A lawyer who witnessed a gruesome murder-suicide inside a Las Vegas law firm has spoken out and told Fox News Digital about his experience.
On the morning of Monday, April 8, Lisa Rasmussen was in a conference room at Prince Law Group when fellow attorney Joe Huston pulled out a gun without warning and opened fire.
Houston, who was terminally ill, shot and killed prominent Las Vegas attorney Dennis Prince and his wife Ashley before turning the gun on himself. The bizarre shooting was the culmination of an “incredibly tense” custody battle in which “there was a lot of venom going around,” Rasmussen said.
“All of a sudden, I heard a horrible sound and I didn’t even know what it was. It was like a bomb,” Rasmussen said, recalling the moment the gunman sitting right next to him started going berserk. .
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Las Vegas attorney Lisa Rasmussen (left), Joe Houston (second from left), Dennis Prince (third from left) and his wife Ashley Prince (right) at Prince’s Summerlin law firm. He recalled the moment he shot and killed him. (AP/Page Family/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
“It was like an echo in my head…I didn’t know what it was. I turned to my right and looked at Joe and probably said, ‘What…what the hell was that? What?’ And you see the barrel and the sleeve right next to it,” Rasmussen said. “I don’t even remember seeing my hands. It’s very strange. I just saw the barrel of the gun.”
“You can see the barrel and sleeve right next to it,” Rasmussen said. “I don’t even remember seeing the hand. It’s very strange. I just saw the barrel of the gun.”
Rasmussen said it took her brain a minute to understand what was happening.
“I remember Joe standing up and pointing at the barrel, the gun, across the table. And by that time, and in that moment, it was really clear to me what was going on. ‘I understand. I thought, ‘Oh, that was a gunshot.’ That’s a gun pointed at me,” Rasmussen said. “I didn’t mean to stand there. I backed away to the left and jumped up.”
Rasmussen narrowly escaped the conference room with her client, a colleague who is eight months pregnant, and a court reporter. As gunshots continued to ring out in the conference room, she desperately searched for safety.
Once the violence stopped, the gravity of the tragedy became clear. Joe Huston, 77, killed Dennis Prince, 57, and his wife, Ashley Prince, 30, Rasmussen said. The princes were embroiled in a custody battle with Ashley’s ex-husband, Joe Houston’s son, Dylan Houston.
Rasmussen was representing Joe Huston’s wife, Kelly, at the time. On that fateful morning, the group had gathered at the Prince Law Group to remove Kelly for this incident.
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Rasmussen doesn’t know why Joe Huston killed his ex-stepdaughter and her husband, but she knows the custody case has been simmering for years. (AP)
“People ask me if I think Joe came with a plan to do this, and I say no,” Rasmussen said. “Anyway, I really think it just happened in a moment of anger. Whatever, we’ll never know, right? Joe took his own life. We’ll never know what happened. It is not.”
Rasmussen said Joe Huston didn’t show any red flags that morning. She described him as “cheerful.”
“I knew he had been diagnosed with cancer, but it didn’t seem like it was that terminal,” she said. “He was healthy, had a full head of hair, and was cheerful. He didn’t look sick or even sick. He didn’t look pale. He wasn’t. He may have had a problematic diagnosis, but of course we don’t know what was going through his mind.”
She walked with Joe Huston and his wife to a conference room, where they met with several other colleagues and began the deposition.
Dennis Prince walked into the conference room with his wife, not knowing that this would be the last moment of his life. Rasmussen said Dennis skipped the usual pleasantries.
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Ashley Prince, 30, was shot to death on April 8, along with her husband Dennis Prince, 57, who was representing her in a child custody affidavit at a Las Vegas law firm. It was done. (page family)
“I immediately felt strange because there was no prelude. There was no greeting that said, ‘Good morning. Does anyone need water? The restrooms are in the hall,'” she said. “He just looked at the court reporter and said, ‘Please swear the witness.’ You know, that’s not the best way to put a witness at ease.”
Rasmussen said that before the questioning began, Joe asked Dennis if there was a way to resolve the issue for the children.
“And Dennis didn’t respond. There was no response to that. He just turned to Kelly and started asking deposition questions. And usually in the warehouse, even the prelude “No, please wait until I say.” Finish my question until you start answering. That never happened,” Rasmussen said. “He started asking her her essential questions, which is probably not the way most people would do it.”
Rasmussen said Joe Huston was only able to answer three questions before he pulled out a gun.
Joe Huston mysteriously opened fire during a child custody deposition at the Prince Law Group in Las Vegas. He shot and killed Dennis Prince and Prince’s wife Ashley, then turned the gun on himself. (Las Vegas Review Journal)
“I didn’t see anyone get shot,” she said. “It’s weird, I looked to my left, saw her answer the question, heard a noise, went to my right, saw the barrel, saw him stand up, In the process of going back to the left of me. I have no memory of what’s on the other side of the table, and either my mind is blocking it or they don’t see anything on the other side of the table. I just remember that.”
“I have no recollection of anything on the other side of the table. And I don’t know if my mind is blocking it or if they ran away. Only that I couldn’t see anything on the other side of the table. I remember it,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen told FOX News Digital that she is receiving treatment and is grateful for all the support she received after the tragedy. She has already returned to her job.
“Whether I’m ready to take another deposition is another question, but so far things are going well,” she said. “And I’ve been really blessed with the support I’ve received from the community, the other attorneys, the judge. Everyone has been so kind.”
Looking ahead, Rasmussen is hopeful that something good can come from this unimaginable tragedy. She hopes to someday share her story with other lawyers and restore more of her “respect and civility” to her profession.
“I hope that someday, once I feel a little healed from this, perhaps by talking to other lawyers or participating in continuing legal education, I can reiterate the importance of civility. ” Rasmussen explained. “I hope to be a part of the conversation in the future about how important civility is. It’s just important… Lawyers shouldn’t be a gladiator sport.”
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Dennis Prince leaves behind four children. He had a young daughter with his fourth wife, Ashley Prince.
