Emails show tension before Las Vegas law office shooting: ‘I REQUEST AGAIN THAT ASHLEY NOT BE PRESENT’

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The attorney who shot and killed his ex-daughter-in-law and her husband inside a Las Vegas law office had asked the mother of his grandchildren not to be present days before killing her.

Joe Houston II, 77, shot and killed Dennis Prince, 57, and his wife, Ashley Prince, 30, during a child custody hearing in Dennis Prince’s Summerlin law office on Monday, April 8. Joe Houston, another attorney, was at the hearing representing his son, Dylan Houston, in his custody dispute with Ashley Prince.

During the deposition of Joe Houston’s wife, Katherine “Kelly” Houston, Joe Houston shot and killed the Princes before dying by suicide.

The deposition involved a years-long custody dispute involving Dylan Houston and Ashley Prince’s two young children. The hearing began around 10 a.m. By 10:04 a.m., the 911 calls started coming in.

In an interview with the 8 News Now Investigators on Tuesday, attorney Lisa Rasmussen, who represents Kelly Houston – the children’s grandmother – in the dispute, said the family court system allowed tension to boil over for years.

Rasmussen was seated next to Joe Houston in the deposition.

“[Dennis had] asked maybe three questions and then there was just was just this horrible noise,” Rasmussen said. “I turned and I saw on my right side, a barrel, just a barrel, and a sleeve, like a dress sleeve. Then I saw him stand up and point very decidedly a gun across the table, and then it was clear to me what was happening and that that noise was a gunshot and that was a gun and he was pointing a gun.”

On April 1, Joe Houston requested Ashley Prince and another attorney not be present at the April 8 deposition, according to emails the 8 News Now Investigators obtained. Dennis Prince later responded, “We don’t agree to your requests,” adding he did not know if Ashley Prince and the other attorney would be present.

On April 3, five days before the shooting, Joe Houston wrote in an email to Dennis Prince: “I REQUEST AGAIN THAT ASHLEY NOT BE PRESENT.”

Joe Houston also noted Dennis Prince should not repeat questions he had asked in earlier depositions, writing, “Hopefully you are competent enough to review the transcript of the deposition of [another attorney] and the questions that have already been asked of her.”

Dennis Prince later responded that Ashley Prince would be at the deposition, adding, “I have the right to follow up on questions previously asked. You need not worry about my competency.”

In an earlier email sent in February, Dennis Prince wrote, “Trust me when I say to you I will be taking every action with the court to enforce that behavior order for Dylan for all time and eternity, if necessary.”

“Do you think he came to that deposition with the intent to kill them?” 8 News Now Investigator David Charns asked Rasmussen.

“I don’t know that we’ll ever know,” Rasmussen said. “I do know some things wouldn’t make sense if that were his plan.”

Rasmussen said that is because Joe Houston had asked Dennis Prince not to bring Ashley Prince to the hearing. When Rasmussen and the Houstons arrived at the office together, they wanted to sit on the other side of the table, which was farther away from the exit.

Divorce records obtained by 8 News Now show claims made against Dylan Houston, stating he tested positive for cocaine and alcohol while he had custody of their children. The records also claim that he would send abusive texts to Ashley Prince.

Dylan Houston was observed excessively drinking on March 29, according to a report from De Becker Investigations. The report noted that Houston had five drinks with three shots each over approximately four hours. Despite another individual attempting to get Dylan Houston to not drive, he got behind the wheel and swerved on the road, according to the report.

Dylan Houston was required to take breathalyzer tests before spending time with his children, according to previous court documents in the child custody case. The court battle also included a protective order against Dylan Houston in April 2022, which was extended, court records show.

Ashley Prince had expressed safety concerns before Monday’s child custody deposition.

“Do you have any private security you recommend?” she texted private investigator Hal De Becker. “Dylan has a ton of guns in that house.”

On the Thursday before the shooting, Ashley Prince canceled the security.

“Nothing Monday — he will not be there,” she stated about Dylan Houston.

Five days before the shooting, Dylan Houston, who is also an attorney, emailed Dennis Prince, “You have no idea what’s coming do you, all your cards are on the table and I haven’t played one [laughing emoji],” according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.

On the afternoon of the deadly shooting, a judge ordered that Ashley Prince’s sister should be temporarily awarded custody of the two children rather than Dylan Houston. Dennis Prince’s children said their stepsister, born to their father and Ashley Prince in December, was also in the care of a legal guardian.

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