Photo: GoFundMe
The mother of the bride was killed by an accused drunk driver on her wedding night claims she's being "bullied" amid an ongoing estate battle with the groom.
Lisa Miller, the mother of Samantha 'Sam' Miller, shared several posts chronicling her grieving process on TikTok including one on Wednesday (December 7) amid reports that she and Aric Hutchinson were in a legal battle over Sam's estate and the validity of their marriage.
“I never thought that if I ever lost my child, I would be bullied on top of the grief that I suffer …” Miller wrote in a caption of a post that included the song 'I'll Stand By You' by The Pretenders. A quote shown displayed in the TikTok included the following: “Dear Sam, In the end, people will judge you anyway. Don’t live your life impressing others. Live your life impressing yourself.”
The New York Post claimed it reached out to Miller to clarify the source of the alleged bullying, to which she reportedly responded "no comment." Miller filed a petition to remove Hutchinson as the personal representative of her daughter's estate, citing "issues of potential fraud" and "conflict of interest."
Miller's attorney has filed, withdrawn and refiled a motion to intervene in a wrongful death lawsuit Hutchison filed on behalf of Samantha's estate in relation to the fatal crash that also left him with injuries. The estate is expected to earn a large settlement in the lawsuit, which was filed against the driver, Jamie Lee Komoroski and several local bars accused of serving her alcohol beyond the point of intoxication prior to the crash.
Attorneys representing Hutchinson referred to Lisa Miller's motion to intervene as "morally questionable" and "legally baseless" in a December 1 memo of opposition, acknowledging that South Carolina law states that the spouse is entitled to money and property and is given the role of personal representative of their estate if a married person dies without a will.
“Aric has been more than generous with Lisa Miller — offering her half of the money — and she has repaid him by threatening to bring a frivolous challenge to the validity of his marriage to Sam,” said Patrick Wooten, an attorney representing Hutchinson, via the Post and Courier.
“One would hope that Ms. Miller would have too much respect for her own daughter to do that,” he added.
Lisa Miller claimed that she declined the offer due to a provision that prohibited her from speaking about the settlement, telling the Post and Courrier that her daughter would've wanted her and Hutchinson to be equal partners following her death.
“Aric and I agreed several times that Sam would want us to do everything together given we’re the two most important people in her life,” she said. “I never wanted to challenge the validity of the marriage. I never wanted to dishonor Sam. But I feel like Aric is dishonoring my daughter in going against her wishes.”
Komorosk faces three charges of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death and one count of reckless homicide in relation to the crash in which she's accused of drunkenly ramming a rented Toyota Camry into a car carrying the couple and two other passengers hours after their wedding. Police said Komoroski was driving about 40 MPH over the 25-MPH speed limit at the time of the crash and smelled of alcohol but refused a field sobriety test.
Multiple GoFundMe pages were launched after Samantha's death including one by Mandi Jenkins on behalf of Lisa and another by Aric's mother, Annette Hutchinson, on behalf of the groom.