Law office shooting victim’s father continues as guardian of children’s estates
In a guardianship case stemming from the law office shooting that killed Dennis Prince and his wife, Ashley Prince, a judge ruled Tuesday that she would continue to have Ashley Prince’s father act as guardian of the children’s estates.
On April 8, Ashley Prince’s former father-in-law, attorney Joe Houston, shot and killed Ashley Prince, 30, Dennis Prince, 57, and himself at a deposition at Dennis Prince’s law office. Dennis Prince was acting as co-counsel in his wife’s heated custody case against her ex-husband, Dylan Houston, who is also an attorney and was being represented by his father.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Ashley Prince’s parents have been fighting with Dylan Houston for custody and guardianship of the children that the former couple had, a 5-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy.
At the Tuesday hearing before District Judge Dawn Throne, most of the parties appeared via Zoom.
Julie and Paul Page, Ashley Prince’s parents, were there, with their attorney, Dana Dwiggins. So were Dylan Houston and his lawyer, Thomas Standish. Only Marina Dalia-Hunt, the lawyer who represents the children, was in the courtroom.
Throne said she would extend Paul Page’s appointment as temporary guardian until July 22, when another hearing has been scheduled. She acknowledged that Houston had objected to the Pages’ petition for guardianship, but said she thought the children needed a guardian of their estates. She said she could determine who that would be at an evidentiary hearing.
Dwiggins said the parties had filed a joint motion to consolidate the custody and guardianship cases so they would both be heard before Throne.
A hearing on that motion is scheduled for July 11.
In a previous order, District Judge Bill Henderson gave temporary custody of the children to Lexie Page, Ashley Prince’s sister, with a provision that Dylan Houston get supervised visitation.
There are still open questions, including who the ultimate guardian of the children’s estates will be, how assets will be divided and whether the children can live together.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.
