Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #77 - The Tangled Web of What JP Miller Knew on the Night Mica Died + Is Big Creighton Energy Coming Back For More?

Episode Date: December 5, 2024

The Mica Francis case takes another turn as Solid Rock moves to "The Rat Hole". Questions continue to be raised about what Myrtle Beach Pastor JP Miller knew about his estranged wife’s death on the night her body was found in a North Carolina swamp … and when he knew it. Are those questions fair? Are they warranted? Are they just the beginning to figuring out what happened to Mica Francis in April 2024? Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell take a second look at old pieces of the puzzle and put them together with new information and offer their perspective on how investigators regarded JP Miller from the very beginning and why it seemed to rattle him. Also on the show, an update on Russell Laffitte’s federal retrial and his attorney’s infamous delay tactics, as well as the possibility of South Carolina Attorney General’s Office prosecutor Creighton Waters getting his turn at putting Russell behind bars sooner rather than later.  Plus, Cory Fleming prepares for his restitution hearing, Nautilus insurance asks a federal judge to make Cory and his former law firm pay them millions for the Satterfield heist. And why it’s time for an investigation to be opened into Chris Skinner’s death. Also! Our cup of justice co-host Eric Bland is having a Book Signing This Saturday 12/7 at noon In Beaufort, SC Click for Details! Premium Episode Resources Jason Clarke casting article in Deadline Russell Laffitte’s Nov 14, 2024 Order for New Federal Trial - Premium File EB’s book “Anything but Bland” The Rat Hole in Myrtle Beach Why is Mica Miller's Church Hiding This Sermon? John Paul Millers Lost Sermon Robbie Harvey YouTube Channel Russell Laffitte’s Dec 4, 2024 Joint Status Report - Premium File Cory Fleming’s Dec 2, 2024 Preliminary Evidence List - Premium File Chris Skinner Drowning Investigation - Premium File NewsNation Interview with JP Miller True Sunlight Episode 60  JP Miller on Flodaddyflo’s TikTok Mica Francis Death Investigation Release - May 7, 2024 - Premium File Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ 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... Eric Bland's New Book!!! - Mandy's Book in Paperback!! - Marcia Clark's New Book - Amanda Knox's New Book - Tamron Hall's New Book - Erin Lee Carr's Book Peloton - onepeloton.com Find your push. Find your power with Peloton at onepeloton.com. 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

When I look back at my younger self, I remember the feeling of being bullied and disrespected. I remember hating that feeling, and I remember the day that I resolved to never let it happen again. When I founded Bland Richter with my partner Ronnie Richter, we committed to build a firm that demanded respect and that would fight the powerful on behalf of clients who felt powerless. We stand tall against the largest law firms in the state, the country, and the entire world, and we've remained true to the commitment not to be pushed around. Tenacious representation, proven results. We are Bland-Richter. Learn more about what we do and who we are by visiting blandrichter.com. That's B-L-A-N-D-R-I-C-H-T-E exactly J.P. Miller is hiding, but after sorting through the tangled

web of lies he weaved in the 24 hours after Micah's death. I think that we are close to finding something that is a big deal. 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. Hello, I want to start the show with some good news. As y'all may know, Deadline reported this week that the untitled Murdoch scripted series, based on our podcast, had some really big news. The already amazing cast,

led by Academy Award-winning and Hollywood legend, Patricia Arquette, will be joined by the Jason Clarke, who will be playing Elick Murdoch. Clarke is known for his phenomenal performances in many blockbuster hits, like Zero Dark Thirty, Pet Sematary, and one of our favorite movies, Chappaquiddick. Jason's portrayal of Ted Kennedy's actions in the wake of Mary Jo Kopeckney's death

in 1969 were actually an inspiration to our first episode, which was titled South Carolina's Chappaquiddick. That episode has been listened to over 3 million times, which is crazy. And the reason that we're excited about this Hulu series most of all is that we get to work with the amazing filmmakers Aaron Lee Carr and Michael D. Fuller, who will bring life and awareness to themes that have been overlooked by so many in legacy media, news magazines, trash true crime, and the fake world of social media. The actors, the production, and the cinematography is going to connect us with so many known

and unknown victims attached to the saga. As this Hulu project goes along, I want you to be a part of that process. Or at least, as much as I can share in our contract without having spoilers. And to be clear, my name is on this project too. So hopefully, you know that it will expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to the victims, and get the story straight. We cannot wait to get this scripted series project into homes across the world. Liz David and I are pumped to head to LA next week to work on the show.

Many more announcements to come, so stay pesky and stay tuned. You would think things would slow down for us in December, but actually they are heating up, especially in Murdoch land. So let's start there. Here's Liz. So I think we've been in a little bit of denial over the appellate court's decision to overturn Russell Lafitte's federal conviction a few weeks ago because it is only now becoming clear to me just how much this man is going to be back in our lives. But justice is justice, and we consider Russell, an alleged enabler, to be one of the worst types of players in the Murdoch schemes because decent men stand up to bullies and thieves,

and that is not what Russell appears to have done. Ellic couldn't have done what he did to his clients without Russell's alleged help. And it's because of Russell's case that PMPAD was able to pull off what we would consider one of the most sinister tricks in all of this. They seem to have capitalized on this notion that the US Attorney's Office really wanted a piece of the Murdoch game, that they really wanted to outshine the South Carolina Attorney General's Office on the Murdoch game, that they really wanted to outshine the South Carolina Attorney General's office on the Murdoch playing field. It appears that they knew how badly the U.S. Attorney's office wanted in on that, so they

helped them and as a result were able to walk away from it being formally labeled as victims in this, which is laughable and disgusting. Even more disgusting is that the U.S. Attorney's Office allowed that to happen while one of PMPD's family members, partner Danny Henderson's daughter Kara, was in the office. At that time she worked for Duffy Stone but was stationed in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charleston. Now she works for them full-time. But we can't stress enough what a breach of public trust that is, especially when we

know what the U.S. Attorney's Office knows about other things that might have been going time. But we can't stress enough what a breach of public trust that is, especially when we know what the U.S. Attorney's Office knows about other things that might have been going on in the world of Elk Murdock. That said, let's start with the most exciting update we have on Russell because it might be time for you to get out those BCE t-shirts again, my friends. And that's exciting! It's a bright spot in all of this. We're going to get to see Creighton Waters back in action. Remember two episodes ago when we said that maybe it's time for the South Carolina Attorney General's office to have their turn at putting Russell behind bars? Or rather, that we think it's time for the AG's office to fire up that big Creighton energy to show the feds how it's done? On Monday, December 9th, there's a hearing scheduled regarding Russell Lafitte's state

charges. Savage, right? It's great because, let's be honest, the U.S. Attorney's Office kind of co-opted a major portion of the state's investigation anyway. And let's not forget how scary state prison is to these gentlemen. From what we understand, the hearing next week is to set a trial date, finally, discuss Russell's state bond conditions now that he's back out of prison, and talk about his frozen assets, which stick a pin in that one for a second.

Because we want to, no no, we need to, talk about a very serious disease that South Carolina judges are particularly susceptible to and that we hope federal judges are immune to. And that disease is called the Markmore Delangement Syndrome. MMDS, Markmore Delangement Syndrome. And now that Russell is out of prison, we're gonna be seeing an uptick in inflections. So Mark Moore is Russell's attorney. He works for Maynard Nexon, which used to be called Nexon Pruitt. It's one of the biggest and most influential law firms in South Carolina. In fact, if you've read our Cup of Justice

co-host Eric Bland's book, Anything But Bland, you'll recognize the law firm's name as one that helped catapult Eric's career in going up against attorneys accused of malpractice. Eric and his partner, Ronnie Richter, were known as the guys who were willing to do that, which is a big deal in South Carolina's good old boy attorney ecosystem. And both Eric and Ronnie felt the brunt of that. There was a price to pay for calling out the big guys. Anyway, Mark Moore took over for Bart Daniel and Matt Austin to handle Russell's federal appeal.

At that point, we only knew Mark Moore as the seemingly universally disliked attorney who was representing Greg Parker in the Mallory Beach civil conspiracy case, which he is still doing. He wasn't just seemingly universally disliked. And I'm serious. When we would say his name to attorneys in South Carolina, there would be a visceral reaction to that. Mark had a reputation as someone who never met an excuse he couldn't use to further delay cases. Now, of course, Mark would likely say that's because he's highly in demand and busy, which is true. He was a former state and federal prosecutor and is persistent as all get out. But watching his delay tactics in action has been bananas.

In April 2023, Mark Moore appeared in front of Judge Clifton Newman for a status conference in Russell's state case. And who was by his side? None other than State Representative Todd Rutherford, the guy who was under public scrutiny because of a secret deal he had cut with a retiring judge that December to release murderer Gerard Price under the auspices of a law that was not, on its face, intended to secure early releases for murderers. It wasn't until after Elick Murdoch was convicted as a murderer, though, that Gerard Price was actually released, raising our suspicions that that had been done in service of testing out that law for Elick's potential future use of it.

That said, we were all shocked when we saw Rutherford in the courtroom because, as it goes with state lawyer legislators, that meant one thing, that they were going to use Rutherford and his legislative immunity from having to appear in court during the legislative session to delay Russell's state trial. So in April 2023, Mark Moore told Judge Newman, trial. So in April 2023, Mark Moore told Judge Newman, quote, My client is being forced to defend himself in state and federal courts. I'm asking for a little grace because we are new to this case. For a number of reasons, we should not be forced to go to trial too early. Judge Newman was like, fine, I'll give you grace. We'll revisit this in three to four months." Which they did. So when they met in August 2023, Mark Moore's first words were not, let's schedule this case. Nope. He was like, we need some of that money Russell

gave to his other law firm, transfer it to our law firm. And then Mark Moore told Judge Newman with a kind of a knowing smirk on his face, that he had spent no time preparing for the state case because he had been so busy with Russell's appeal. At the time, they were trying to delay the start of Russell's federal prison term until after the Fourth Circuit could rule on his appeal, and Mark used that to his advantage, saying they needed to wait on the outcome of that first, which just happened. We literally found out the outcome 14 months later. Anyway, Creighton was like, okay, we can meet again to talk about a trial date after we

know the outcome of the other thing. But look, if we don't schedule this soon, we're looking at fall 2024 because of old Todd Rutherford now being attached to the case. Mark's rebuttal to that was that he was a really busy man, that he needed several months to prepare for Russell's state case, and then he threw Creighton under the bus like Creighton can't even answer whether Russell's charges will be tried altogether or in separate counties. And then he MMDSed all over the place when it came to planning when the next status conference would be,

telling the court that he was busy, that Todd might be busy, and that he had a doctor's appointment he couldn't miss. Ultimately, Judge Newman was like, okay, Mark, let's see what the federal court has to say about Russell reporting to federal prison. And he scheduled another hearing for a few weeks after that. Then Then in September, when it was still not clear when Russell would be required to report to prison because of his appeal, Rutherford boldly told Newman, there is absolutely no reason to move this case forward when it came to scheduling the state trial.

You might remember that hearing because Corey and Ellic were also there and Todd Rutherford stood up when Ellic entered the courtroom to shake his hand. Judge Newman ultimately decided not to set the trial date, which brings us to now. So also this week, on Monday, Mark Moore and Emily Limehouse submitted a status report to Judge Gergel to let them know where things stood in terms of setting a date for Russell's federal retrial. The court's preference is that it be set for March.

Here's what the report said after misspelling Russell's name in the very first sentence. Number one, immediate Mark Moore delangement syndrome kicked in. They told the court that Mark didn't represent Russell during the original trial and while he has quote a familiarity with the record he needs you guessed it more time. Let's call that M-O-O-R-E time. Two, but that's not all. If excuse number one isn't good enough for you judge here's another one. Mark is involved in a, quote, complex civil matter that will be taking up his time over the next three months. Three, was excuse two not enough, Judge?

We have another one for you. Russell is considering adding another lawyer to the team. Four, but sad face, the court froze Russell's monies and now he can't pay Markmore for his appeal. The old bills? Or his trial? The new bills? Or another attorney? Whomp, whomp. Five. Wait, wait, wait. Excuse number five. Markmore has a personal matter which might interfere with a March 2025 court date. Emily Limehouse said that she was prepared to try the case on March 24th, which Russell thinks is too early.

But that would be the earliest he could do it. He would rather have it be May, though. But here's the really good part. Emily told the court that she might add additional charges to Russell's indictment, which is what? While Mark has delays, Emily has more charges. Russell's case is so dramatic. Behind the scenes, we're also told that it's not out of the realm of possibility that we might see new defendants here too. Who? Well, we have always wondered about Russell's sister

and father in their alleged roles in creating Elick Murdoch's crime-friendly banking system. So like we said a few weeks ago, even though this appellate decision gets Russell out of prison, it is a short-term blessing with a curse attached to it. Things are almost worse for him now. Okay, so Emily told the court that the government plans to object to any more MMDS nonsense

moving forward because any new charges wouldn't be a surprise to Russell's team. They stem from testimony, apparently. And Mark Moore's response to that is, well, I'ma do that anyway. He's like, I don't know. That personal issue of mine might come up around that time and you know, those extra charges would require more work for me. On Monday, the state hearing is going to be heard by Judge Heath Preston Taylor in Orangeburg County.

That's right, home of Bowen Turner. This will be the first time Judge Taylor will be weighing in on the Murdoch case, so it'll be interesting to see what tone he sets. We hope the tone is, I've been vaccinated against Markmore Delangement Syndrome, and we hope he's not susceptible to the games that are being played by Todd Rutherford attaching himself to this case. In fact, we hope if Todd is there, that the judge quizzes him on facts of the

case to verify that Todd is in it as Russell's actual lawyer and not in it, because Mr. Can't Pay His Bills can somehow afford to pay Todd to pay the Todd Rutherford for his legislative immunity alone. We also hope that Judge Gergel has been vaccinated for MMDS, and we hope he sees the same patterns that the rest of us do with Mark Moore. Hey there, EB here, your faithful Cup of Justice co-host. I am so excited to tell you about my new

book, Anything But Blank. In this memoir, I share stories about my childhood marked by bullying, my father's job loss, and the indomitable spirit that propelled me into the law and ultimately international recognition during the Alex Murdoch murder trial. I believe in certain life principles that have helped me and helped others achieve success. From the power of organization and a sense of urgency to the importance of truth, leadership and resilience. With vivid recollection from challenges and triumphs framing each chapter, success isn't about luck, it's earned through skill and hard work.

Please visit TheErikBland.com to learn more about the book, Anything But Bland is the manifesto for those seeking triumph over adversity and a guide for anyone aspiring to reach their full potential. Okay, the next Murdoch update we have is about Corey Fleming. On December 18th, he is scheduled to appear in front of Judge Taylor for a hearing on how much restitution he owes for his state charges. Corey is trying to appeal his nearly 14-year prison sentence

that he got after pleading guilty to all 23 of his state charges. Remember Corey and his attorney, Debbie Barbier, were banking on Judge Gergel's assistance in minimizing his state sentence. They really seemed to expect that Corey would get time served. The Court of Appeals has delayed its decision and whether it'll allow Corey to appeal a plea deal until after he is fully sentenced by the state, which includes this restitution issue.

And it is annoying that it's taken this long to decide. It has almost been 15 months since Corey was originally sentenced. Over the past six months, the state has been trying to come up with a resolution for Corey's team outside of the courtroom, and it doesn't seem to appear to be going anywhere. On Thursday, Corey has a deadline to submit a list of any evidence he plans to

resent on the 18th that he, quote, contends reduces or mitigates the claimed amounts of restitution. In other words, in true Murdoch crime land fashion, Corey is once again trying to evade consequences. What are those consequences in terms of the state restitution? On November 6th, the state submitted its position to this on the court. They say the total amount of Corey's crimes is $3.7 million. But it is complicated and annoying to figure out what he actually owes. We're not going to go into it today because it's one of those things where you have to keep your

eye on the ball. Ultimately, it looks like the state is requesting restitution of around $150,000 total to the Satterfield family, Pamela Pinkney and PMPAD. After Corey's hearing, we'll explain how they arrived at that figure because I know it looks egregiously low. But the thing to know now is that Corey apparently thinks it's egregiously high. So there we are with that. The last update in the Murdoch crime world is related to the Nautilus lawsuit, which is the insurance company that paid out the bulk of the Satterfield claim back in 2019

that Corey and Ellic stole. The trial is set for January 6th in Charleston. On November 27th, Nautilus asked the federal court for summary judgment against Corey and his former law firm and to order them to pay $3.8 million in damages. They're largely using Corey's plea deals as the basis for their motion. The most interesting thing going on there though is this. On Monday, Corey submitted his evidence list. He has 46 items on there, mostly letters and emails and including Judge Carmen Mullen's shady order

approving the shady settlement on May 13, 2019. As well as an email from Judge Mullen's law clerk from June 13, 2019, and our favorite, an email thread from September 29, 2021 from Judge Mullen to Nautilus' attorney John John Grantland. The guy who wasn't at court the day she okayed the settlement in 2019, who told Corey the check needs to go not to his law firm, but directly to Forge, the real one. Gee, what could Judge Mullen have been emailing John Grantland about on September 29th, 2021? Well, let's see. That was three weeks after Ellick was fake changing a tire on the side of the road when

he got fake shot in the head by a fake man who looked like one of the boat crash victims. It was two weeks after Eric and Ronnie filed their lawsuit against Elec for the Satterfield heist, and 13 days after Elec's arrest which stunned the entire legal community in South Carolina at the time. It was two days after Eric and Ronnie asked the court to have Elec civilly detained for the Satterfield heist. It's also the day that Eric and Ronnie filed list pendants against Moselle on behalf of the Satterfield family. I don't know about you, but we cannot wait to see what old Carmen Mullen

had to say on September 29th, 2021 to an insurance attorney about a deal she signed off on two and a half years earlier. So that raises the question, is Corey gonna throw Judge Mullen under the bus? Carmen Mullen is a major loose thread in the Murdoch mystery world. Is our Supreme Court completely cool with everything she did that ultimately helped pave Ellic Murdoch this smooth path to steal millions from his clients?

So far, the answer has been yes. So far, the answer from all officials in South Carolina is silence, and their silence ultimately means approval. If Corey throws Carmen Mullen under the bus, it could lead to so many answers beyond Carmen. Perhaps it could finally lead officials on a path to finally discover where the missing millions went and who else was involved. It remains to be seen, but given how hard he's fighting for his state restitution to be lowered and given that Nautilus is seeking a giant paycheck from him, now would be the time, right? We'll keep you posted about this case as we get closer to the trial date.

Now, before we talk about J.P. Miller and the latest on what happened the night of Micah Miller's death in April, we have a few things to address. First, Solid Rock Ministries has apparently moved its services to an area called, and I'm not kidding, the Rat Hole. On Sunday, YouTuber Robbie Harvey posted photos showing a sign outside of the warehouse that said, Welcome to Solid Rock. The warehouse is reportedly located at the same address as a 15-acre field called the Rat Hole, which is advertised as being outside of Myrtle Beach limits

and quote, away from prying eyes. It looks like a place where motorcycle rallies and rodeos are held, not church services. This story could not be any more silly, but it looks like JP, or old solid rock anyway, is doing its darndest to hold onto what is left of the churchy business that they have. And we're calling it a churchy business from now on. It's not a church, it's a churchy business. I don't know what it is about us and covering men who just don't give up.

Okay, second, we had a phenomenal response to our episode last week outlining what happened to Chris Skinner. Chris is the quadriplegic man who appears to have operated his wheelchair into his neighborhood pool where he drowned in September 2021. He's the man married to JP's alleged paramour, Suzy Skinner, who according to court documents was having an open affair with JP at the time and who is allegedly still with JP now. We're going to talk more about this case in the future, but for now we want to put an open call out to the Horry County Corner to consider opening an inquest into Chris's death, which was called an accident at the time. This is important because calling it an accident and not a suicide could have made a difference in any insurance policy that was in play. Though one isn't listed as part of Chris's estate that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The investigation done at the time of Chris's death, in our opinion, was flimsy to basically nonexistent. And we think that there's cause for this to be looked into now. And part of that cause is Micah's April 27th death by gunshot in Lumberton, North Carolina. Two apparent suicides. So after careful consideration, we've decided to call Chris's death an apparent suicide based on the information we

have. So now we have two apparent suicides of two devout Christians attached to Solid Rock Ministries whose spouses were allegedly carrying on an affair at the time of their deaths. Two apparent suicides of Solid Rock Church members who sources say were trying to end J.P. Miller's influence over their lives at the time of their deaths. Two apparent suicides of Solid Rock Church members who were struggling at the time of their deaths. And two apparent suicides of solid rock church members who might have been affected by the notion that suicide was an earthly decision with eternal

heavenly impact, one that returned them to their whole and healthy minds and bodies in heaven. We'll talk more about this in a future episode, but let's just say that this idea we raised last week about suggestibility contained in messages like the one I just said, that you will be made whole in heaven, you are living in misery here on earth, but there is relief on the other side, is worth considering especially when we're thinking about the why of why the FBI would be involved in this case.

Okay, so 17 episodes ago, we told y'all about JP's unhinged interview with Rich McHugh of News Nation. In episode 60, we covered the basics, how JP was in the middle of a media blitz that appeared to be for one purpose and one purpose only, to villainize Micah and her family as they were in a war over Micah's estate. Soon after this interview aired, JP posted his own version.

He had recorded audio of the full unedited version, which was even more telling. And then he did even more interviews on TikTok and YouTube where he shamed and blamed Micah's family while insulting Micah's memory. Right after all of this, Micah's family and JP Miller announced that they had reached a global settlement in the Francis family's fight to oversee Micah's estate. This meant that Micah's family, led by her attorney Regina Ward, gave up the power to file lawsuits on Micah's behalf. Lawsuits that could have unearthed the truth about what happened to her. Lawsuits that would have guaranteed that Micah's story

would stay in the spotlight for years to come. Lawsuits that could have changed the systems that drove Micah to her death, such as the way clinicians sign off on involuntary hospitalizations and how police respond to stalking and harassment calls. Most importantly, there could have been lawsuits that would have likely made life for JP much worse. Lawsuits that were bad for his churchy business. have been lawsuits that would have likely made life for JP much worse.

Lawsuits that were bad for his churchy business. This is important because the settlement is a huge part of JP's overarching strategy to control the narrative here. However, we are here to make sure that doesn't happen. Now JP is a manipulator who has tricked, twisted and turned his way through life with little resistance. And I have to say, at times, like now, even I feel a little manipulated by JP Miller. Because in this interview that we covered in episode 60, JP was very obviously dodging

one certain question. And we had planned to cover that question and what he said in response to it in a later episode, but instead, we covered the week-to-week chaos that ensued. We got distracted, and I think that was the point. First, there was the sudden Francis family settlement. Then there was the release of the strange video recording of JP accusing Micah of having an affair. Then there were the 911 calls where Micah said specifically that her friends and family

were worried that JP was going to kill her and bury her somewhere. She said this just months before her death. And then there were the mountains of medical records that detailed Micah's strange and sudden mental health history that began at the same time that she married J.P. Miller. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Well, if Elick Murdoch weaved a tangled web, then J.P. Miller weaved a tangled web in a junkyard during a hurricane. That's what unraveling his nexus of defeat

feels like right now, at least. So, we wanna go back to this question from the News Nation interview that JP danced around and tried to dodge answering three separate times. If we've learned anything from covering guys like JP and Elec Murdock, it is always to look toward the direction that they are pointing you away from. And the question is important because a lot of people like YouTuber Robbie Harvey believe that JP knew more than he should have about Micah's death

in the hours after she died. And they believe that this knowledge points to his guilt of having some kind of involvement in Micah's death. So today we're going to piece together a bunch of facts that explain why this theory is out there because at first glance it might seem like the explanation to that is, well, he was her husband and maybe the police weren't thorough. But that wasn't it. I don't want you to lose the thread here.

So the first fact to start with is that on Monday, April 29th, Robeson County Sheriff's Office sent detectives to Myrtle Beach to investigate Micah's death, according to police records. Meaning, on the Monday after Micah's death, it appears that they didn't consider it an open and shut case of suicide. The Sheriff's Office did later tell all of us that all the evidence at the scene pointed to a suicide though, right? But there they are on that Monday,

leaving the state to do further investigation. Okay, so that's important because it's the lens we're gonna use to understand everything else that is happening here. The second thing to keep in mind is that spouses are normally considered the next of kin, but JP and Micah were separated at the time, and there was a stack of reports at the local police agencies that showed Micah repeatedly telling police that she was being harassed and stalked by JP. Under normal circumstances, when there's no strife in the relationship like that,

JP knowing details about Micah's alleged suicide wouldn't cause pause necessarily. Him knowing those details almost immediately would be a sign that the police didn't suspect him of anything, right? That they shared those details with him. But that's where things don't add up. Because the third thing to keep in mind is that on the night of Micah's death, the Myrtle Beach Police Department went to her apartment to initiate the next of kin notification. You heard that right? They didn't go to JP's house. They went to Micah's apartment. That tells us that either the Robeson County Sheriff's Office was simply going to the address listed on Micah's license, or they had some understanding of the dynamic between Micah and JP and

tried to find another next of kin and were leaning toward the latter and we'll tell you why in a bit. So initially it looked like the Sheriff's Office notified JP, right? And that JP was then regarded as the next of kin and that the Sheriff's Office took no time to really consider that maybe there was something more to the story here. We now know that's not the case obviously and largely because of the News Nation interview. We've taken a second look at all the details we have so far and we can now see how they piece together better because if the Sheriff's Office did no investigation into the

relationship then it made sense that they would have shared details with the grieving husband, right? But that's not what the puzzle is showing us. The puzzle shows us that they didn't seem to regard him as a grieving husband. In fact, they appear to have seen him as a person of interest initially. And guess who our source is on that? JP Miller. So let's think about this together.

When the Sheriff's Office posted their long press release in early May along with that PowerPoint presentation on why JP Miller didn't do anything wrong here, they showed us all the evidence that they used to determine that this was a suicide. And the evidence was pretty strong, right? She bought the gun, then used the gun. Her voice is on the 911 call. There were no signs of struggle near where the casings were found.

But then there are those police reports, right? Where Micah clearly expressed her fear of JP over and over. And then there was JP seeming to know more than he should have at the time, or at least the thought that he seemed to know more at the time shortly after her death. Now we don't have anyone saying that they know that JP was sharing these details prior to the phone calls that he says he received and made that night.

But let's be clear about what people are saying here when they say that he was giving friends details of her death before her death was even ruled a suicide. Either the Robeson County Sheriff's Office didn't treat this as a real investigation and they open and close the case too fast, or the medical examiner's office screwed up by disregarding the open investigation and giving JP details about the gun and the 911 call. Or JP had some kind of involvement in Micah's death and that's why he knew those things and now he's trying to cover it up. Again, this is a logic puzzle. If Robeson County regarded JP as Micah's rightful next of kin, then Myrtle Beach Police

would have gone to his house that night, but they didn't. And if they didn't, which like I said, they did not, but they knew to call him, then that means they knew there were problems, right? They didn't go to his house, but they knew to call him. And if they knew there were problems, then that means JP Miller was a person of interest, someone to ask further questions of, right? And if there was a person of interest, someone to get clarity from here,

that means that even though there was strong evidence to show that it was a suicide, detectives weren't fully convinced or were at the very least crossing their T's and dotting their I's because of how suspicious this was given JP and Micah's history. Just so we're all on the same page now, we're saying that the call JP got on the night of Micah's death from the Robeson County Sheriff's Office does not appear to have been simply a notification call, but something else altogether. From re-listening to the News Nation interview,

I can tell you that we have one conclusion. It is clear to us that JP is hiding something about what he knew in the hours after Micah's death, and it's clear he regarded this call from the detective as adversarial. So let's talk about that interview. After JP rambled on and on about how he tried to quote save Micah for months and how he was constantly in fear that she was going to kill herself. He briefly mentioned, quote, when he got the call, the call, meaning informing

him of Micah's death. And that call, he said, made him feel like a failure. Journalist Rich McHugh of NewsNation halted J.P.'s mount dribble and took the opportunity to ask a direct and critical question. What was the call and who was the call from and what did they say? The question is very clear. Who called you to tell you that Micah died and what did they say? Sorry, my nose itches sometimes when I talk or get nervous. Sorry, I won't pick it when I talk or get nervous.

Sorry, I won't pick it on camera, that's for sure. Man, that was a crazy night. It was a man, I got a call and it was a fake, I think he was a detective, I think. And I remember him being very calm and very nonchalant and so that's what I thought was is not real and so I started screaming I had a family with it was there with them I started screaming for them to use their phone to call the hospital where the guy said she was at and a family member

called the hospital and said it was real. But I still didn't believe it. And so I called a police chief that I know, someone around here, a captain or somebody. And I said, there's a detective named such and such on the phone telling me these things. Like, is this real? Is this a real person or not? And that person told me it was real as well. And I just remember, I remember screaming really loud

and throwing up everywhere. And... I'm going to pause here because there is a lot to unpack already. First of all, it is important to note that JP touched his nose repeatedly throughout this two-hour interview. And this part was incredibly odd. I focused on the nose and how weird he was being instead of concentrating on a strange

answer to the question. You got me there, JP. We saw speculation online at the time that he was doing the nose thing to show that he was wearing a wedding ring, which is a joke knowing what we know about his alleged relationship with Susie Skinner. Anyway, JP said that he initially got the phone call from a detective late on the evening of Saturday, April 27, 2024 and the detective told him that Micah was dead. Like I said, we now believe that this wasn't the purpose of the call.

But stick a pin in that for now and we will tell you why in a minute. Myrtle Beach PD confirmed with Beth Brayen, who did a phenomenal job on reporting for this episode, the cops did visit Micah's apartment at 10.30 pm on the night that she died for what appears to be a death notification. Sources have said that Micah's roommate answered the door and told the police to contact Micah's brother Nate, not JP. We are still trying to find out about what Myrtle Beach police did after them. Did they contact Nate?

Did they call the Robeson County Sheriff's Office to report back that the next of kin wasn't at the apartment? And or did that result in the call to JP? Or were these two things happening simultaneously? So note how JP says that the detective was nonchalant. Or were these two things happening simultaneously? So note how JP says that the detective was nonchalant. That is not how death notifications usually go. From our knowledge, they are solemn and respectful moments.

No cop who we've ever met likes doing them, but they take the responsibility seriously. JP's reaction to that was to scream, according to JP, right? That's a normal reaction when you hear about a death. But was the screaming about hearing that Micah died, or because the detective wasn't approaching him, with the respect that one would have for a next of kin notification. Was the detective approaching him as you would a person of interest? Was he telling him he had questions to ask him? Like maybe, where were you earlier today? Have you ever been to Lombardshan State Park?

Was he not giving JP the impression that he had regarded JP as her innocent husband? The part of this that JP says is a normal reaction to call is actually not when we consider that it is him. He said he didn't believe it. Normally, sure. If someone called us right now and said that our loved one is dead, we would have no way of immediately verifying that person on the other end of the phone is who they say they are. Which is why Next of Kin notifications are generally done in person and when they involve an out-of-state notification through the cooperation of local police agencies.

Keep that in mind after this short break and we will be right back. Okay let's talk about why JP isn't believable here. Well one, he's a liar. We have example after example of his lying including police reports where Micah told the police she was separated from him and he said they were not at a time when they definitely were according to court records. Two, JP has spent the past seven months telling the world that his biggest fear was that Micah was suicidal and about to kill herself.

Third, he said he had been tracking her car for months to make sure she didn't go buy a gun to kill herself. Third, he said he had been tracking her car for months to make sure she didn't go buy a gun to kill herself. Meaning, this is a call JP would have on some level been dreading in some way, right? It's his biggest fear being realized according to him. But again, this is JP. He's a grown man who has admitted to prank calling people according to sources. A man who was engaged in a one-sided battle with his estranged wife and pulling all sorts of nonsense on her. So we're going to give him that, that his disbelief was a logical response to that call.

But that brings me to this thought. Is JP Miller not telling the full truth about what this phone call was actually about? What if his reaction to Rich's question and to the detective's call was also due to JP refusing to believe that police dared to question him, Pastor JP Miller, about the death of Micah, the person he spent months painting out to be unhinged and suicidal and homicidal, the person he maligned over and over again in front of his congregation? What if JP's initial reaction was born of feeling insulted by the detective's tone? JP wasn't saying the detective was nonchalant as a compliment. He was being derogatory.

He was bothered by that. Was he upset, perhaps because the detective's approach meant that the police might know something? Whether it's a detail of Mika's death that didn't add up or that something happened that day to cause her to do this or even an indictment of his past behavior. Did JP flip out because they were on to whatever it is he seems to be hiding about what led to Micah's death? And did he end the call with the detective to do his own research because it bought him time to collect himself and get his head right about the situation

so that he could talk to the detective without creating suspicion. Now, back to the interview, JP says he screamed and then his sister called the hospital in Robeson County, the Southeast Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, where the detective on the phone allegedly told JP The detective on the phone allegedly told JP Micah's body was and that they confirmed Micah's death was real. And JP, who again literally just said in the same interview that he spent months doing everything he could to keep Micah alive to prevent her from killing herself, continued to not believe that Micah was dead. Again, denial is a thing.

We get that. We also get that people show grief in different ways. But we're also saying that we've had months of looking at these pieces and this is what we're seeing based on everything we now know about JP and his pathology. So finally, JP said he then, because he didn't believe the detective on the phone, contacted a friend at the Horry County Police, aka Heather Wilson, who we have talked about in previous episodes, and that Heather triple confirmed Micah's death for him. Then he told Rich McHugh he remembered

screaming really loud and throwing up everywhere. As he continued to dodge the questions he was being asked, Listen to how bizarre this is. What did they tell you? I remember going up and asking, is that thing? There was something weird. I'm sorry? What did they tell you? Um, I don't remember that. Oh, no I don't remember that.

Hold on. So, Rich was trying to stick to the point. What did they say to you? And JP's response is, I threw up something red. It was spaghetti. Which, I'm sorry, did he get that from Eminem? Why would he fixate on what he threw up like that matters?

Because he is clearly deflecting. What did they tell you, JP? Again, he doesn't directly answer the question. I thought somebody said, a family member called the hospital and spoke to a family member, a head nurse or medical examiner or somebody. And that lady read me stuff that the Robinson County, I guess, had wrote on a piece of paper. She was reading me suicide and the weapon and where it was at and all these different

facts. And so then I, because the detective would not tell me it was suicide. And then I called him back. I told him what the hospital told me and he was pissed off and asking who that lady's name was and I didn't know her name. And if I didn't I wouldn't tell anyway. I'm glad she told me. And so on.

And I said is this stuff true? And I can't remember if he said yes or just hung up. I don't remember. I don't remember. Do you remember what he said yes or just hung up. I don't remember. I don't remember. Do you remember what he said though? No and I don't remember at all. If I try to, if I try to, if I try to enunciate it, I'll probably be making something up based on all the crashing of everything going on. So I can't tell you for sure.

Let's pause again here real quick. Remember earlier when we said that initially it looked like JP was considered the next of Ken? And how that might explain how he knew things a person who was not the next of kin wouldn't have likely have been told at that time? This is where things went off the rails, we think. The police were at Micah's trying to notify her family. They were told to contact her brother. We don't know what they did next. But at the same time, a short distance away, JP was on the phone with a detective and somebody

at the hospital, allegedly, and his friend along with his sister, all while he was having his little spaghetti reaction. And when Rich asked him about it, he could not give a linear answer. In that interview, JP says that when his sister called Southwest Regional Medical Center, he thinks he spoke to the head nurse or medical examiner or somebody who read what happened to Micah from quote, a piece of paper. He said that this woman told him that Micah died by suicide and he gave them details about the weapon that Micah died by suicide, and he gave them details about the weapon that Micah was killed with.

And then there is the most important part here. He said that the detective who called him, quote, would not tell him it was suicide. And he said that that detective was pissed when he learned that JP had been given that information allegedly by someone at the hospital. Why would the detective be angry that JP knew? Remember, the evidence was pretty strong at the scene that it was a suicide, according to reports. If JP was the next of kin and all was well in the

kingdom, then it wouldn't be a big deal to be honest with him in that moment, right? Because the only reason in our opinions to not tell JP that this was a suicide right away, to not tell him the truth about her death is because he was considered a person of interest. Now, sure, it wasn't until April 30th that Micah's cause of death was officially declared according to her death certificate. That is the day after detectives

came to Myrtle Beach to investigate Micah's death. An argument could be made that they wanted to wait until it was official. But again, the evidence was strong, and if Micah were married to any other man and her marriage was intact, they probably would have told her spouse even before the death certificate was signed. But they didn't do that, according to him, because maybe they knew better. So, if JP is telling the truth,

and he learned details about the investigation from someone in the medical examiner's office, then wow. The medical examiner's office screwed up, in this case, big time. It would mean that the medical examiner's office got that call from JP's sister and gave her and JP important details of the story of how Micah died over the phone. The reason you don't give out details in an open investigation, especially to the man

who was stalking the victim, is because that allows the man to craft his own narrative around what police know, right? The spouse, especially an estranged spouse with a documented history of stalking and harassment allegations, well that would be their number one suspect in the initial phase of the investigation. And revealing any exclusive information to the number one suspect that early in the investigation, that would immediately destroy the integrity of the investigation.

Police want to keep certain details close to their chests so that they can catch suspects and lies. So if a murder victim was stabbed three times in the middle left part of her chest and a suspect casually mentions to police in an interview that it is so horrible how she was stabbed by her heart, and if that information was only shared among a few select people, then that would indicate to police that this person knows more than they should and that would signal to police that they are on the right track with this suspect. It is not a smoking gun, especially when police

and Emmys, apparently, are loose-lipped with investigation details, but it does put them on the right track. One more thing. JP says the detective asked for the name of the person who gave him this top secret information, which is understandable because it would be a big breach. And JP said he didn't know the name and he wouldn't have given it to him because he was glad that she had told him this information. So Richmond Q pressed JP again.

What exactly did the detective tell you? What information did the detective tell you about What information did the detective tell you about Micah's death on the night she died? And JP, suspiciously, said he couldn't say for sure. He said if he tried to articulate it, he would be making something up based on all the crashing of everything going on. I believe JP was being honest when he said based on all the crashing of everything going on but I don't think it's the crash of trauma or grief. I think it's a crash of his lies closing in on him. If JP Miller is to be believed and thus far I can't recall any time this man has been

completely honest about anything apparently, then the clear and easy answer to what did the detective tell you is this, Micah died. But JP can't articulate that because nose touch, that's not the full extent of what happened here, is it? He can't articulate it because to do so would be to admit that maybe they asked him about his behavior toward her. JP wants us to believe he got a random phone call from a random guy saying

he was a detective and that he was calling to notify him about his wife being dead. If that is true, then that means there was a major flaw in the first few hours of Robeson County Sheriff's Office investigation. But because of JP, we know it's not true. The detective was pissed that JP found out it was suicide. JP can remember that part, but not what else he said, right? We know that the police weren't at JP's house trying to notify Micah's next kid. We know that detectives came to town Monday.

We know that the investigation was still active and open days after Micah's cause of death was officially declared. So we know the Sheriff's Office didn't discount the allegations of abuse and stalking and harassment. They appear to have known, or at least suspected it. And again, that brings us back to the question of, did the medical examiner tell JP the details of Micah's death, or did JP already know something and is using the ME as a cover story? If this medical examiner told JP certain restricted details of the

investigation on the night of April 27th, was it because the Emmy heard the words pastor and husband and they fell for JP's alleged charisma and authority? Did the Emmy let protocol slip that night because of that? It's not hard to believe it could have happened that way. Or, and this is a big or because of how JP Miller lies, what if JP made up this person altogether? This person who he couldn't name and said he wouldn't name. This person who allegedly gave him key details about Micah's death. This person who is either an ME or an on-duty nurse reading from a file. What if that person doesn't exist at all? What if JP is caught in another lie here? Because if JP did know Micah died by suicide before being told by

the detective, then the detective would definitely want to know how did you know it was a suicide? We haven't even said that yet. JP gave a chaotic non-answer to Rich McHugh's repeated questions and he was clearly visibly distressed by those questions. Was that because he was remembering the horrible moment he found out that the wife he was allegedly torturing and persistently cheating on was dead? Or was it because he knew why Rich wanted to know the answers? What did the police say to you initially? This is a gateway question to did they treat you like a person of interest? Did they ask you about your history of stalking? And

what did JP do? He accidentally told on himself. The detective wouldn't tell him it was a suicide. The detective was pissed at him for knowing the details. It's really hard to believe the account of a known liar but even for a known liar this is an unusually tangled web. It's hard to make out the timeline or understand the situation linearly, but it does give us insight into how the police regarded JP that night. And JP did very little to help himself because the very next morning he was making things worse with the sermon he gave before announcing Micah's death.

So, you all know Al Capone, right? Some of y'all northerners remind me of Al Capone. he gave before announcing Micah's death. integrity. He would do anything to keep Capone out of jail. He was very successful and he was compensated greatly for his efforts. Easy Eddie had a son. With all of Eddie's wealth, there were two things, with all of his influence, two things he just could not give his son. He couldn't give him a good name and he couldn't give him a good example. So it got to where he couldn't even live with himself. Fully aware of his consequences, Easy Eddie went to the police one day and confessed everything he had done wrong the whole time he was working for Al Capone and the mob. The whole time.

He was trying to teach his son that, you know, son, integrity matters. You know, honor matters and excellence was important. He ended up testifying against Capone and the mob. And as he expected, his life ended in a hail of gunfire right outside of his home. Now, JP's sermons are big old beady roller coasters on the best of days. This is literally not even 12 hours though, after he allegedly learned of Micah's death. And he's talking about a notorious, syphilitic criminal and the fate of his rat attorney. On May 7th, Robeson County Sheriff Bernice Wilkins and his team met with Micah's family. According to a press release they released

to the public with the contents of their investigation soon after that, quote, John Paul Miller was given the opportunity to attend a separate meeting, and Miller indicated through his attorney that he would not come to North Carolina to meet with the investigators. Through his attorney, huh? He wouldn't meet with investigators. Going back to ol' Al Capone and Easy Eddie, I would call it interesting that JP talked about the demise of the man who turned on the big guy. Easy Eddie wanted redemption and he paid for that redemption with his life, allegedly at

the word of his former client. Interesting thought to have on the morning after JP found out Micah was dead, the morning after a detective clearly upset him with that phone call and asked him questions with answers that JP refuses to articulate during his open book media blitz to take down the Francis family. All so interesting is how the Sheriff's Office made a point in their JP is so innocent press release to also mention that JP had an attorney and was refusing to speak with them because less than a week after meeting with Micah's family, and just two weeks or so after JP's apparently messy call with the

detective, the FBI was already involved and a case was being built. Now we know that other creators following this case fully believe that Micah's death is being investigated as a murder. But we still aren't there yet. However, we believe JP is hiding something big about the day that Micah died. Why? Because we don't believe that one person can be this unlucky. We don't believe that this many coincidences can exist at one time. Whether Micah pulled the trigger or not

does not really matter to us. What led her to Lumberton that day? What made her go from packing a sandwich and getting ready for work to buying a gun at a pawn shop heading northwest to get gas and an energy drink before deciding her final destination would be a swamp in a North Carolina State Park where she had never visited before? What drove her to this point. Something or someone made her feel hopeless that day. They made her feel like there were no other options. Who drove her to this point? Is that what JP has been hiding

all along? Could that be what has made this man appear impossibly suspicious in a death that he has repeatedly claimed he has nothing to do with? And what about Chris Skinner's death? Was that just another solid rock coincidence? Maybe the answer lies in JP's own words. They were always thinking, what can I do for the next generation? What can I do for the next generation? On and on. And so it affects those that come after us.

No person in this room lives or dies unto himself. Micah wasn't in the room for the sermon. She was dead in a morgue in North Carolina, but her life and death served a much greater purpose. We know that for sure now, and we are closer than ever to exposing the full truth. Stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sun. mission and membership at lunasharkmedia.com interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky. Hey there listeners, EB here and I want to tell you about a new weekly podcast that I'm hosting.

I love being a lawyer, being a speaker. I absolutely am looking forward to being an author of my book, Anything But Bland, but I'm excited to tell you that I'm launching my very own podcast called Good Skill, Betting On Yourself. I delve into the idea that success isn't merely about luck, but is instead achieved through honing skills and strategic efforts and planning.

Each episode of Good Skill offers listeners an insightful journey into the minds of individuals who are reshaping their respective industries and their careers. of Good Skill offers listeners an insightful journey into the minds of individuals who are reshaping their respective industries and their careers. Good Skill serves as a beacon of inspiration with a roster of interesting guests like independent journalist, media disruptor, and Cup of Justice co-host Mandy Matney. These conversations empower listeners seeking to make their mark in the world. Visit the ericbland.com website to learn more or listen wherever you get your podcasts.