A 28-year-old Cecilton man is facing a second-degree murder charge after telling investigators his girlfriend hanged herself, only for state police to say her death was actually a homicide caused by asphyxiation. Jason Simpson was arrested Thursday, nearly ten weeks after 28-year-old Ashley Silverman was found dead inside a home in the 100 block of W. Main Street in the early morning hours of June 18.
Maryland State Police had responded to the home for a report of a subject in medical distress, according to WBAL News Radio. Troopers found Silverman and Simpson inside, and Silverman was declared dead at the scene. Baltimore's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled her death a homicide, with state police attributing her cause of death to asphyxiation.
Charging documents filed in Cecil County District Court show Simpson initially told state police investigators that Silverman had committed suicide by hanging. But police reported that Simpson had a documented history of domestic violence against Silverman, with strangulation identified as his primary method of assault, according to court records reported by the Cecil Whig. Silverman and Simpson had four children together, according to the same documents.
A Ten-Week Wait for Answers
The gap between Silverman's death and Simpson's arrest stretched nearly ten weeks, a delay that left local residents and family members publicly seeking answers. Maryland State Police public information officer Ashley Millner explained the timeline in comments reported by the Cecil Whig, saying the investigation was a complex case that was not as straightforward as a shooting.
During that stretch, according to court records cited by the same outlet, Simpson actively sought dates on the dating app Tinder and indicated on his profile that he was a widower. He remained free throughout the initial stages of the death inquiry, the newspaper's report notes. State authorities had also briefly charged Simpson in June with violating a protective order involving Silverman, but that case was later dismissed and shielded from public court dockets, per the same account.
Officials have not confirmed the exact nature of Simpson and Silverman's relationship. The murder charge was finalized only after formal consultation with the Cecil County State's Attorney's Office, according to an official release from the Maryland State Police. Simpson was taken into custody without incident Thursday and is being held without bond at the Cecil County Detention Center.
Separate Assault Case Already Pending
Simpson was already facing separate charges tied to an unrelated February incident at the same W. Main Street address, stemming from a February 13 case involving Silverman. He faces first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment charges from that incident, and appeared in court on August 25 for what WBAL News Radio described as a pretrial conference related to the case. That trial is scheduled to begin September 1, while Simpson is set to appear in court again on August 31 for a separate pretrial conference.
His next court date in the homicide case is scheduled for November 24. The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit directed the investigation, with crime scene processing handled by the department's Forensic Sciences Division, following an initial emergency dispatch to the MSP North East Barrack, which provides primary state police coverage for Cecil County, according to Eastern Shore Undercover.
A Small Town Confronts a Rare Homicide
Silverman was a Miami, Florida native who had made her home in Cecilton, according to an obituary published by Legacy.com. Cecilton is a small municipality in southern Cecil County, spanning just 0.48 square miles with a population of 676 residents as of the 2020 U.S. Census, making violent crime and homicide rare in the tight-knit community incorporated in 1864 along Maryland Route 213.
Cecil County as a whole spans 350 square miles and is home to 103,963 residents, according to Cecil County Government figures. Felony cases, including Simpson's homicide charge, are prosecuted through the Cecil County Circuit Court in Elkton, the county seat. If convicted of second-degree murder under Maryland Criminal Law Code § 2-204, Simpson faces a maximum sentence of up to 40 years in state prison, a penalty Maryland raised from 30 years in 2016, according to FindLaw.
All charges against Simpson, including the pending assault case and the newly filed murder count, remain unproven allegations unless and until they are adjudicated in court.
