Murdaugh Murders Podcast - Protect the Pastor: How Tricia Ross and HCPD Helped JP Control the Story (165pt2)

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Starting point is 00:00:45 on board. Here's to Westjetting since 96. Travel back in time with us and actually travel with us at westjet.com slash 30 years. This is part two of episode 165 of True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption, previously known. as the Murdoch murders podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production written with journalist Liz Farrell. Well, hello again. Let's jump right back in

Starting point is 00:01:22 to continue to expose J.P. Miller's circle of support because we have a lot to cover. While some of this information we are about to tell you might have already been reported, remember that this is a puzzle that we are putting together here and the full picture of what happened to Micah is so much more clear than it was two years ago. And it's so much more infuriating.

Starting point is 00:01:47 In part one of this episode, we told you about how J.P. Miller got by with the help of his friends. Specifically, his friends and law enforcement, even if those so-called friends didn't necessarily see themselves that way. J.P. sure did seem to consider them assets of his and his mission to, in our opinions, make Micah's life miserable. as punishment for leaving him in a way that made it harder to control the message with his congregation. Which brings us back to the lieutenant and policeman that JP mentioned twice in his

Starting point is 00:02:23 22 pardon hearing. He wanted a pardon, South Carolina, because of a lieutenant and policeman. And just like that, South Carolina gave him one. Okay, so in February 2024, J.P. just had Micah involuntarily hospitalized, falsely telling Micah's therapist and the police and the court that she was suicidal and homicidal. Right after Micah began questioning JP's handling of church finances, by the way, and right as she was making moves to finally free herself of JP in what she posthumously said to her lawyer was a long history of coercive control abuse at his hands. On top of the involuntary hospitalization, JP's seizure of her car, her phone, her wallet, and her laptop, allegedly. And on top of JP and his sidekick, Trisha Ross, at Solid Rock, falsely reporting Micah for

Starting point is 00:03:22 financial theft from the church, once in February and once in March, JP routinely showing up at places Micah was at and JP continuing to defame and bully Micah from the pulpit, Micah was being tailed by a private investigator that JP said that he hired to quote-unquote prevent Micah from buying a gun to kill herself with. So benevolent of him. Just kidding. We all know that's a big lie, allegedly. In our opinions, he was telling Micah to intimidate and scare her,

Starting point is 00:03:57 and frankly, so something like March 11, 2024, could happen. On March 10th, 2024, Micah was hanging out with a church member and a church employee named DJ. He's the son of ORI County Police Department Lieutenant Heather Wilson, who was also a member of the church at the time. Now, in the spring and summer of 2024, when we foiled for police reports involving Micah, we knew, in spite of the redactions, that something seismic had happened in the early hours of March 11th. But we didn't know about the DJ factor until a little later. And boy, did that bring perspective, because J.P. seemed to have a total meltdown that night. On March 11th,

Starting point is 00:04:42 24 around 120 a.m., Micah called police from Springmade Pier in Myrtle Beach to report that J.P. had slashed one of her tires for the second time this week and that he had people following her. At two that morning, while the private investigator was still tailing Micah, and as it turns out, DJ, J.P. tried calling his right-hand woman, Trisha Ross, which, can I just take a second to say that I think Trisha is the worst. I'm constantly shocked by how often and how willingly she seems to lick J.P.'s Well, I was going to say boots, but let's be real, this guy wears way too revealing slides. In December 2017, right after 23-year-old Micah moved in with him, when JP was setting the scene for Micah to believe she's so mentally ill

Starting point is 00:05:26 that she was going to be a lifelong burden to him. Trisha is who helped him stoke the flames of that. She was like a double agent, in my opinion, seemingly pretending to be a safe space for Micah while reporting back to JP on the things Micah was saying to her. Trisha also seemed to have really helped spread the word that Micah is crazy. And again, she remains by J.P. said today, according to sources who know Trisha and her motivations for that, this is potentially related to bills that need to get paid. But also, Trisha could very well think J.P. is the bee's knees because attention is also a currency.

Starting point is 00:06:02 No? Anyway, think of Trisha like the blobbing to J.P. Miller's Shatman. You like superhero stuff, right, J.P.? Tricia, Blobben, is not only manipulative and erratic, according to sources close to her, and, in our opinions, based on what we've seen her do, and what we've read in her text messages and emails. Like J.P., sorry, Shatman, she has a criminal history. But stick a pin in all that, okay? Let's go back to March 11th at 2 a.m. when J.P. tried to call Trisha.

Starting point is 00:06:31 When Trisha didn't answer, J.P. called another person connected to Trisha and told them that his private investigator had just caught Micah, kissing. Another man. That other man was obviously DJ, who worked for JP at the church. But think about that. March 10th was a Sunday. J.P. was calling an employee of his, Trisha, because Trisha works at the church and was a board number at the time, the same board that was supposed to be holding JP accountable financially and ethically, at 2am, 2am, to tell her that he caught Micah, who, according to their separation agreement, was allowed to see whoever she wanted,

Starting point is 00:07:06 having a brief PJ-rated smooch with a man on the beach. And when he couldn't get in touch with Trisha, he called someone connected to her. That tells you everything you need to know about J.P.'s state of mind when it comes to him not getting what he wants when he wants it and how riled up he was that night over something he should not have even known about. It also tells you how unprofessional he was in the running of his churchy business. We'll get back to J.P.'s specifically delusional reaction regarding DJ.

Starting point is 00:07:36 At 10.51 that morning, Micah texted J.P.'s ex-wife Allison from a burner phone. I say burner phone, but that's not quite accurate. Micah was changing numbers frequently at the time. Every time she changed her number, though, JP would somehow end up with the new number. Let's not forget that in J.P.'s federal criminal case, the U.S. Attorney's Office told the court that despite J.P.'s claims to them that Micah called him more than he ever called her,

Starting point is 00:08:02 they found out that J.P. called Micah as much as 50 times more than she asked. ever called him in the lead up to her death. So that's why we're saying burner phone here. At any rate, Micah texted Allison saying, I need to talk to you, ASAP, for the safety of your kids. Remember, after Micah's death, Allison filed an affidavit in family court to modify her custody agreement with JP

Starting point is 00:08:24 for their two youngest kids as a result of the attention JP was getting because of his weird announcement of Micah's death from the pulpit. In that affidavit, Allison told the court that despite Micah's history of having an extramarital affair with her husband, Allison trusted Micah's version of reality and felt more calm knowing that Michael was around when JP had their kids at the house. When Michael left JP, Allison said, JP's behavior became more bizarre. Which is why that text to Allison is so alarming. Less than an hour

Starting point is 00:08:55 after that, Micah called the police again looking for help. Mika was at the Honda dealership to get her tire fixed. Before that, though, she was at a nearby gas station where she said JP showed up and then walked up to her while she was at the pump. The report says that Micah told him to go away and that she didn't want to talk to him and that JP sped off when Micah began recording him. While Micah was making this report to police at the Honda dealership, she received

Starting point is 00:09:19 a no-caller ID call on the burner phone and she answered it in front of the officer. It was, of course, JP. The officer informed JP that he needed to stop contacting Micah or else, quote, warrants may be written up. Not will be, maybe. Great, huh? Because also in this report, the officer noted that Micah had told him that she was in fear for her life.

Starting point is 00:09:42 After the officer left the scene, Micah contacted him again to tell him that the mechanics at the Honda dealership had found a GPS tracker on her vehicle. The officer met up with Micah later that afternoon while she was at the Magister Court, filing a petition for a restraining order against JP. He collected the GPS tracker and here is what he wrote in his report about what happened while he was there. David? While I was standing out front of the magistrate's office with the victim, a white-in-color Honda Accord had slow-rolled down Scipio Lane in front of the magistrate's office, and the victim stated that was the suspect in her car driving by. The vehicle then sped up and drove off.

Starting point is 00:10:24 Nothing further. Yep, nothing further. Just a woman getting followed and harassed and saying she feared for her life. And oh, here comes Johnny again, but anyway, I wonder what's for dinner. Also, can you believe, J.P., the audacity of him to drive the car that he seized for Micah when he had her involuntarily hospitalized the month before, despite their April 2023 separation agreement clearly stating that the car belonged to Micah. But of course, there was a catch.

Starting point is 00:10:54 The car would be transferred in Micah's name within 12 months of April 2023. Now we know one reason why that might have been put in that agreement. Oh, and never forget that during this time, according to police and court records, JP was threatening Micah that he was going to post sexually explicit photos and videos of her online. And she really did fear this. And a sexually explicit photo over did end up getting posted on a Facebook group that Micah tried to have taken down. Now, let's talk about DJ again. A social media user named True Crime Re posted a video in July 24 on YouTube,

Starting point is 00:11:30 featuring a recording of a conversation that JP had had with DJ after his March 10th hangout with Micah and the resulting chaos brought on by JP. The video has a photo taken just before 2 a.m. March 11, 24, ostensibly by JP's private investigator of DJ in his vehicle. In this conversation, JP gaslights this man who is 20 years younger than him in every way possible. He forced DJ to tell him exactly what he did to Micah and where he touched Micah. DJ said he only touched her face and neck, by the way. But JP is so disgusting and creepy about it. He wants more details from DJ. So he tries to prompt DJ by saying,

Starting point is 00:12:12 My guy said she put her hand on your crotch, that she touched your junk. DJ denied that, and JP has zero credibility. So who even knows if he was told that? In the call, JP referred to Micah as a married woman. And it made it seem like Micah was some kind of temptress who wants seduce JP off his righteous path too back in the day. JP told DJ, you know, as pastors are want to do when talking about their estranged wives. Quote, I just made love to her four weeks ago and she told me I was the best husband in the world. Do you know what I've been through with her?

Starting point is 00:12:45 Just like that, you're going to take that from me? Just like that, you're going to ruin. She's never slept with any other than her first husband. and I'm the only person she's ever kissed up until now. So if she comes back in three months or six months, do you know what that's going to feel like? I mean, can you believe this guy? I don't know if JP, the philanderer,

Starting point is 00:13:06 was playing the part of a betrayed husband here because he liked the power position it put him in. You did me so wrong, so now I get to dictate what you do next. Or if he was trying to keep the facade up that he and Micah weren't getting divorced so that other church members wouldn't find out until J.P. was ready to tell them in a J.P. way, and therefore had to follow through with this

Starting point is 00:13:26 scorned man act. Whatever it was, DJ apologized profusely to J.P. And he quit his job at the church after this. And it's believed this is around when Heather and Brian Wilson left the church as well. Bye-bye, Lieutenant and Policeman, right? It's around this time, too, that Heather Wilson seemed to realize she was being played by J.P. According to one of Micah's sisters, Heather became a valued ally for Micah after that. And after Micah's death, Heather cooperated with investigators as they looked into the allegations of abuse against JP. And like we said, it's because of all this that Shatman and Blobben

Starting point is 00:14:03 turned on Heather and tried to get the now former deputy chief of Ori County Police, Brandon Strickland, to punish her for it. We know this from emails. We aren't surprised that Brandon Strickland gave scum like JP one-on-one attention with lickety split responses because scum supports scum thankfully Strickland no longer works with Worre County Police Department

Starting point is 00:14:25 because of what the spivey investigation revealed about him and the lengths he appeared willing to go to for friends. We also aren't surprised that J.P. tried to get Heather fired the second he knew that she was supportive of his dead wife because a duh, that's how he seems to roll.

Starting point is 00:14:44 And it's probably how J.P. still has a circle of people supporting him. They know what happens to those who leave solid rock, mercy, whatever the church of the JP cult is called. And now for a commercial break. When West Jet first took flight

Starting point is 00:15:07 in 1996, the vibes were a bit different. People thought denim on denim was peak fashion. Inline skates were everywhere, and two out of three women rocked, the Rachel. While those things stayed in the 90s, one thing that hasn't is that fuzzy feeling you get when West Jet welcomes you on board. Here's to West Jetting since 96.

Starting point is 00:15:23 Travel back in time with us, and actually travel with us at westjet.com slash 30 years. There are no witnesses, no fingerprints, and no confession to the 1992 deaths of Tommy Griffin and his sister, Connie Branham, in East Tennessee. There are, however, for alleged and uninvestigated alternate suspects, six alibi witnesses, a disgraced medical examiner, a nearly impossible timeline, a bad search warrant, and a man named Gary Sutton sitting on death row. I'm Beth Braden, a writer and investigative journalist, and I'm going to tell you why I believe the death penalty does more harm than good in my new podcast, Time of Death.

Starting point is 00:16:05 In February 1992, 28-year-old Gary Sutton, his uncle James Dellinger, and Gary's best friend, Tommy Griffin, went out drinking. The night ended with Tommy laying dead on the riverbank. Tommy's sister, Connie Branham, went looking for her missing brother the following day and was never seen alive again. Gary and James were convicted of murdering Tommy and Connie and sent to death row where Delinger died of natural causes in 2023 and Gary Sutton awaits his fate. Follow my investigation to explore this capital case and others as the clock ticks down towards Gary Sutton's December execution. Search for time of death wherever you like to get your podcasts. So back to our list of J.P. Miller's diabolical circle of supporters. Let's talk about J.P. Miller and his right-hand woman.

Starting point is 00:17:00 Trisha Ross. Someone who frankly isn't getting enough guff on the internet right now. Well, she emailed Brandon Strickland right after Micah's death. Those emails were sent on May 2nd, a very important date in the Micah Miller investigation. At 9 a.m. on May 2nd, 2024, Gregory Lynn, a detective lieutenant at Ory County over the homicide, special victims, and property crimes units. He emailed Robinson County Sheriff's Office, the agency investigating Micah's death in North Carolina, to tell them that he needed to speak with them about a death investigation in their jurisdiction, Micah's.

Starting point is 00:17:45 Lent, by the way, is a co-defendant with Brandon Strickland in the Scott Spivey Family's federal case right now, which accuses officers of conspiring to direct the investigation into Scott's death in a way to protect Brandon Strickland's friend Weldon Boyd, the killer. Looking back on this email from Lent Now, I'm really wondering if this was ORI County Police trying to get ahead of any damage that might need to be mitigated because of Micah's history in seeking their help to no avail or because of J.P.'s connections to the department. I know it's not usual for agencies from different jurisdictions to reach

Starting point is 00:18:27 out to each other, but we would have expected it to be Robison, contacting Ory, and not the other way around. Anyway, May 2nd also happened to be the date that Micah's body was cremated at JP's request, before they ever did an autopsy. Again, the guy she just had filed divorce from was allowed to call the shots about her body. That needs to change immediately. Also, Also May 2nd, five days after Micah's death and four days after JP told his congregation at Solid Rock that his 30-year-old wife died in a bizarre announcement that quickly took the internet by storm. That is before Robinson County publicly declared that Micah's death was a suicide,

Starting point is 00:19:11 or publicly revealed any details at all about Micah's movements on the day of April 27th. May 2nd is also the day that Sierra Francis, one of Micah's sisters, filed her bombshell petition in probate court with affidavits from her and her brother testifying that JP had abused Micah throughout their marriage. The petition included a trail of breadcrumbs for reporters like us to follow, which inevitably led us to FOIA for those shocking police reports and 911 calls that painted a picture of J.P. Miller that he did not want the world to see. On the afternoon of May 2nd, 2024, J.P. was panicking as the spotlight on him, and his businesses was much brighter, revelatory, and out of control than he had ever imagined.

Starting point is 00:20:01 Oh, and May 2nd is also the day of that infamous Crocodile Rocks meeting, which we cover in great detail on True Sunlight Episode 76. That is when JP oddly over-explained the events that he said led to Micah's death, to his piano bar business partners, including his supposedly now former writer die, Mark Kauf, A recording of this meeting revealed that J.P. clearly knew more about Micah's death than police had revealed to the public at the time, and it showed how frequently J.P. lied about important details of Micah's mental health. In that recording, we think J.P. really showed his true colors. It was the only time that we ever heard J.P. saying that he was sorry for Micah's death. But the way we see it, I don't think he was sorry for what happened to her. He was sorry for the negative plopulmonary. that her death was bringing to crocodile rocks. And by the way, it's more than strange that a pastor was a part owner of a bar where there's

Starting point is 00:21:03 likely a large amount of cash flowing through it. Huh. So while all of that was popping off in J.P.'s world, he apparently turned to Trisha Ross again to make sure that the ORI County police were on his side. We'll get into this in a minute, but it really makes me angry that Trisha and J.P. with the criminal backgrounds felt this comfortable contacting the police to handle their personal business. When Micah was such goodness in her heart and no criminal history, and an authentic and selfless desire to make life better for everyone that she came in contact with,

Starting point is 00:21:42 she got treated like a nuisance by the police. Anyway, on the evening of May 2, 24, Or Trisha and JP emailed Deputy Chief Brandon Strickland, the number two guy at Ory County. To Tattletail on his former buddy, Lieutenant Heather Wilson. They emailed him an hour apart from each other. We'll have Grace read this email from Trisha. Captain Strickland, respectfully, sir, we would kindly ask you to look into some things for us. As you are aware, there is a lot going on due to the unexpected. to death of our pastor's wife, Micah Miller.

Starting point is 00:22:25 We are very concerned about the connections Heather Wilson has directly with the case, and the fact that she is sharing things through texting that pertained to her suspicions that our pastor, quote, pushed her to suicide, end quote, this is unethical as a police officer to show bias with something that is not in the court system yet. I'm sorry we had to interrupt, Because not in the court system yet.

Starting point is 00:22:55 Again, who at Ory County told J.P. that a homicide detective was speaking with Robinson County about Micah's death investigation that day. Why would she mention that? Sorry, Grace, go on with Trisha's unhinged email. In addition, the pastor's private investigator was able to find Heather's son, DJ, kissing and touching the pastor's white We have admissions as well to that contact. Heather has since threatened, Pastor, not to use her son's name. She has sent tax messages to Pastor stating all his faults and a manipulated prayer with it.

Starting point is 00:23:38 We do love Heather, but it is very concerning that as a police officer, she is sharing with others her suspicions along with pictures. Slash tires, which have never been linked to the pastor. Of course, people that see Heather sharing things as a police officer takes that for the truth. My dad was a police officer, and I'm pretty sure her actions are not ethical. It is important to note that Trisha didn't provide any proof at all of Heather threatening JP in any way. In fact, nowhere in this email or in the attached text messages is there any proof of Heather doing anything unethical or illegal, or even talking about Micah with anyone other than Trisha.

Starting point is 00:24:25 But Trisha is just like her boss there. No evidence, no problem. And oh, girl, if manipulating someone with prayer, while pointing out their faults was illegal and something that we could all call the place about, JP would have been locked up for life now. And one more thing, your dad was a police officer? I bet that criminal record of yours makes him real proud, Tricia.

Starting point is 00:24:49 Sorry, Grace, go on with the email. We are attaching photocopies of those mentioned correspondence. We are concerned, not only for our safety, but retaliation, since she's a police officer. She mentions her suspicions of our pastor having something to do with the wife's death. There may also have been some sharing of a sexual registry of one of our members to get police to leave the church. Again, we just want everything to be fair, and now, They're saying Ory County Sheriff's Office is handling an investigation, and it could be a conflict with her so closely involved. The most recent text to me have pictures of our pastor eating dinner.

Starting point is 00:25:36 She sent is saying, quote, this was him with another woman this past week, to not to mention the others. End quote. She said, I'm helping him. Quote, things like this and so much more sent her over the edge, end quote. Those are accusations that should not be coming from Heather being a police officer. It's very scary. She also sent a picture of our pastor and another woman to one of our members. The email, along with everything else involving Brandon Strickland, hits different now.

Starting point is 00:26:15 It's so different now that we know what a diabolical disaster of a police department, Ory County is, after reporting on the Scottsby investigation. Remember how Brandon Strickland, the guy that Tricia is emailing about ethics, was caught on tape allegedly interfering with the investigation to allegedly help his friend Weldon Boyd avoid murder charges? This is the Ory County Police Department, the same agency that didn't bother firing Damon Viscovy, the police officer who was caught on video writing Act Like a Victim Camera on a Notepad while showing it to Weldon Boyd at the crime scene,

Starting point is 00:26:55 right after Weldon and his friend Bradley Williams shot and killed Scott Spivey to help him look more sympathetic for the record. Well, they didn't fire him until after Beth Braden found the evidence of this buried in the files, and we notified Sled. ORI County Police, the department that repeatedly broke the law by not only withholding public information about this case, but not even telling us that they were withholding reports and 911 calls in the Micah Miller investigation. by essentially hiding the existence of the reports.

Starting point is 00:27:29 ORI County Police, the department that did nothing when J.P. Miller's ex-wife Allison called them multiple times to report JP for alleged stalking and harassment, and they ignored that history entirely when Micah alleged that J.P. was showing a similar and more frightening pattern of behavior again. ORI County Police,

Starting point is 00:27:53 The department that recently made national headlines for fabricating a sex scandal in their department to, allegedly, retaliate against a female police officer who reported a top administrator with a building named after him for sexual harassment. Sorry, I'm not done. Ori County Police, known recently for the infamous Green C-14. Scandal were a bunch of police officers, including at least one member of the top brands. We're apparently having sex on duty at their smallest precinct, and somehow it all got swept under the rug. It's absolutely wild and hilarious that Trisha was like, Chief Deputy Strickland and officers telling people the truth of what a garbage person our pasture is. A, as if there's anything wrong with that.

Starting point is 00:28:44 And B, like Brandon Strickland gives a flying F about any ethical standards of any police officers, in our opinions. Calm down, Bert von Herman. Oh, and the text messages that Trisha attached as supposed proof of Lieutenant Wilson's supposed breach in conduct actually exposed Trisha, not Heather, for being a toxic person. Heather was respectful in the exchanges. Like we said, from the messages, it was clear that Heather left the church before Micah died and sometime around the time J.P. went ballistic on her son for exchanging a kiss on the beach with Micah, his estranged wife, who was single, per her separation agreement. Trisha obviously made a big deal out of that. Around that same time, Trisha texted Heather a three-page text.

Starting point is 00:29:32 And yes, I said text, all in one mess of a paragraph. Berating Heather for believing her son, who did nothing wrong, over J.P. And turning her back on the church. Trisha wrote, I don't think you would want anyone in your marriage nor your sons if he was marriage. I think she meant married there. God hates troublemakers, and that's what I feel this is. Talking about God's anointed is a sin.

Starting point is 00:29:59 Again, this happened after Micah and J.P. were separated, and shortly before she initiated her second divorce filing against J.P. And by the way, Trisha is referring to J.P. as God's anointed and said it was a sin to speak about his marital affairs? A sin that Trisha thought was somehow worth reporting to the police. For what? God hates troublemakers, and troublemakers are people that talk bad about JP, according to Trisha, in these text messages. She makes it very clear that she believes it's a sin for people to speak negatively about JP.

Starting point is 00:30:35 If that were true, Lord help us all for what's going to happen to us at Lunar Shark, and to the whole internet, because they don't have nice things to say about JP either. The text messages between Trisha and Heather reveal what a loser, ride or die for J.P. Miller, Trisha really is, and how deep. her delusions run, in our opinion. Like we said, she is blobbing to his chat man. The most telling text, though, was on April 30th, three days after Micah's death. Trisha texted Heather that she was getting death threats, and Heather was like, okay, file a police report. Then she goes on to call out the hypocrisy of Solid Rock in an epic text that made all of us here

Starting point is 00:31:16 100% team Heather. I'll have Grace read this one. It hurts. When people in the church won't protect others they claim to love and continue to support and protect the ones doing the hurting. Things like this and so much more sent her over the edge. Not people trying to love and help her. Not her family, nor her mental issues. It was being harassed, followed, set up, lied on, tormented by words, feeling like there was no. way out. Here is a little for you to know if after knowing what you know and continuing to defend his evil actions, then that tells me you aren't the woman of God I thought you were." Trisha read that and instead of looking inward and questioning what she was doing, going to bat for a dishonest dirt merchant like JP, Trisha instead was like, girl, I'm going to call

Starting point is 00:32:18 the police, i.e., your bosses, and ruin your life for that. And like, one more thing. Where Trisha mentions the sharing of a sexual registry to get people to leave the church. Uh, well, we know of one former Solid Rock member who is on the Sex Offender Registry. That's what it's called, not sexual. Bernard Kinnersen, aka Bernie, he was a care pastor at Solid Rock, who eventually resigned sometime in 2024. Beth Braden dug into Bernie and found that Bernie was convicted in 1991 for indecent acts with another. He was accused of sexually abusing a child.

Starting point is 00:33:00 Yeah, JP really surrounded himself with some winners at Solid Rock. In the text messages with Heather Wilson, Trisha complained about people spreading rumors about Bernie. Oh my God. The horror of spreading actual information about a church member being an alleged. pedophile. That ain't a rumor, Trisha. It's called public information and it is vital for the safety of children. Tricia had the audacity to tattletail on Heather to Deputy Chief Brandon Strickland to tell the police that Heather was sharing public information about a registered sex offender.

Starting point is 00:33:44 And we'll be right back. You know me. I did until I find the truth. And it's turns out that same instinct that drives my investigative journalism, it makes for a different but pretty amazing new kind of travel show. Wherever it leads is Luna Sharks brand new podcast. And it's nothing like the travel content that you've heard before. We go deeper, we talk to locals, reporters, and people who actually live where you want to visit, not just the ones who want your tourist dollars. We cover the food and landmarks, sure, but we also ask the harder questions.

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Starting point is 00:34:47 Wherever it leads from Lunashark. Find it wherever you listen to you. your podcast or visit wherever it leads pod.com. On April 27, 24, 30-year-old Micah Miller, a Myrtle Beach woman in the process of divorcing her pastor husband, called 911. It would be the last time that the world would ever hear her voice. Robinson County 911. I'm about to kill myself and I just want my family to know where to find me. When Micah died, she purposely left behind a paper trail of evidence and clues for someone somewhere to find and expose the people and systems that led to her death.

Starting point is 00:35:29 I got a call late last night. My wife has passed away and it was self-induced and it was up in North Carolina. Y'all pray for me and my kids and everybody. My name is Mandy Matney, together with journalist Liz Farrell. This new drop feed titled Coerced, The Devotion and Death of Micah Francis Miller, is a Luna Shark production based on True Sunlight reporting. Yeah, he said my blood is going to be on your hand. But prior to that, he was threatening to come in here,

Starting point is 00:35:55 and he said, call the cops, I don't care. I'm armed and ready. Her story is about everything that led up to her death, the alleged coercive control that she faced in her relationship with her past her husband and all of the systems that failed her when she tried so hard to report that alleged abuse and escape from him. And she said, you know, he's such a liar. And she actually said the FBI is looking into it.

Starting point is 00:36:19 But now, I mean, what's come out? They have been. Be sure to follow Coerced, the devotion and death of Micah Francis Miller. Anyway, 40 minutes after Trish's email, J.P. emailed Brandon Strickland himself. I'll have David read this one. We would like a full investigation as to Heather Wilson's phone, texts, messages, pictures, her son DJ's affair with my wife, and anything else that Heather has done during this time that could have pushed my wife.

Starting point is 00:36:52 wife to suicide. My wife text her son asking him to not text her and he did anyway. It is my heart that Heather Wilson and her son are the main cause of all that has happened. We have witnesses of Heather Wilson in a restaurant openly saying horrible things about my wife just a few days ago. We are working on a civil suit as well. Thank you. John, Paul, Miller. Okay, whoa. J.P. Miller accused his former friend, Heather Wilson, a cop, and her son of pushing Micah to suicide. We've reported this before, but we need to say it again.

Starting point is 00:37:37 J.P. Miller believed that there needed to be an investigation into who pushed Micah into suicide and that it shouldn't include him. J.P. was clearly feeling pressure from someone somewhere to blame someone else for Mika's death, even if it was suicide. But also, good to know that J.P. Miller, though he has it wrong about Heather and D.J., acknowledges that a person's harassing actions can lead to another person's decision to kill themselves. That should come in handy for the U.S. prosecutors handling his federal case.

Starting point is 00:38:08 You would hope to God that 99.9% of cops who see something like those two crazy emails and respond, L.O.L.O.L.L. No. both emails were absurd and full of petty complaints that had nothing to do with actual criminal or unethical behavior. Again, I'm wondering if there was a reason. Trisha and J.P. emailed Brandon Strickland specifically, because now that we know this man's history of working behind the scenes on behalf of Suss people, could that really be a coincidence?

Starting point is 00:38:41 Of course, and I can't believe I'm saying this. Brandon Strickland took those emails seriously. The next morning, Strickland emailed Trisha and said, he had tried calling her. We didn't see a number in the email. Did he have her phone number independently? And he copied two other investigators in the Internal Affairs Division, who wanted to take J.P. and Trisha's complaints to investigate. He asked for their contact information to follow up. That's where the exchange ended between Strickland and Trisha and J.P., according to the FOIA return from Moray County that we got. But that's a corrupt police department that

Starting point is 00:39:14 purposely and routinely violates FOIA laws. So it's unclear if Trisha and JP just gave up on their retaliation plan on Heather because they had other Micah fires to put out, or if they kept going. Beth, Braden, has filed another FOIA this week to get clarity on that because it's weird, right? And it is frustrating. Rory County didn't follow up when Micah had a razor in her tire. They didn't follow up when one of Micah's family members accused J.P. of abusing Micah's dog. They didn't follow up when both Micah and Allison reported J.P.

Starting point is 00:39:52 for stalking and harassment. Micah literally told police that she was scared for her life, and they did nothing. But Lieutenant Heather Wilson gets accused of gossiping about a preacher? That deserves an immediate follow-up. Called the IAA team, he said. Beyond what we talked about today, we don't know to what extent ORI County Police Department went for Pastor J.P. Miller. But without their support, without their lack of putting J.P. in his support,

Starting point is 00:40:22 place and their lack of follow-up on Micah's accusations against JP. Well, JP's ability to, in our opinions, torture Micah the way he is accused of doing in the lead up to her death, that would have been much less, allegedly. This episode should be a warning to every law enforcement officer out there. It does not pay to look the other way for people like JP Miller. The JP Millers of the world are out for themselves and only themselves, and But the second their narrative gets challenged, they will go for your job. We often wonder if Micah would still be alive if police had taken her complaints more seriously. And I think the answer is yes.

Starting point is 00:41:10 It would have shown her that JP is not invincible. He does not get to stalk and harass and make constant threats to her. He doesn't get to mess with her ability to work. Or make reckless claims about her mental. health. He doesn't get to track her and show up where she is. Now that the whole world knows about Micah's story, we need to turn our attention into activism. We know there are other abused women being dismissed by police in ORI County. We know that this system will kill more women if nothing is ever done to fix it. We know that Ory County Police needs to be disbanded, and we hope that all of this

Starting point is 00:41:51 attention from the Miller case and the Spivey case provides the momentum needed to do that. In the meantime, we will keep exposing every dirty secret this police department has to hide, and we will continue to expose the rotten group of churchy business losers who are still supporting J.P. Miller. And speaking of, if you have any info on Susie Skinner, please reach out to us at info at linnasharkmedia.com. Until next time, stay tuned. Stay Pesky and stay in the sunlight. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production created by me, Mandy Matney, co-hosted and reported by journalist Liz Farrell.

Starting point is 00:42:45 Research support provided by Beth Braden. Audio production support provided by Jamie Hoffman and Grace Hills. Case file management by Kate Thomas. Learn more about our mission and membership at LunaSharkMedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky. The family is on the brink of civil wall. Mobland. The hit original series is now struck.

Starting point is 00:43:15 streaming on Paramount Plus. We are the Hurricanes. Don't know the net? And Google us. From the underworld of Guy Ritchie. Do you want to step up the ladder? I won't combat dead. Starring Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren.

Starting point is 00:43:30 Do I have to do everything myself? You want to want! That new season is now streaming on Paramount Plus.

Murdaugh Murders Podcast - Protect the Pastor: How Tricia Ross and HCPD Helped JP Control the Story (165pt2)

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