The family of a woman who was shot to death by her ex-stepfather last week along with her husband, a prominent Las Vegas lawyer, say the situation could have been avoided, shedding new light on the tragedy.
Ashley Prince’s parents, Paul and Julie Page, said: “Despite the slow and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle for custody, Ashley remains committed to the safety of herself and her children.” “I lived in constant fear,” he said in an earlier statement. this week. “She fought relentlessly, but unfortunately all our fears came true.”
Prince, 30, was shot during a child custody deposition at a Las Vegas law firm representing her new husband, Dennis Prince, 57.
“For the past two years, we have felt helpless and devastated as we have watched Ashley endure verbal and emotional abuse and intimidation at the hands of her ex-husband, Dylan Houston,” the Page family said in a statement.
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The parents of a woman shot by her ex-stepfather say a family court judge ignored red flags. (AP photo)
Monday’s press conference marked the first time the Page family spoke publicly about the April 8 shooting inside Prince Law Offices.
On that fateful morning, 77-year-old Joe Huston II shot and killed Ashley and Dennis during a child custody hearing, then turned the gun on himself. Another attorney, Joe Houston, appeared at the hearing to represent his son Dylan Houston in his custody battle with ex-wife Ashley Prince.
The deposition covered the years-long custody battle over Dylan Houston and Ashley Prince’s two young children. The hearing began around 10 a.m., and by 10:04 a.m., 911 calls had begun.
“She would never give up fighting for her children, and now, despite years of efforts, Ashley is no longer able to fight and protect them,” the Pages said.
Pages revealed that Dylan subjected Ashley to persistent harassment, death threats and threatening verbal abuse, sometimes sending her up to 70 text messages a day.
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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)
Some of the text messages provided by the family include Dylan telling Ashley, “I’m going to whittle you down to a weaker, worthless bag of bones,” “The kids are better off without you,” and “They are It is said to have contained a message saying, “You will know.” “I don’t want to be around you someday,” “I don’t want to see you unless I’m in a coffin.”
“Ashley feared for her life every day, and at times required security at public events, including events at her children’s schools,” 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 by now, last week, when Dylan’s father, who was acting as Dylan’s agent, perpetuated the worst form of domestic violence on behalf of his son, killing his daughter Ashley and her husband Dennis, Our worst fears have come true,” the statement said. said the family.
After the shooting, a motion was filed against Ashley’s sister seeking temporary custody of the two children she shared with Dylan.
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The Pages added that they are cooperating with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation and are determined to secure full custody of their grandchildren to protect their future.
A service for Dennis was held on Tuesday. To honor Denise’s philanthropic work, in lieu of flowers, the Prince family may make donations to The Shade Tree, a nonprofit organization serving victims of domestic violence, and to the Women’s Lawyers Association of Southern Nevada. He said he could donate.
“We cannot imagine the devastating loss felt by the Page and Prince families,” the Houston family told FOX 5 News in a statement.
“We understand their shock and anger. We are shocked too. None of us could imagine that our beloved father would do something so horribly out of character. Our hope is that through the darkness, despair, and sadness, we can focus, and that focus extends to refraining from rebuttal and public condemnation of Dylan and his children. I hope we can get together and start healing.”
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As recently as last week, Mr. Dylan was listed as a partner on Resnick & Lewis’ Las Vegas office website, but his name has since been removed and a link to his bio page says “Page not found.” An error was returned.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Dylan Houston for comment.
