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 terrible sound and I didn’t even know what it was. It was like a bomb,” Rasmussen said, recalling the moment the gunman sitting next to him started going berserk.
“It was like an echo in my head…I had no idea what it was. I turned to my right, probably at Joe, and 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 that hand. That’s so weird. I just saw the muzzle 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 by that moment, I really understood what was going on. . I’m like, “Okay, that was a gunshot.” It’s a gun. He points to it,” Rasmussen said. “I didn’t mean to stand by. I turned back to my 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.
“People ask me if I think Joe came with a plan to do this, and I say no,” Rasmussen said. “Anyway, I think it just happened in a moment of anger, whatever. And we’ll never know, right? Because Joe took his own life. We’ll never know what happened. Probably not.”
Rasmussen said Joe Huston didn’t show any red flags that morning. She described him as “a cheerful person.”
“I knew he had been diagnosed with cancer, but it didn’t seem like it was that terminal,” she said. “He was a healthy man, with thick hair and a cheerful personality. He didn’t look sick or unwell. He didn’t look pale. He didn’t. So he may have had a problematic diagnosis. Of course, we don’t know what was going on in his head.”
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.
“It immediately got weird because there was no prelude. There was no ‘Good morning.’ Anyone want water? The toilet is in the hallway,” 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 react. There was no response to that. He turned to Kelly and started asking questions about the deposition. And usually at the depot there’s not even a prelude. My questions end. Wait until you start answering. There was nothing like that,” Rasmussen said. “He started asking her substantive 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.
“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, It’s a process of going back to the left side of the table. And I don’t know if it’s my mind blocking it or if they ran away. I just remember not seeing anything.”
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 I’m doing well,” she said. “And I’ve been really blessed with the support I’ve received from the community, the other attorneys, the judges. Everyone has been so kind to me.”
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 bring back more “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. That’s what matters… Lawyers shouldn’t be a gladiator sport.”
Dennis Prince leaves behind four children. He had a young daughter with his fourth wife, Ashley Prince.
