Vicki Miglino did not appear Friday for her scheduled deposition for a lawsuit filed by her estranged husband, Salvatore Miglino, who charges that she was part of a plot to kill him in December.
Vicki Miglino’s mother Cheryl Hepner, 66, is in jail awaiting trial on a charge of attempted first-degree murder after she shot her son-in-law outside her Tamarac home on Dec. 8, according to authorities.
In his lawsuit filed in Broward County court, Salvatore Miglino alleges that his wife “was involved and knew about it ahead of time,” said his attorney, Peter Mineo.
“We have a lot of questions we want to ask her about the shooting involving Salvatore Miglino,” he said.
Mineo said Vicki Miglino did not show up the deposition at his Davie office Friday because she would rather face a charge of contempt of court than one of attempted murder.
“Obviously there is some reason she doesn’t want to be questioned about this,” Mineo said.
The Miglinos, who are going through a bitter divorce, are embroiled in court litigation over their young child, the lawsuit says.
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In December Salvatore Miglino, of Boca Raton, had gone to Hepner’s home to pick up their son, and Hepner him outside with the boy’s pillow and bag, telling him that her husband Sheldon was inside and wanted to talk to him, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
When Miglino declined, Hepner pulled a gun from behind the pillow and fired three times, wounding him in his ribcage and shoulder, the BSO said.
Though he “began to bleed profusely,” he fell on his mother-in-law and wrestled the gun away from her, the lawsuit says.
"I can’t believe you did that, I can’t believe you shot me," Miglino screamed in footage captured on his iPhone, as Hepner cursed and told him to get off her.
Hepner told police that Miglino tried to shoot her, authorities said.
His lawsuit claims that Vicki Miglino knew the shooting was going to happen, and deliberately walked away with their son to have pizza when it happened. The lawsuit says “Mrs. Miglino obviously was creating an alibi and was in on the plot because it would be highly unusual for her not to be there for the delivery of the child at the appointed time,” due to a court order about visitation.
“Was she trying to avoid a crime scene? That’s one of the things we wanted to ask her here today,” Mineo said.
Vicki Miglino’s attorney, Tony Alfero, said the allegations are “absolutely not true, not a shred of evidence that Vicki had anything to do with the shooting, she didn’t know anything about it.”
Alfero said he is not worried about the lawsuit and that it is completely frivolous
But the BSO says it is still investigating the shooting, including whether Vicki Miglino had anything to do with it.
