Family of slain mother in Las Vegas law firm shooting share ex's violent past: 'Lived in constant fear'
The family of the woman gunned down last week alongside her prominent Las Vegas attorney husband by her ex-father-in-law is shedding new light on the tragedy, and says the entire situation could have been avoided.
"Despite a slow-moving court battle for protection, and one that ultimately failed her, Ashley lived in constant fear for her safety and that of her children," Paul and Julie Page, the parents of Ashley Prince, said in a statement released earlier this week. "She battled relentlessly and, unfortunately, all our fears became our reality."
Prince, 30, was being represented by her new husband, Dennis Prince, 57, during a child custody deposition at his Las Vegas law firm when the shooting occurred.
"For the past two years, we have felt helpless and devastated as we witnessed Ashley endure verbal and mental abuse, and threats, at the hands of her former husband, Dylan Houston," the Page family said.
Monday's press conference marked the first time the Page family had spoken publicly about the horrific events that unfolded inside the Prince Law Firm on April 8.
During the morning hours of that fateful day, Joe Houston II, 77, shot and killed Ashley and Dennis during a child custody hearing before turning the gun on himself. Joe Houston, another attorney, was at the hearing representing his son, Dylan Houston, in his custody dispute with his ex-wife, Ashley Prince.
The deposition involved a years-long custody battle 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.
"She would have never given up fighting for her children. And now despite her long-fought efforts, Ashley can no longer fight and protect her children," the Pages said.
The Pages revealed Dylan subjected Ashley to relentless harassing death threats and threatening verbal abuse, including up to 70 text messages a day at times.
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Some of the text messages provided by the family included alleged messages from Dylan to Ashley saying, "I’ll chisel you down to a weaker and worthless sack of bones;" "The kids are better off without you;" "They will know it one day and never want to be around you;" and "I don’t want to see you unless you’re in a casket."
"Every day Ashley feared for her life, at times requesting security at public events, including events at her children’s school," the Page family said.
At one point, Ashley's parents said she was granted a restraining order against Dylan to protect herself.
"As we all know now, our worst fears came to life last week when Dylan’s father, who was representing Dylan perpetuated the most egregious domestic violence on behalf of his son by killing our daughter, Ashely, and her husband, Dennis," the family stated.
Following the shooting, a motion was filed for Ashley’s sister to have temporary custody of the two kids she shared with Dylan.
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The Pages added that they are fully cooperating with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in its investigation, and are determined to secure full custody of their grandchildren to safeguard their future.
Services were held on Tuesday for Dennis. To honor Dennis's philanthropic legacy, the Prince family said that in lieu of flowers, contributions could be made to The Shade Tree, which is a nonprofit that provides services to victims of domestic violence, and the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys.
The Houston family released the following statement to FOX 5 News: "We cannot begin to imagine the devastating sense of loss felt by the Page and Prince families. We understand their shock and anger. We, too, are shocked. None of us ever could conceive of our loving father doing something so egregiously out of character. Our hope is that through the darkness, despair and grief, we can focus on the needs of the children. That focus extends to refraining from rebuttals and public accusations. Dylan is a dedicated father and is singularly committed to the welfare of his children. We are hopeful that Dylan and his children will be together soon and we all can begin to heal."
As recently as last week, Dylan was listed as a partner at Resnick & Louis’ Las Vegas offices’ website, but his name has since been removed and a link to his bio page returned a "page not found" error.
Fox News Digital reached out to Dylan Houston for comment.