Dennis and Ashley Prince: The Shooting and Wrongful Death Lawsuits

The Dennis and Ashley Prince shooting took place on April 8, 2024, at the Prince Law Group offices in the Summerlin neighborhood of Las Vegas, when 77-year-old attorney Joseph Houston II opened fire at a child custody deposition, killing both Princes before taking his own life. More than two years later, the case has produced four wrongful death lawsuits accusing members of Houston’s family of knowing what was coming, with a consolidated civil trial set for September 2027.¹

What Happened at the Deposition

Seven people were in the conference room that morning: Dennis Prince, a 57-year-old plaintiff’s trial lawyer; his wife Ashley Prince, 30; Joseph Houston II and his wife Katherine Houston; attorney Lisa Rasmussen, who represented Katherine; and a court reporter.² Katherine was there to be deposed about her son Dylan’s alleged alcohol and drug use. Dylan Houston, Ashley’s ex-husband and Joseph’s son, was not present.

Before the questioning began, Joseph Houston asked whether there was “any hope” of resolving the case. Dennis Prince did not answer directly and told the court reporter to swear in the witness.³ One minute and sixteen seconds after Katherine was sworn in, and three questions into the deposition, Joseph Houston stood up and began shooting.⁴

A witness described him standing with “a very glazed and rattled look in his eyes” before pulling a handgun and shooting Dennis Prince four times.² The court reporter’s audio captured ten shots in about twenty seconds. Rasmussen grabbed Katherine Houston and tried to flee through a set of double doors, but found them locked. She pounded for help, then hid in a hallway and called 911.³ A final shot, identified as Joseph Houston’s suicide, came minutes later.⁴

The Clark County coroner ruled both Princes’ deaths homicides. Joseph Houston’s death was ruled a suicide from a contact gunshot wound to the head. Investigators recovered twelve spent casings and a Glock 23 .40-caliber handgun in Houston’s lap.⁵

The Custody Case Behind the Shooting

Ashley Prince, born Ashley Page, had previously been married to Dylan Houston. They filed for divorce in 2021, and Ashley sought sole custody of their two children, who were four and five at the time of the shooting.⁶ Court records described the proceedings as “heavily litigated,” “very emotional,” and a “scorched earth” fight.⁴

Dylan Houston was represented by his father, Joseph Houston II, who had been licensed in Nevada since 1974. Ashley later married Dennis Prince, and Dennis joined her legal team as co-counsel in May 2023. Through the case, Ashley’s attorneys repeatedly asked Family Court Judge Bill Henderson to hold Dylan in contempt over threatening text messages he had sent her, including “I don’t want to see you unless you’re in a casket,” “The kids are better off without you,” and “Move to Oregon and get euthanized.” Judge Henderson called the texts “appalling” but did not hold Dylan in contempt.⁶ Ashley had also obtained a temporary restraining order against Dylan in August 2021 after he allegedly took a bat and beat objects around their house. The order was later dissolved.

The April 8 deposition itself had been delayed since May 2023, when Joseph Houston had terminated an earlier session by objecting to questions put to Katherine.⁷

Warning Signs Before April 8

In the days leading up to the shooting, Ashley Prince appeared to sense something was wrong. On April 4, she texted a private investigator asking about security recommendations for the Monday deposition, telling him her ex-husband “has a ton of guns in that house.” She canceled the request after learning Dylan Houston would not attend.⁸

Four days before the shooting, Dylan Houston emailed Dennis Prince at 1:28 a.m., writing: “you have no idea what’s coming do you, all your cards are on the table and I haven’t played one.”⁷ Joseph Houston separately emailed Dennis before the deposition asking that Ashley not attend, claiming she had “acted inappropriately on previous depositions.”³ A private investigator had also documented concerns about Dylan’s “drinking and dangerous behavior” and shared that information with Joseph Houston on April 2, 2024.⁹

What Police Concluded

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s final report concluded that Joseph Houston acted alone. Detectives found no evidence that the killings were planned in advance or that anyone else knew his intentions.¹⁰ Houston’s toxicology report showed nothing of significance, and he had no known history of suicide attempts or suicidal statements.⁵ Searches of computers seized from the Houston home turned up no evidence related to the murders.

Investigators did recover a handwritten note from Houston’s briefcase addressed to Ashley: “In this life there is good and Evil — I don’t know if I’m good — But I know you’re evil — Dylan is a great dad — When are you going to stop trying to take [the children] away from him? When are you going to stop HARASSING the Houston family?”⁴

The Wrongful Death Lawsuits

The civil cases, filed by different members of the victims’ families, have been consolidated in Clark County District Court. Trial is scheduled for September 2027.¹

Ashley Prince’s Parents

Paul and Julie Page sued Katherine Houston and the estate of Joseph Houston, bringing claims of negligence, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery, and civil conspiracy. The suit alleges Katherine left the conference room when the shooting began, did not attempt to stop her husband or check on the victims, and transferred multiple properties into her name within weeks of the shooting.¹¹ Katherine Houston’s attorney answered in March 2025, denying the allegations and arguing that any injuries were caused by “a third party over which Defendant had no control.”¹²

Nancy Bernstein and Jack Parker Prince

On March 9, 2026, Nancy Bernstein, a Las Vegas Justice of the Peace and Dennis Prince’s former wife, filed suit on behalf of herself and their son, Jack Parker Prince. The defendants are Dylan Houston, Katherine Houston, the estate of Joseph Houston, and Joseph Houston’s law firm. The complaint asserts seven causes of action, including wrongful death, civil conspiracy, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and negligence, and seeks more than $45,000 in damages plus punitive damages.¹ Bernstein is represented by the Richard Harris Law Firm.

The suit alleges that Dylan Houston’s 1:28 a.m. email and his threatening messages to Ashley show “foreknowledge of and participation in the plan” to kill the couple, and that Katherine Houston’s failure to intervene, combined with the post-shooting property transfers, supports civil conspiracy.⁷

Dennis Prince’s Adult Children

On March 20, 2026, Scot Prince and Taylor Prince See filed their own wrongful death and civil conspiracy lawsuit against the estate of Joseph Houston II, Joseph Houston Law, Katherine Houston, and Dylan Houston, similarly alleging the family had prior knowledge of the shooting plan. They are represented by Las Vegas attorney Colin Cavanaugh and seek punitive damages.¹³

Lisa Rasmussen

Lisa Rasmussen, the attorney who was in the room representing Katherine Houston, filed a separate lawsuit against Dennis Prince and the Prince Law Group. Her complaint alleges Prince had “advanced knowledge of a potential security and/or safety threat” tied to the custody case but chose not to arrange security for the deposition.¹⁴

The Houston Family’s Response

Jonathan Hansen, who represents Katherine Houston in the civil cases, has rejected the conspiracy allegations. “There was no conspiracy,” he said, citing the police investigation’s conclusion that Joseph Houston acted alone and that no evidence of collusion was found. “I expect similar results in this case.”¹⁵

Where the Children Ended Up

Ashley Prince had three children: two with Dylan Houston and a daughter born to her and Dennis in December 2023, just months before the shooting.¹⁶ Immediately after the killings, Ashley’s sister Lexie Page obtained emergency custody of the two older children, and Judge Henderson limited Dylan Houston to supervised visitation on the condition he surrender his firearms.⁶

On December 30, 2024, District Judge Dawn Throne facilitated a resolution: for one year, the two older children would split their time between Dylan Houston and Ashley’s parents, Julie and Paul Page, after which the Pages would have custody every other weekend. Paul Page was appointed guardian of the children’s estate in September 2024 and will remain in that role until the wrongful death litigation against the Houston estate is resolved.¹⁷

A separate guardianship dispute over Dennis and Ashley’s infant daughter was resolved in November 2024, with the parents of both Dennis and Ashley named co-guardians sharing physical custody.¹⁷

1
News 3 Las Vegas. Wrongful Death, Civil Conspiracy Lawsuit Filed in Summerlin Law Office Shooting
2
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas Attorney, Wife Died From Multiple Gunshot Wounds
3
FOX5 Las Vegas. Summerlin Law Office Shooting Survivor Recalls Tense Moments Before Shots Rang Out
4
KTNV. Final Report on Law Office Shooting Reveals Details of Audio Recording, Shooter’s Handwritten Note
5
News 3 Las Vegas. Autopsy Report: 12 Rounds Fired in Deadly Summerlin Law Office Shooting
6
Las Vegas Review-Journal. How a Custody Battle Became a Fatal Shooting
7
8 News Now. Gunman’s Family Knew of Shooting Plan, New Lawsuit Argues
8
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Woman Requested Security Before Summerlin Shooting That Left 3 Dead
9
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Gunman in Summerlin Shooting Killed 2 in Front of His Wife
10
8 News Now. Las Vegas Police Release Report on Deadly Summerlin Law Office Shooting
11
FOX5 Las Vegas. Parents of Mother Killed in Summerlin Law Office Shooting Sue Shooter’s Wife
12
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Metro Releases Final Report on Summerlin Law Office Shooting
13
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Children of Slain Las Vegas Lawyer File Wrongful Death Lawsuit
14
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Slain Attorney Knew of Potential Danger Before Las Vegas Law Office Shooting, Lawsuit Alleges
15
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Ex-Wife of Slain Vegas Attorney Sues Gunman’s Family Over Law Office Attack
16
NBC News. Las Vegas Lawyer, Wife Killed in Custody Fight
17
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Custody Battle That Followed Summerlin Law Office Shooting Is Resolved