person who sets it up would have to agree to it and sign to it?
A (sister): He had every way to control her and he was very good at manipulating the situation.
(dad) And so she thought that he would be doing the right thing and that she wanted to trust that Mr Miller was actually doing the right thing for them.
(dad)
Until she got away from him and had more time, when she spent more time with us, uh, to peel off some of those layers and realize what was going on and then she started becoming herself again, and got a job and everything else, and was doing fine and was happy go-lucky self again, excited about the future,
which is something he did not like. Just you know just very terrible.
Q (23 minutes in)
There are these allegations that he groomed her. What do we mean by that?
A (sister): He had his sight set on her from a very young age, I would guess probably 14 years old, 14 or 15 years old, when we first came to the church, um,
he made sure that he kept her exactly where he wanted her.
To the point of who she married, um, what job she picked up after she was you know 18.
He got her married and then he made her his secretary and his babysitter and his 'let's go to lunch' person and oh you're so beautiful.
(dad) And then when she was married, same thing. [JP was] Best friends with her previous husband,
and uh, manipulated the situation where he could have him doing something because he was his right-hand man, and then spend time with Mica alone uh, which is very inappropriate.
Q:
To be clear about that, are you alleging that he engaged in criminal contact with Mica and if so, again my understanding is there's no time bar in SC to bring charges. Is this something that you're speaking about with authorities?
A (24:45 - sister) I don't think he physically had a relationship with her until after she had already been married to Jeremy.
Q:
I wanted to ask you about something else, um, this goes back tot hat idea of why he says, and Ron, why he says he had to set up the POA. It was concerned about whether Mica would be taking money. Because there was this allegation that Mica was a suspect in the theft of $1200 in donations for the Solid Rock um, this missionary efforts. I understand that you want to clear the record up on that.
A (sister): That was investigated. I have seen um, you know, police excerpts on that, and from what I've seen, to the best of my knowledge, it said that it was just a domestic dispute, and there was no criminal charges to be filed.
(dad) And also, as far as the amount that was mentioned, uh, Mica was having trouble with the websites releasing the money to her from the donations, (sister) such as Venmo or stuff like that, (dad) and they were holding onto those funds as they do for like the three-day period, or whatever, gaining interest, and so during that period where the money didn't show up yet, he was accusing her of stealing money. And then after the fact, after she's passed, all the money showed back in except one penny.
(sister) Not to mention
that money wasn't money that was donated and she was stealing it. This money was 'hey, I've put $600 out of my pocket with the intention of I know I'll be reimbursed from this,' because that's what she was told. 'Hey, spend your $600 to purchase, you know, all the donuts you're using for fundraising. It's a charity, we'll make sure we reimburse you.' So it's not stealing, it's reimbursement for what she's already put into.
Q: (26:30 ish)
Before I let you go, I have to ask you about this letter that came out, that he had seemingly apologized to Mica, uh, for what he said was releasing a nude photograph of her on the internet. What was your reaction to that letter?
A (sister): He's a faker. He likes to band-aid everything so he can steal, control and manipulate people.
(dad) I told him straight up, because of his behavior before, ok, now go ahead and go cry in front of your church and apologize like you always do. And he didn't. During the sermon and his bombshell drop at the last point, he didn't do his fake sniveling crying fake stuff, he just, you know, until later.
But he would numerous times, he would go in front of the church and say I'm sorry I did this and I did that, I'm sorry if you don't want me to be the pastor. I'll leave. And they would say, 'oh no, you do such a great job,' and then it would happen again and again.
(sister) And
if they did stand up against him, he would threaten them with removing them from the church or he would just straight out remove them in front of everybody and then later in sermon said, 'oh well, they just left for no reason, I don't know why they left.'
(dad) Anything that comes out of his mouth, it's all backwards.
Q:
Here's what I wanted to ask you. This is going to be an on-going disucsison and I was hoping - and first of all, thank you for being so forthcoming to explain this, give your perspective on what's happening - as this progresses, can we keep an open line? And can you come back and let us know any updates that are happening on your end? We would really appreciate it because, um, I think a lot of people have questions about this.
A: Sure, as long as our attorneys are in agreement and such and we will keep it open, most likely that would be yes.
So listen, again, thank you so much for coming on. We really appreciate this, and again, my heart goes out to you and your family, uh, about this loss, and I'm so sorry for what you're going through. But again, we really appreciate you taking the time.
Video transcript part 1 here
Video transcript part 2 here
Video source: