Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #67 - Medical Records Expose JP Miller’s Influence Over Mica’s Mental Health + Part Two of Chloe Bess and the Bowen Turner Hearings

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell continue their coverage of two appeal hearings heard last week in the case of thrice-accused rapist Bowen Turner and his sweetheart plea deal.�� Today. listeners will get to hear Part Two of the Chloe Bess interview, where she talks about what it was like being in the courtroom and on her thoughts about how the system continues to coddle and make excuses for Bowen, who sexually assaulted her as a teenager.  Also on the show, Mandy and Liz begin sharing their findings from the stack of medical records leaked to them in the Mica Francis case, starting with the first few months of 2018, the year of Mica’s first alleged suicide attempt. From the get-go, Mica’s marriage to Myrtle Beach pastor JP Miller was defined by a questionable mental health diagnosis that continues to plague her memory to this day, five months after her death. Records from January through March 2018 show that Mica had immediate doubts about this diagnosis and a — despite her husband’s insistence that she remain compliant with her medication — JP himself was playing pharmacist.  Episode Resources: Bowen Turner v. Victim C.B. Appeal Timeline SC Court of Appeals Broadcast Link Mica Francis Timeline Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ Join Luna Shark Premium today at Lunashark.Supercast.com. Premium Members also get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. What We're Buying... Hungry Root - https://hungryroot.com/mandy to get 40% off your first delivery and get your free veggies.. Hungry Root is the easiest way to eat healthy. They send you fresh, high-quality groceries, simple, delicious recipes, and essential supplements. Task Rabbit - Use promo code "mandy" at https://www.taskrabbit.com/ for 15% off your task. Task Rabbit connects you with skilled Taskers to help with cleaning, moving, furniture assembly, home repairs, and more. Here's a link to some of our favorite things: https://amzn.to/4cJ0eVn And a special thank you to our other amazing sponsors: Microdose.com, PELOTON, and VUORI. Use promo code "MANDY" for a special offer! *** ALERT: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email [e-mail] and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** For current & accurate updates: TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia tiktok.com/@lunasharkmedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You'll flip for $4 pancakes at A&W. Wake up to a stack of three light and fluffy pancakes topped with syrup. Only $4 on now. Dine in only until 11am at A&W's in Ontario. What's 2FA security on Kraken? Let's say I'm captaining my soccer team and we're up by a goal against, I don't know, the Burlington Bulldogs. Do we relax? No way. Time to create the I don't know why the system continues to dismiss women. But after hearing Chloe Bess' uphill battle just to be heard as a victim of the court and after taking a closer look into the horrifying medical records that show how Micah was treated by medical professionals, I am angry. And we will keep shouting these women's stories from the rooftops until something changes.

My name is Mandi Matney. This is 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. Olaf from Madrid, España. We have had a whirlwind of a trip in the last week, but honestly, I can't stop thinking about Chloe Bess' interview after last week's hearing. A quick refresher, Chloe is a survivor and victim of thrice-accused rapist Bowen Turner who will be released from prison this Halloween after violating parole twice. I interviewed Chloe after the Court of Appeals hearing where her team argued that the victims were not

heard in a meaningful way before Turner was sentenced to probation for what he did to Chloe. I didn't know what to expect when interviewing Chloe last week, but honestly, she blew both David and I away. I told Chloe's mom on Facebook the other day that we were both in tears at the end of the interview, especially the parts where she said how much her parents have helped guide her through this trauma. So I want to start this episode off in a different way. I want y'all to hear a few words from David in his own voice from his own words.

from David, in his own voice, from his own words. While I'm not too vocal on social media personally, I am adamant in keeping Luna Shark's voice free from politics wherever possible so we can focus on the message of separating right from wrong and getting the story straight. Which can be tough at times, especially when it seems like so many are picking sides and teams who think it advantageous to cloud those issues in favor of pitting folks against each other. So I'm not on any of those teams, but I am on Liz and Mandy's team, who fight tooth and nail to expose the truth and fight against the revictimization of women by the media or

inept government agencies. There is so much wrong in each of the stories we cover. I'm on Chloe Bess's team and balled internally and out loud at how she continues to be treated in comparison to how Bowen Turner is allowed to skate through the system. And I'm also on the team of every woman who has to live in fear, that is taught to clutch keys with the pointy side out, ready to strike when walking to their cars or apartment, home, or elsewhere, or anywhere, alone. I'm furious at the statistic from the Indy star that a man kills or annihilates his family every five days in this country. The threats to women are overwhelmingly from spouses and those men closest to them.

When 20% of pregnant women die from homicide, we cannot just remain silent because overwhelmingly, it's bad men holding the gun, knife, or their bare hands to murder women closest to them. And it's not every man, but definitely too many. And if a woman does decide to defend herself to take out the abuser, we learn from Cup of Justice she has, on average, a sentence of over 200% more prison time if convicted of wrongdoing, compared to a man in similar circumstance. I'm on Micah's team, knowing that she was failed at so many points, by so many, in and outside of our justice system. I'm on Sarah Lynn Calucci's team, rooting against Andy Savage and his dastardly client who continues

to bounce around our state almost 10 years after he was charged with her murder. I'm on Erin Lee Carr's team rooting for her to elevate Maggie's voice in the new Hulu series high above her husband's, who chose to annihilate his own family. Women are terrified in this country because many men are not listening, not standing up for the women they know, or raising hell to protect women they don't by simply remaining silent. So thank you to the Katrina Sheelies of the world who rose above politics to protect women in desperate need of protecting. I'm on your team too. If you watched the Court of Appeals hearing last Tuesday, you saw a travesty of how far our justice system has fallen. Mandy will get into all that in a few. And thank you

for letting me choose a side, because more of us guys need to be sharing our support publicly. It means more than we probably realize. One thing we didn't fully get to talk about last week is the audacity of Bowen Turner's attorney Robert Dudick when he spoke during Chloe Bess' hearing. He didn't need to be weighing in during the hearing, by the way. The issue was not about Bowen Turner. It was about the actions of the prosecution and the judge.

But old Robert still wanted his time at the podium to offer up a scolding. One of the first things that he said was that this hearing wasn't about feelings. And yet, he went on a diatribe about Bowen's feelings. He wanted people to feel sorry for Bowen's family, but not Chloe's. And again, why? This wasn't a hearing about Bowen's appeal. Thankfully, Judge McDonald stopped him. Let me just say, first of all, I mean, nobody's going to stand up here and say anything against victims in any particular case. Most of us or our families have been victims of some crime. I just hear in particular and we're not here about feelings or somebody getting their feelings hurt but I just want to... Oh, wait a minute. I think it's a lot more than somebody getting their feelings hurt.

I understand your position Judge McDonough. I'm just going to say too I want to get this out. My client and particularly his family has undergone some pretty bad things over the last several years as a result of this by social media and other things. So all I'm saying Judge McDonald is this is not one sided and I want to get... Well nobody's been bullied to death that I know of right in his family well I don't again I don't know of anybody who's been bullied to death I know someone who was bullied to death her name is Dallas Stoller her name wasn't mentioned one time in the hearing, which was tragic.

So I want to say her name again and remind anyone who will listen that this case was deadly. Bowen's family didn't lose a single person, but the Stallers did. After the hearing, I asked Chloe Bess what she thought of Dudek's defense starting out hmmm what's the word? So offensively, Chloe's reaction was perfect. The audacity. So, I mean, if you were watching live, I'm sure you saw my reactions, but I mean, I was

trying not to laugh, honestly. Like, you know, it's just so ridiculous, the audacity that he has to get up there. And I know that's what he's getting paid to do. And you know, he has to show up and do his job. I completely understand that. But I don't even know, as a decent decent human being how I would be able to get up there and say things like that knowing what has taken place up until this point whether you're getting paid or not I mean it is just absolutely ridiculous to me and I just I don't understand it. I can't even begin to understand how those words so easily would come out of his mouth

knowing people watching and me being like present in the courtroom. I mean, yeah, I just rolling my eyes laughing, you know, just scoffing, I guess, is it was my reaction. I mean, it's just diabolical, honestly. This was not the first time that Chloe heard something horrific coming from an older man defense attorney in a courtroom about herself. Let's not forget that during Bowen Turner's bond hearing for his second rape charge, his then attorney, State Senator Brad Huddo characterized Chloe as being not a victim of rape, but rather a girl who regretted having sex on the ground. So I actually, yeah, I was actually not my parents were so they told me about it. But I think honestly when they conveyed it to me when they got home that day, they didn't really explain to me how intense almost it was because I think they were, you know, trying

to protect me but I saw the video and then obviously read the articles and I mean that is probably something I still think about like once a week if I'm being honest because for somebody of so much power who could honestly do so much good to stand up there and say things like that about a 16 year old girl. I just yeah, it still does not sit right with me and I don't think it ever will because it's just disgusting and it is just, I mean there are almost no words for me to describe that, you know, and I just remember being 16 and reading that and watching that.

And it was so much for me to take in because not only had I just experienced something so traumatic that I hope nobody ever goes through in their life, but then to hear things like that being said about me and, you know, his peers and just the whole town at the time was like rallying behind him. And it was just, it was so hard to process everything because what do you, how do you process something like that? You know, and especially at such a young age. During our interview, I told Chloe how it hit both Liz and me when we were refreshing

our memories of the entire saga and every step of failure from the entire system. From Sled to multiple judges, to the slimy prosecutor to to the magistrate court, who let Bowen off easy for the DOI. It was all a cover up. I mean, you're basically, you know, trying to cover your own tracks at that point, you know, keep things hush hush because I don't know if they thought that I was just going to stay quiet or it was just going to go away. But I mean, that's just not who I am as a

person I'm not like a quitter and anything I do really but especially something like this you know so I think they got the wrong girl on that so unfortunately you know their plan is probably not working as well as they thought it would and they probably wish that I would just shut up but I hate to break it to him it's just not gonna, but I hate to break it to them. It's just not going to happen. So, I mean, it's crazy to me, like when you actually look at this on paper or you just like think back to everything that's happened up until this point, like it almost sounds made up when you're talking about it to people or you know, there's just so many things that

went wrong. And I wish that wasn't the case, but you know are, and we're going to continue to keep going. Like I said, so that way this doesn't happen to anybody else. I don't want anybody, any other victim put in this situation. It's awful. Yesterday was definitely a step in the right direction. And I think that hopefully change will be made in the future. And it's just a crazy, crazy situation, really. I asked Chloe about what the sweetheart deal

felt like for her. The entire South Carolina Court of Appeals hearing rested on the fact that her side didn't get a chance to speak in a meaningful way, where they were listened to by someone in power before Turner was given probation for what happened to her. Chloe made a good point, and I apologize here for interrupting her for a second.

I just got so emotional hearing a 21-year-old make such a stunning point about what the justice system did to her. And it's just like the whole, just in of itself, the plea deal, you know? Like he was charged with sexual misconduct in the first degree, I believe, which is a felony. And then you get it down to assault and battery, which is a misdemeanor. And my mom has always kind of said this example, like it's not like he took my purse and threw me to the ground. You know what I'm saying?

Like, exactly. And you know, that's not, that's not what happened. And so, you know, I just remember when that happened, you know, just, it made me feel so invalidated and just I honestly just felt so disgusting in a sense because it was just something I couldn't even wrap my head around because I don't understand how somebody could get charged with something that is just almost the complete opposite of what they did actually, you know, it just, it doesn't make sense to me. So, you know, that just whole thing and under my impressions, when that plebeal happened, we were kind of up there to kind of talk about and figure out what the whole thing was with him violating the ankle monitor like over 50 times.

You know, so for then it to be kind of turned into this plea deal that we really didn't even I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't even think that's why we were there that day. I mean, all of this is kind of a blur to me, you know, I'd have to really like go back and read something, but I'm pretty sure we were not there that day for a plea deal So I'm not even sure if anything ever happened with that. I think if I you know violated my ankle monitor 50 times I Get in trouble. I'd have consequences for that, you know

So I just don't understand why it seems like he can always just do something so extreme and then nothing's done about it. You know, it's not like he violated it one, two or three times. We're talking 50 times, crossed state lines and went to Georgia. Like, I mean, it's just absolutely insane. Chloe and I agreed that the worst part of last week's South Carolina Court of Appeals hearing was Team Bowen's overall point, that he shouldn't have to register as a sex offender for violating parole, as clearly stated in this plea agreement,

because the rules don't apply to him. That is what they were trying to argue. Without stopping and thinking about how dangerous that argument is for women in South Carolina, anticipating this man's release, I asked Chloe what she thought about that. You know, I'm sorry that actions have consequences and up until this point, it really doesn't seem like he's had that many

consequences to be honest, but I mean, yeah, the whole argument yesterday. I just it was so baffling to me, you know, and it's almost like he stood up there and was trying to make Bowen the victim. I don't know like if that should really be your argument. I honestly feel like maybe they could have done better, honestly, but don't get up there and turn Bowen into the victim when he's the furthest thing

from the victim in this case. We were all there that day when he was told his, you know, probation conditions and honestly, they were pretty strict. And that's kind of what made us feel a little bit better because we're like, okay, they're going to be keeping a close eye on him or, you know, just with his track record, we're like, he's probably not gonna keep his hands clean essentially for five years for this to just kind of go away because that's what they gave him, you know, five years probation with all these conditions and whatnot. So we're like, okay, we'll just see what happens.

That's all we can do. And then, wouldn't you know, he violates it. You know, so it was pretty black and white in my opinion, you know. The judge said, you know, you can't do XYZ or this is going to happen. And he did XYZ. So this is going to happen. I really don't know what to tell them. I just, I really don't understand it. I guess they have a right to, to, you know,

try and fight on his behalf or so if they are gonna exercise that right, go ahead. There's really not much I can do on that part of it. I can just only hope that any judge in their right mind is gonna look at the history and everything that's happened and not grant him any more leniency. So that's really all I can do. Bowen Turner is set to be released from South Carolina Department of Corrections on Halloween

this year. A couple weeks ago, Chloe got the call from authorities letting her know that once again, the system was letting Bowen turn her off easy. And it was another reminder that she will likely be attached to the core shaking notifications involving Bowen for years to come. I honestly, it kind of puts a pit in my stomach a little bit, kind of circling back to the whole like this impacting, you know, my daily life thing. What a lot of people don't realize when I don't talk about this publicly, but you know,

I will just be, you know, somewhere with my friends or, you know, just at work maybe or, you know, whatever I'm doing and then I get text messages like this or they call me too and they'll keep leaving an automated voicemail until I answer it and sometimes I'm busy so I can't always answer it. So it's like I have to stop whatever I'm doing or if I'm having a good day or whatnot and then I look down and I see something like that. I'm just like, okay, you know, and then it's just things on social media or you know, my victim's advocate reaching out to me and it's all good things, you know, on social media

and you know, if my victim's advocate is reaching out to me. But again, it's like I have to look down and be reminded that this is my life. This is, you know, something that I probably will be experiencing for a very, very long time with, you know, the way things are going at this rate. You know, it's been pretty lengthy up until this point. And I think that we're going to still be in this process and fighting for a long time. And that's just the reality of it. And I don't think people understand how much it does impact me, you know, all the people who, you know, are supporting and I can't thank everybody enough. I think they understand,

but I'm more talking about the people on the other side of things who maybe still think I'm lying or still just, you know, he could never do something like this or whatnot. I'm talking about those people because, you know, they have just really tried to run my name into the ground for years. If I was lying, don't you think I would have just really tried to run my name into the ground for years.

If I was lying, don't you think I would have given up by now? I mean, just what it's put me and my family through. Like, why would I still be lying about something like this? It just doesn't make sense because it hasn't made my life any easier. Oh, and Chloe saw Bowen's father at the appeal hearings last week. Like I said, I'm going to continue to live my life and speak my truth and I'm going to do what I want to do. And if people don't understand that, and I don't know, maybe I'm not like their perfect victim, I don't know what to tell you like their perfect victim. I don't know what

to tell you. It's not gonna change me. It's not gonna change what I do. It's not gonna change the way that I live my life and I just want those people to know that. I guess that it doesn't bother me anymore what they have to say and it hasn't for a long time. I stopped caring a while ago what these people have to say and his dad was there yesterday. Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see him so that kind of, you know, I like turned around and it was like, whoa, okay, you know, because I haven't seen him in a long time. Yeah, that was definitely a mix of emotions because I don't even really know if I have the words to describe how that made me feel

because I did almost catch myself feeling bad for him in a way and that's a really confusing thing to feel. And I just, yeah, that was a lot to see him and Just I can't even imagine what's going on through his head I mean, I'm sure he just thinks that I'm like out to get his son and ruin his life and All of the above and it's just really not the case. Yeah, I mean he just probably has this such like It's just really not the case. Yeah, I mean, he just probably has this such like construed version of me in his head.

And I can't really blame him. Like it's his son, you know, I'm sure just as a father, you wanna, you know, protect and help. And I think that that's natural when you have that relationship dynamic of a father and a son or whatever the case is. But yeah, it's just very difficult that relationship dynamic of a father and a son or whatever the case is but yeah it's just very difficult because I don't think he said the nicest things

about me I mean I in a way like I caught myself wanting to sympathize for him but I just I can't I can't because I just I don't know how you can't look at what your son has done and is continuing to do and just, and be okay with that and still, you know, not want to hold him accountable. I feel like it gets to a certain point where like, yeah, you want to defend your kids and you want to think that they'll do no wrong and you know, that they didn't mean to or, but again, it gets to a certain point where I think you have to take a step back as a parent and be like okay you know and actually want to help them. I asked Chloe Bess who again is only 21 years old. I kept having to remind myself of that.

What is next for her? What is she fighting for at this point? Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, me speaking personally, and, you know, on behalf of my parents and just, you know, my victims advocate and everybody who has just, you know, been fighting alongside with me in this, I think that we would all love if we could, to, you know, change the outcome of, you know, my case, just with his sentencing. And I think we would have liked to see, you know, a bigger punishment or just something that made sense

that, you know, I don't think justice will ever be served because it can't change what happened to me you know I have to live with that for the rest of my life but I think knowing that the consequence was at the correct standard would have made us all feel a little bit better like I said if we could change that we would but I don't really see that happening, unfortunately. So I think as for right now, what we're still fighting for and what we will continue to fight for is just making sure that this doesn't happen to other victims and that cases and the way the system is caters to the victim and not the defendant,

and that things are just done properly so the victim isn't victimized even more than they already are. So I think that's kind of what our focus is on and just trying to implement a different way of doing things and just so the victims can actually be heard and want to speak out or want to fight themselves. So I think yesterday when he realized that we weren't there to like completely change the outcome of things, like we were literally just there, you know, like I said, for other victims' futures and, you know, kind of appealing that.

I think it kind of took the wind out of his sails a little bit. And that's when he just started doubling down on everything. Because, yeah, yesterday we weren't there to change anything that's happened up until this point. We're focused on what's going to be happening for future victims and kind of putting a spotlight what you know under what happened to me so it doesn't happen again. That's really all yesterday was and so it was a really big deal and like I said I'm so glad I was able to be there and be a part of it. I always

feel really good when I'm able to be there in person. I know I can't always just because I'm like seven hours away now. But you know, when I when I do get the opportunity and when I when I can be there, it just reminds me why I'm doing all of this in the first place. It's a really good feeling I get honestly and then just other people, other girls out there reaching out to me on social media over the years, you know, just with such kind words and sharing with me their stories and you know, I'm able to go back and forth with them. Like it almost brings tears to my eyes because it is just such a beautiful thing that has come out of something so evil.

But I'm so glad I've been able to connect with people and share my story so that way other people can share theirs and know that like we have a support system and we'll be there for each other. So yeah, it's been amazing in that sense. I am just beyond grateful that we were able to connect with Chloe and that you could hear directly from her. Because once again, this fight is so much bigger than Bowen Turner. What Chloe and her team of attorneys are trying to do is forever change how victims of crime

in South Carolina are treated by a court system to force judges to hear from victims before deciding whether to accept their plea deal. If Bowen Turner had gone to trial, Chloe likely would have had to testify. The jury would have heard from her directly and her words would have been a significant factor in their decision. Meaning, if there's conviction, the victim's voice is inextricably tied to it. In South Carolina, though, a victim doesn't get to speak before a conviction

that comes as a result of a plea deal. Their words do not carry any weight. It's just the prosecutor, the defendant, his lawyers, and the judge. It is not until after the plea deal is accepted that the judge hears from the victim during the sentencing phase. If Chloe Bess and Sarah Ford and their team are successful. Victims will have the opportunity to let judges know what happened to them, in their words and in their voices. And a judge will have those words, those voices,

in their minds as they decide whether justice is being served with whatever lighter charge they plea down to. We are not expecting to hear from the Court of Appeals for months, but we will keep you posted along the way. And we hope that they make the right decision. We'll be right back after a short break. Let's take a pause so I can tell you about this amazing new sponsor, Lumen. Lumen is the world's first handheld metabolic coach.

It's a device that measures your metabolism through your breath. And on the app, it lets you know if you are burning fats or carbs and gives you tailored guidance to improve your nutrition, workouts, sleep and even stress management. We love that Lumen is helping us be more consistent in achieving our goals. Lumen is portable and easy to use and the app is such an effective companion. It can also track your cycle as well as the onset of menopause and adjust your recommendations to keep your metabolism healthy through hormonal shifts

so you can keep up your energy and stave off cravings. So if you want to take the next step in improving your health, go to lumen.me slash sunlight to get 15% off your lumen. That's l-u-m-e-n dot m-e slash sunlight for 15% off your purchase. Thank you Lumen for sponsoring this episode. I'm not going back to university to be your friend. I'm going so I can get Uber One for students. It saves you on Uber and Uber Eats. I'm there for zero dollar delivery fee on cheeseburgers, up to five percent off smoothies and five percent Uber cash back on rides. Just to be clear, I'm there for savings, not whatever you think university is for. Get Uber One for students, Last week's Bowen Turner episode was a doozy, but it ended up giving us time to dive into the collection of Micah Francis' medical records that TikTok user True Crime Reese

sent to us, along with some handwritten notes to guide us to all the points JP Miller wanted us to make about them. She also told us that any notations that were made on the records were made by JP and that's something I want you to stick a pin in because it ends up becoming important. Reading through Micah's medical files is rough, it's painful and we didn't even know Micah. It's a desperate feeling because there's nothing we can do, there's nothing any of us can do, to save Micah's life. But we can fight hard to save the next woman's life.

By exposing the realities of Micah's relationship and discussing the struggles she encountered, we're all helping to forge a new path forward. The next woman will now have the language to better identify what might be going on in her on in her or in her friend's relationships, and she will know how to seek help. The next woman will be able to see the signs before she gets too far down the old path.

The next woman will have an army of people around her who understand what she is saying when she calls 911. And better yet, the next little girls will demand better of the next little boys. And maybe that's how Micah, Acacia, Francis will save the world. We couldn't save her, but maybe she can save us. That's why it's so critical for us to not shy away from talking about how messy truth can be.

Also, I want to note that I'm saying women and girls, but it applies to anyone who finds themselves in relationships that include potential coercive control or a power differential that is harmful. JP denies that he ever abused Micah in any way, shape or form. He's also never been charged with abusing her. From what we're seeing right now,

the mental health care Micah received possibly provided confirmation bias for JP. It's a chicken and egg scenario though, right? Did JP feed information to the medical staff that influenced how they viewed Micah? Or did the medical staff overworked, dismissive, quick to judge, give information to JP that changed how he viewed Micah. In our opinion, after looking through all these records, it was both. Micah's mental health care and JP were basically engaged in a symbiotic dance together. And obviously we can't know JP's internal motivations for certain, but in our opinion, it looks to us like it was a dance that he

took great interest in, maybe because it gave him permission to be controlling with Micah? As you know from episodes 63, 64, and 65, December 2017 was pivotal. It's when we believe Micah contracted a very serious infection after her breast augmentation surgery and it's when Micah was quickly and suddenly diagnosed as having bipolar disorder despite having had no history with depression or manic episodes up until that point. Notably, the stack of medical records we got from True Crimary does not include any from December 2017 and that's a big deal because all the other records are predicated on whatever happened during that first hospital stay.

Again, we believe there are signs here that Micah was misdiagnosed from the start. Not only are there indications in the medical records that Micah believed this herself, her friend Angela Clark told YouTuber Robbie Harvey that Micah believed it and said she had been told so by a doctor. Also, according to a source of ours in the mental health field, the fact that Micah did not have health insurance is significant here, which side note, why didn't they have insurance through the church? It's telling that JP's budget had enough in it for life-sized Spider-Man dolls, costumes, superhero art, guns, tattoos, piano bars,

and bougie pickup trucks. The General Lee. Literally, he apparently used to drive a replica of the General Lee. But no money for adequate healthcare? This father of five? MICA was receiving mental healthcare from state-funded facilities, which we're not gonna dump on them because we're actually quite impressed that South Carolina has a Department of Mental Health that includes programs and facilities throughout the state.

That said, there are realities we need to acknowledge here, one of which is that these facilities tend to be overwhelmed by patients and understaffed. Also, institutionalization can be a lens, and that lens might have affected how Micah was being seen, especially given JP's input, but also especially given her apparent original diagnosis. According to our source, a state-run facility might be more likely to view that as written in stone. Today we're going to talk about what we're seeing in Micah's records from early 2018, the first few months of her marriage and the

first few months she had to deal with this speedy diagnosis. Specifically, of the reports we were given, we're going to talk about the time period between January 10th, 2018, when Micah was first assessed as an outpatient and March 8th, 2018, which is her last apparent visit to the doctor before her first alleged suicide attempt two weeks later. According to these new records, Micah first began showing signs of bipolar disorder on December 11th, 2017, which would have been 10 days post-op.

We believe she wasn't brought to the ER though until December 15th or 16th. JP says that the plastic surgeon met them at the ER and commented that Micah appeared to be having a schizophrenic episode. We truly think that JP took that comment and ran with it, especially when he found that some of the drugs Micah was prescribed afterward were drugs that were also used to treat schizophrenia. There's no documentation we've seen so far that confirms any schizophrenia diagnosis. That's important because it seems to be an example of JP exaggerating Micah's illness.

According to Micah's initial clinical assessment on January 10, 2018, she was hospitalized for 10 days in December, which means she likely didn't get out until Christmas day or the day after, and that her church wedding was held mere days after her discharge. Here is what else we learned from that initial assessment. One. Mica's symptoms, the ones that led to her hospitalization, were listed as, quote, could not slow her speech down. Very rapid thought process. Manic. Literally, speedy thoughts and speedy speech. That's it. 2. We learned that Micah's primary concern from the start seemed to be how this diagnosis

was going to affect her ability to work. This comes up repeatedly, including in the December 15, 2017 text she sent to an associate of JP. The text that JP seems to think is indisputable proof of her mania. A good bit of that text is actually Micah talking about work. To us, it looks like 23-year-old Micah had ambitions. In her assessment, she even lists a desire to go to college. At the time, Micah was working part-time

at the Honda dealership in town as a salesperson. In her assessment, she was asked how she felt about her job, and she appears to have written, I am not so sure how I feel about my job and not sure if I want to change it. And the words, not so sure and not sure, were written in all caps. And that's a possible red flag for us that might point to relationship strife. Was Micah being pressured to not work outside of the home or church at this time? Was she experiencing turmoil over wanting to earn money while also wanting to be a good pastor's wife?

Okay, three. The assessment confirms that Micah had no history of mental illness, no suicidal ideation, no thoughts of wanting to be dead, no obsessions, no hallucinations, no thoughts of hurting others. Also, no significant trauma from her past, which seems to contradict JP's contention that she had a rough childhood that included molestation. And four, Micah said that she was satisfied with her relationship with JP and that she had her family's support in seeking treatment.

The clinician also noted that Micah's husband and her father were supportive. Incidentally, the day after this assessment is when JP sent the email we told you about in episode 64, the long one where he listed more than a dozen different so-called facts about what Micah was like when she wasn't taking her medication. Which again, the assessment says there was no history of being medicated for mental illness prior to December 15th or 16th. She was then in the hospital for 10 days.

Then she got church married on December 31st. So when exactly was JP gathering all this knowledge about what she was like on and off her meds when everything was normal before December 1st? How is he able to say, when off your medication you can't function in the area of your calling, singing, leading worship? When there were only two Sundays between when Micah was released from the hospital and this email. And one of those Sundays was the day of her wedding.

How was he able to say what she was like on her meds in such a short time while also contending that she wasn't taking her meds? None of that makes much sense, does it? It especially doesn't make sense when the clinician who filled out this January 10th, 2018 form twice noted that Michael was motivated to get better and go back to work,

and twice noted that Michael wanted to get her medication regulated so that she could function. The clinician also noted under the question how much improvement can be expected of the patient given information above, quote, her husband reports she does not like the medication and is looking for a loophole to stop it. Now, when it comes to Minka's diagnosis, we've raised the question about how the doctor decided to diagnose her as having bipolar disorder back in December 2017 when she had

no history of mania or depression. Again, we're told by multiple sources that it typically takes months of assessment before a doctor lands on a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The doctors need to see the peaks and they need to see the valleys. With this new stack of records, we now know that Micah was experiencing depression around the same time too, but only after her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. So was Micah depressed because she had bipolar disorder? Or was she depressed because of the medications she was taking for a disease that maybe she didn't have?

Was she depressed because of the stress we believe she was experiencing back then? Okay, so let's talk about what was going on in January and February of 2018 and the lead up to March, which is purportedly Micah's first attempt at suicide. This is the same attempt, by the way, that she referenced in that video that got posted by somebody in JP's camp shortly after her death as proof that Micah had history of suicidal ideation. JP has said in multiple interviews that Micah had six or seven suicide attempts in her history. To this day, the only documented instances of these alleged attempts would be what happened

in March 2018, months after marrying JP, and in April 2024, days after serving JP with divorce papers. Let's start at the beginning. On the 18th of January 2018, Micah had her very first appointment with the therapist. The therapist noted that the goal of treatment was for Micah to explore her values and beliefs and learn more about who she was. That Micah would learn how to practice mindfulness and assertiveness. Micah said that she didn't like how her initial assessment went the week before but the report doesn't note what she didn't like. The therapist did note that Micah had never been to therapy before and was asking questions about how it worked. At one point Micah told never been to therapy before and was asking questions

about how it worked. At one point Micah told the therapist that she didn't know what she wanted her to say or if she was doing this right and the therapist wrote that she considered this proof of Micah's codependency. The therapist didn't give any reasons for that assessment, but she did note that JP didn't attend this session and that she and Micah had agreed that they needed to have individual sessions first and then maybe later they could explore sessions, including JP. So did Micah try to get JP to sit in on that session?

Did the therapist not allow that? Did JP try to sit in and the therapist not allow that? Did JP try to sit in and the therapist not allow it? It's interesting because this was Micah's first and her last therapist visit before her alleged suicide attempt in March. And it appears to be the only appointment that JP didn't attend in this time period. The therapist also noted that Micah was concerned

about her diagnosis and the hospital stay, but again, the therapist didn't note what those concerns were. Another note the therapist made was that Micah had expressed how important music was to her. The therapist noted that she had encouraged Micah to consider songs that really spoke to her because they might be a way for Micah to put words to quote emotions and experiences that have brought her to this place. To us that line seems to indicate Micah was sitting on a mountain of feelings and was struggling to express herself and again that makes total sense given the stress she was under at that time. But here's where it gets really interesting. Quote

clients spoke of her faith throughout the session as being both a support and a place of pain, indicating she is not sure where she stands with her faith and spiritual view. This will be further explored in session. Like we said, there was no further sessions, at least not according to the records we were given, but Micah spoke of her faith as a source of pain for her.

And even though we don't know in what way Micah meant that, we think it's significant. Now on this same day, Micah had a med check appointment with Dr. Shady DeKane. JPA was there for that one. This report has a much different, almost harsher tone to it. Dr. DeKane noted that Micah had no mental health problems until a month ago, quote, when she became manic to the point of being delusional. She was talking extremely fast, loud, and grandiose themes like saving the world. She approached her boss in an aggressive way with a

commercial idea and when he ignored her, she slammed her fist on the desk. She spent nights without sleep prior to hospitalization. She admitted to racing thoughts, increased energy and motivation, spending money, and poor judgment. She denies depression or anxiety symptoms. Micah also denied feeling suicidal. But there it is in writing. As of January 18th, Micah still had not had an episode with depression, the valley to mania's peak, the necessary second element to a bipolar disorder diagnosis. But also, can we talk about the part where Micah allegedly slammed her fist on the boss's

desk because he ignored her ideas about a commercial? Is that a sign Micah was mentally ill? Or a sign that she was passionate about her job and felt like she was being discounted or patronized? Dr. Duquesne's note then continued, quote, she was so out of control that husband feared for his life and called members of the congregation to help out. JP feared for his life? Really? It's frustrating that this was stated as a fact without an example of why he feared for his life. What did Micah do that made him frightened? Because without an example of why a person legitimately feared for his life, this doctor ends up confusing matters. It almost seems like she's treating

JP like he is her patient. Also, not for nothing, but not one time did JP intimate in any of his communications with Micah in the probate files, the ones we shared with you in episodes 63 and 64, that Micah tried to hurt him. Not one item in his list of why she needed to stay on her meds included, because you made me fear for my life. There were a few more telling notes in this report. One is that Micah told the doctor she couldn't remember any of the events leading to her psychiatric hospitalization. There was another note that JP and Micah were paying out of pocket and could not afford the medication that Dr. Duquesne recommended. So in the appointment that JP didn't attend,

Micah brought up concerns about her diagnosis and hospitalization and the therapist saw signs of codependency. In the appointment that included JP, however, the report seemed to be, at least in part, written from JP's perspective, thereby creating an official record of his narrative of Micah's so-called break with reality. And if the doctor really was taking her cues from JP's perspective, one wouldn't be wrong to assume that he would have given her the worst picture of how things went down, right? So we have speedy thoughts, speedy language, wanting to save the world, banging her tiny fist on a desk to get her

boss's attention, and JP fearing for his life for no explicit reason. That's what we have so far. and JP fearing for his life for no explicit reason. That's what we have so far. Two weeks later, Micah and JP were back in Dr. Duquesne's office. Micah reported having problems with her medication. She told the doctor that she was considering stopping her meds last week and did so for one or two days. Dr. Duquesne noted, quote, she was despondent and she sat there showing no emotions. For the most part, husband answered questions. She said she cannot work like this or

participate at church singing. So again, we see JP answering for Micah and we see Micah's concerns about work. Work mattered to her. Micah asked to be taken off lithium. Instead, they decided to do a trial with Invega and taper her Zyprexa. The doctor noted that Micah's attitude was guarded and that her judgment and insight were poor. The most interesting note, though, is at the bottom. Quote, patient believes she is not bipolar, that she only had a nervous breakdown. So that on its own doesn't mean much but consider the context we keep saying it over and over but when we outline what

Micah was going through in December 2017 all we can think about is how much stress she must have been under. Between her surgery, her secret marriage to JP, the drama of their past, suddenly becoming a stepmom to five kids, the pressure of not doing anything that would cause further harm to the financial prosperity of the church, all of it. It was a lot. It does not seem like a stretch to characterize Micah's behavior then as a nervous breakdown. It's easy to see that there was an external cause playing a role here. Again, the only instance of mania in Micah's history provided by JP at that point appears to have been that strange text she sent to JP's associate on December 15.

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as a business owner, you've hustled to accomplish a lot. But the rewards don't stop there. When you earn two times more points on things that matter to you and your business, easily track those business expenses, and experience flexible Aventura rewards, you'll realize how much more rewarding your hustle can be. Get up to $1,800 in value when you apply for the CIBC Aventura Visa for Business at cibc.com slash Aventura Business. Terms and conditions apply. See you next time. of energy in your body, often your limbs, and the only way to relieve it is to move or literally shake it off. It's a side effect to some of the drugs she was on. Interestingly, in her reports, this is when Dr. DeKane began sometimes referring to Micah as they, and this was a pattern throughout the records that we saw. It's as if she was seeing JP and Micah as a singular unit. She noted that when Micah was experiencing

the intense akathisia that she had told them to go to the ER for a shot of cogentin because it would work longer term, but that they refused due to lack of insurance. Again, we see repeated instances where their lack of insurance seems to be affecting the quality of Micah's care at that time. The doctor noted that Micah asked when she could go back to work. Again, work. And she noted that there were no signs of mania or depression.

15 days later, though, things took a turn. On February 27, 2018, Micah called her doctor and said she was feeling very depressed for no reason. This is the very first documented instance of Micah's depression that we have. Again, it's after her diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which is a diagnosis that includes depression as a symptom. It's after she was prescribed medication. It was after her prescription was changed at least twice.

And it was after a report that she had missed a few days of taking her meds, one of which, the Zyprexa, lists depression and suicidal ideation as a potential side effect to the drug. And it's a drug that has very harsh withdrawal symptoms when suddenly stopped and not tapered off of. After her phone call, the doctor decreased Micah's Zyprexa dosage and noted that they'd have an online appointment in a week. It's not clear if that appointment happened though. If it did, we were not given the record for it.

Also, Dr. Duquesne didn't know whether she had asked Micah about feelings of suicidality at that point or if she did, how Micah answered that question. Which seems odd to us, since this question seems to be regularly asked of Micah up until this point. We do know that the day after this call, Micah, or allegedly Micah, sent an email to a doctor. The name on the email was redacted, presumably by JP or someone on his team. This is the email where Micah spelled so with five O's akin to that weird part in her obituary where it said, Micah loved her family so much. Something that we read as sarcasm from JP. In this

email Micah said she was so depressed and that they can't figure out what to do without putting her on an antidepressant. She allegedly wrote, "'I feel like there is no hope to live a normal life.'" Which again, it's something that JP appeared to be telling Micah at the time. He was catastrophizing it, making it seem like she was going to be like this forever

and she could be institutionalized at any moment. That's a lot to bear. Also, we're saying allegedly because of the multiple accusations that JP impersonated Micah regularly, but this is interesting, right? The medical records we have don't note that Micah's doctor wanted to put her on an antidepressant at any point. And nowhere in the records at this point

does the doctor note any personal resistance to antidepressants? But clearly a conversation was being had. On March 8th, 2018, the day after Micah turned 24, Micah was back for an appointment. This is where things got very interesting. So we told you about how True Crime Re also gave us handwritten notes with these records. There are also redactions and the redactions here were made with a black marker. Beth Braden zoomed in on the redactions and discovered that the pen didn't cover them, meaning we can see what, again presumably, JP

J.P. did not want us to see. So on March 8th, 2018, Micah was back in the office. Four words into the report, we have our first husband said. Again, J.P. was present and again the clinician was relying on his narrative. Micah's chief complaint for this visit on the day after her birthday was, I'm just so sad. The clinician noted that JP said, and I quote, they stopped Cyprexa because he thought it is making her depressed. Again, there's that they and also, JP stopped Micah's meds? What? Here's what the report from March 8th says. Patient came in the office bawling and complaining of depression symptoms. Said she lays in bed all day crying and worrying about what she should be doing to provide for her family.

Now by family, did Micah mean her parents and siblings, half of whom were younger than she was? Or did she mean JP and her five and siblings, half of whom were younger than she was? Or did she mean JP and her five stepchildren? Either way, there it is, right? There's what's lying behind her repeated mentions of wanting to work and wanting to be better at her job. Again, was Micah facing a Hobbesian choice here? She could keep working and make her husband unhappy or stop working and lose autonomy over her finances and the degree to which she could help her loved ones if they needed her to.

The clinician noted that Micah wasn't sleeping or showering, that she was afraid to leave the house and that she had passive suicidal ideation with no intentions, but a plan to quote, get a gun to kill herself because I don't want to fail and survive and be worse than now. Husband was present and reported that she had these thoughts for several days on and off. The clinician noted that Micah was disheveled and had a blank stare and a flat affect.

The clinician then noted that she had suggested Micah be hospitalized, but that they, again, there's that they, refused. Quote, husband reports he is with her all the time. I don't let her out of my sight. I told him to keep the meds with him at all times and monitor how she takes them, to bring her here or to the ER if things change and she becomes actively suicidal. She agrees to this plan and said she could not do it anyway.

It's just the thought of feeling like this for the rest of my life. Now again, we have documented evidence that JP believed Micah was going to be unwell for the rest of her life. He even went so far as to tell her that medical professionals had told him he would only see the woman he married a few times a year. Within days of her diagnosis, he was catastrophizing it in a way that made her out to be a ticking time bomb unless she took her meds. Oh yes, the meds and the redactions. Let's talk about those last few lines of this report. The clinician wrote, I stress that the better outcome is when patients follow all the recommendations like therapy, compliance with meds, and here she wrote in all caps, as prescribed.

So therapy, which Micah only went to once. It was the only appointment so far that JP appears not to have been a part of. And meds, quote, as prescribed. Understandable, right? At the beginning of the report, she wrote that JP said he had taken Micah off one of her meds on his own, so that makes sense. Then it goes on, in parentheses, patient and husband redacted, redacted, or redacted, redacted. Beth, you want to zoom in and read that again to us without the redactions? Patient and husband stop meds on their own or share each other's meds. So yeah, JP or presumably JP, according to his pal True Crime Rhee anyway, didn't want us to know that part.

JP didn't want us to know that he was sharing his meds with her, which confirms one of the accusations in Micah's list. That one little redaction contains a very large truth behind it, and it now raises several questions. Primary among them is this, how much of Micah's illness and behavior was influenced by off-the-books medications. What is real and what isn't? We now have an unusually abrupt diagnosis, absent depression, one of the key components of that illness. We have an immediate catastrophization of that diagnosis by JP. We have several instances of gaslighting of JP telling Micah she is broken and an ill person who is selfish, ungodly, and abnormal.

We have him accusing her of not being compliant with her medications. of not being compliant with her medications. Then we have repeated refusals to take her to a hospital, an inability to pay for the medication that was recommended, an admission that he independently decided to take Micah off her meds, and a redaction that covered up the fact that he was sharing medications with her. And right around

the time he was playing pharmacist, we have Micah falling into a pit of depression with suicidal ideation for the first time in her life. Someone didn't want us to see that part of the report because they knew what it meant, that it was at least partly to blame for Micah's state of mind. At the end of this visit, a doctor prescribed Selexa, quote unquote, because it's more affordable along with Ativan for the anxiety and sleep. The doctor noted that she told Micah that the Ativan is only to be used when absolutely needed and warned her that she could call her at any time and order her to bring the pill bottle for a pill count at any time. She also noted that quote they, again with the quote they

agreed with this and that JP would take Micah to the ER as she became suicidal again. Now the number one question here is why didn't the doctor have Micah involuntarily hospitalized at this juncture? Not only was the suicidal ideation a concern here, but that doctor was letting a distressed Micah leave the hospital with a man who just admitted to taking his wife off the meds this doctor said that she needed and who admitted to giving his wife

medications of his own and Why doesn't the doctor ask whether there are guns in the home whether Micah had access to guns? how big does a red flag need to be before someone sees it? Or does a flag not seem so red when it is being held by a pastor? Next week, we will talk about what happened on that day that Micah allegedly tried to kill herself for the first time in what the aftermath of that looked like. So stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. True Sunlight is a Lunashark production created by me, Mandy Matney and co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell.

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