A South Carolina church has come under protest and received a wave of hostile contacts after being wrongly linked to the Myrtle Beach pastor whose wife’s death is now the focus of a new Netflix documentary series.
The mix-up stems from Mercy Church in Myrtle Beach, the congregation JP Miller now leads as pastor. He was indicted on federal charges last year related to unwanted and harassing communications to his estranged wife, Mica Miller, until her death in April 2024.
The backlash against Mercy Church has spilled over into nearby Mercy Baptist Church in Conway, also known as Mercy Church, since the Netflix series debuted, taking the form of phone calls, messages and social media posts, according to the congregation.
The church’s pastor, Lloyd Phipps, released a statement addressing the confusion, saying his church is not affiliated with Miller, his former church or any other ministry associated with him.
“Mercy Church of Conway is an entirely separate and independent congregation,” the pastor wrote. “We are an independent congregation with no affiliation with JP Miller in any way, shape, or form. Our hearts remain with every person or family who has experienced tragedy, loss, or hurt.”
Local businesses that back Mercy Baptist Church have also gotten hate mail, reports NewsNation. The Mercy Church of Conway building also houses a daycare and a children’s ministry program.
The three-episode Netflix production, “Death of the Pastor’s Wife,” began streaming Aug. 26 and renewed interest in Mica Miller’s 2024 death at Lumber River State Park in North Carolina.
Officials ruled the death a suicide. Relatives and supporters have pushed for a deeper look into her estranged husband’s role.
The documentary features friends and relatives who allege Miller abused his wife and kept harassing her once she moved out and started divorce proceedings. One friend recalled that Mica Miller worried her husband might kill her and disguise it as a suicide.
Miller rejects the abuse claims and denies any part in his wife’s death. Before her death, he led Solid Rock Church, a congregation later sold; he has since remarried and taken over as pastor at Mercy Church in Myrtle Beach.
A federal grand jury indicted Miller in December, accusing him of lying to federal agents and stalking his estranged wife online for close to two years leading up to her 2024 death. He has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is expected to appear again this fall.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, the federal prosecutor covering the state, says in a Dec. 17 indictment that the cyberstalking began around Nov. 16, 2022, and continued until Mica Miller’s death on April 27, 2024.
The indictment says the conduct was carried out with an “intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate” her, or to place her under surveillance for the same purposes; it names her as Victim 1.
Prosecutors say Miller used or threatened to release intimate videos and images of his late wife to intimidate her and posted one such image online without her permission. They also allege he put tracking devices on cars she drove and disrupted her banking, finances and everyday routine.
Authorities say Miller lied to investigators when he told police that his wife called him more often than he called her.
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