Jason Simpson sought dates after Ashley Silverman’s death while investigators examined what they considered a staged scene, according to court records.
CECILTON, Md. — Shortly after Ashley Silverman died at a Cecilton home, the man who had identified himself to police as her boyfriend was seeking dates online and presenting a sharply different version of his family life, according to court records cited in reports on her death.
Investigators said Jason Timothy Simpson represented himself on Tinder as a widower with no “baby momma drama,” a detail that stood out because Silverman was the mother of his children and had died only recently. But the dating activity is only one part of a broader homicide case. Maryland State Police charged Simpson, 28, with second-degree murder after the medical examiner ruled Silverman’s June 18 death a homicide caused by asphyxiation and investigators said his account of finding her hanging from a backyard swing set did not match the physical conditions at the property.
The Tinder statements surfaced not as a separate criminal allegation but as one circumstance documented while detectives examined Simpson’s actions and statements before and after Silverman’s death. Law&Crime, citing court records obtained by The Cecil Whig, reported that Simpson was “actively seeking dates” shortly after the death. He allegedly described himself as a widower and used the phrase “baby momma drama” while presenting himself to prospective matches. The same reports described him as the father of two of Silverman’s children.
Those online representations contrasted with what investigators already knew. Silverman was a mother of four young children, reported as 11-month-old twins and two boys, ages 3 and 4. Simpson had referred to himself as Silverman’s boyfriend while speaking with police, according to the court records. He also told investigators that two children were inside the Cecilton residence crying on the night he said Silverman died. Authorities have not suggested that use of a dating app is itself evidence of homicide, and the reported profile statements do not establish criminal responsibility.
The case began with Simpson’s account of what happened late June 17 and early June 18. He allegedly told detectives that Silverman arrived at the West Main Street home, knocked on the door and made repeated statements that she wanted to die. Simpson said she eventually walked around to the backyard after nobody let her in. He told investigators he went to check on the crying children and then, after several minutes, saw that Silverman had hanged herself from a swing set behind the house.
Police reconstructed the scene and reached a different conclusion about what Simpson could have observed. According to the court documents, the swing set was roughly 155 feet from the home. Investigators described the backyard as almost completely dark at the time. Those two facts led them to characterize Simpson’s claim that he saw Silverman hanging from the house as an impossibility. Police said they believed the apparent suicide scene had been staged, an allegation that became a central part of the probable-cause case against Simpson.
Simpson said he brought Silverman from the backyard into the home in a wagon before seeking emergency help. Investigators, however, documented a delay before the 911 call. The court records say Simpson called his mother three times and then waited at least another 30 minutes before calling emergency dispatchers. Maryland State Police said troopers from the North East Barrack eventually arrived at about 1:45 a.m. on June 18 after being sent to the 100 block of West Main Street for a report of a person in medical distress.
Other statements also drew investigators’ attention. Simpson allegedly said his mother had been present at the residence, but she later told police she had not been there. He also reportedly claimed Silverman had not been at the house for several months. Neighbors contradicted that statement, telling investigators they had seen her at the property two days before her death. Police treated the differences as part of a broader pattern of inconsistencies rather than relying on any single statement.
Silverman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, which later ruled the death a homicide by asphyxiation, according to Maryland State Police. The agency has not publicly released a full autopsy report or every medical finding. Homicide detectives took over the investigation, and technicians from the State Police Forensic Sciences Division processed the residence for evidence.
The inquiry also turned to the history between Simpson and Silverman. Law&Crime reported that Simpson acknowledged a history of domestic violence and that a protective order had recently been approved against him. The publication, citing The Cecil Whig, said Simpson had been convicted of second-degree assault in a case stemming from a September 2024 confrontation in which he was accused of charging at Silverman with a knife after she took his phone.
A judge sentenced Simpson to two years in prison in that earlier case but suspended the sentence and placed him on probation for 18 months, according to the report. About 10 days after the conviction, Simpson was arrested again over an incident in which he allegedly choked Silverman. The later arrest was reported as violating his probation as well as a protective order that was then active. Those earlier allegations and convictions are separate from the murder case, and they do not substitute for proof of the homicide charge.
State police did not announce Simpson’s murder charge until Aug. 28, more than two months after Silverman’s death. The agency said detectives consulted the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office before charging him with second-degree murder. Simpson was arrested without incident and taken to the Cecil County Detention Center, where police said he was held without bond. The agency continued to characterize the death investigation as active and ongoing after announcing the arrest.
The lag between the death and the murder charge reflects the different stages described in the public record. Troopers first responded to a medical-distress call. The medical examiner later classified the death as a homicide. Detectives compared Simpson’s account with the physical scene, interviewed other people, reviewed the couple’s history and documented later conduct, including the Tinder activity. Prosecutors were then consulted before the homicide charge was filed. Authorities have not publicly disclosed which piece of evidence they consider most important.
The reported dating profile has drawn attention because of its timing and because of the contrast between Simpson’s claimed identity online and the family circumstances described by investigators. Still, the prosecution is not a case about dating-app etiquette or whether quickly seeking dates after a death is suspicious. The criminal question is whether prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Simpson caused Silverman’s death. His online statements may be presented as context only if they are admissible and relevant under the rules governing the case.
WBAL-TV reported that Simpson’s homicide case had another court date scheduled for Nov. 24. No reliable source reviewed for this report showed that the second-degree murder charge had been resolved as of Oct. 19. Simpson is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until he is convicted, while investigators continue to stand by their determination that Silverman’s death was a homicide rather than the suicide he initially described.
Author note: Last updated October 19, 2026.