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Simon Marsden (born Simon Hollister) was the son of Joseph Hollister and Sharon Marsden, the paternal younger half-brother of Olivia Benson, the father of Olivia Marsden with his ex-wife Tracy Harrison, and the adoptive uncle of Noah Porter-Benson.

Background[]

Simon was born and raised in New Jersey, to Joseph Hollister and Sharon Marsden. At one point in his life, Simon was nearly killed when his father lost control of his car one night. This was a breaking point for his mother, who took Simon away and changed their last names to distance themselves from Joseph. At another point, he went to a school dance with a girl named Carrie Millfield and they eventually went to his car. They started to make out but Carrie backed off. While trying to get out of the car, she ripped her dress.

The next day, Carrie's father confronted Simon and told him to leave Carrie alone, because Carrie falsely claimed that he raped her. When Simon was a teenager, he was arrested and convicted twice in 1988 and 1989 for joyriding and once for shoplifting women's underwear for his then-girlfriend in 1990. When Simon became an adult, he got a job as a pharmacist at an all-night pharmacy. In 2001, he became a suspect in a murder case and Simon cooperated with the investigators, even giving a DNA sample. He was eventually cleared of any involvement. Simon later met and started dating a woman named Lucy, moving in with her and her six-year-old son. He was later suspected of a series of break-ins at a couple of women's homes in which items were moved but nothing was taken.

On SVU[]

When Detective Olivia Benson ran her DNA through a kinship analysis, she discovers that she has a half-brother. (SVU: "Haystack")

Benson comes down from New York and talked to Simon's girlfriend, claiming to be an old family friend, Simon confronts her at a coffee shop, thinking she is in league with the New Jersey officers after seeing her in the paper. He asks what she wants from him and Olivia lies, saying she thought he was someone else. When Simon starts going through his father's stuff, he finds Olivia's picture and follows her from her precinct to her apartment to get some answers. Olivia lets him in and tells him that his father, Joseph, raped and impregnated her mother and that they are half-siblings. Simon initially has trouble believing it, but once he is eventually convinced, they start talking and bond. Simon eventually leaves but is brought in for a lineup when one of his "victims" is raped. Simon continues to plead his innocence despite no one believing him, but Olivia's partner, Stabler, eventually discovers that the lead investigator, Captain Julia Millfield, is Carrie's older sister, and Simon reveals his past with her. When Simon heard his DNA was found on Donna's rape kit, he jumped bail. Olivia helped him while on the run and even sent him money. (SVU: "Philadelphia")

When Olivia met Simon again, she confronts him and he flees when FBI agents showed up. He hides in Joseph's old house and Julia meets him there to kill him. Simon grabs her gun and accidentally shoots her in the process, just as Olivia and the FBI found him. Julia lies, saying Simon intentionally shot her as she was going to arrest him and Simon continued to act erratic. Olivia tries to get him to talk to a hostage negotiator, but Simon shoots the phone and orders everyone but Olivia to leave. When he and Olivia talk, she mentions that Simon tried to run her down with his car when he escaped, but Simon replies that he didn't. Olivia realizes Julia did that as part of an effort to frame Simon further. Julia reveals that she also framed him for rape, then describes how Simon tried to rape Carrie. Simon continues to plead his innocence. Eventually, something Simon says causes Olivia to have an epiphany. She eventually gets Julia to realize that Carrie had been molested by their father and her reaction to Simon was actually sparked by her reliving the trauma. Julia confesses to framing and trying to kill Simon while the FBI was listening. Both are eventually taken into custody while they sort everything out. Before leaving, Simon thanks Olivia for everything she did and leaves with FBI Agent Dean Porter. He is eventually exonerated of all charges and tries to rebuild his life. (SVU: "Florida")

When Simon hears from Dean Porter that Darius Parker is using dirty secrets to discredit the testimony of several detectives, including Olivia, he goes to New York. He meets Captain Donald Cragen and says that Olivia only helped him because he manipulated her in order to save her. He meets with Olivia to tell her the news, but she is shocked at this rash and impulsive act. Simon tells her that she is family and he will not let her suffer because of him. Benson appreciated his concern and went to face the trial. They eventually depart after Darius is found not guilty. (SVU: "Screwed")

Simon eventually moves to New York, starts dating another woman named Tracy Harrison, and has a daughter with her named Olivia after her paternal aunt. He moves in with her and her son Ty and he and Tracy eventually get engaged. Simon runs into legal trouble again after he is bullied into taking out some weed he had after being pulled over by police officers. Child Protective Services eventually takes their children away after manipulating Ty into saying Simon was hurting him. He goes to his sister for help and is represented by Bayard Ellis at his hearing. The charges are dismissed and he thanks them both while he introduces Olivia to his family. However, CPS still refuses to let them see their children and the judge denies Marsden's petition. Simon is greatly upset by this news and convinces Tracy to take their children back by kidnapping them and then go on the run, but they are caught easily. Ellis and Olivia both call him out on this and try to work out a deal so they don't go to prison. They are put on probation while Tracy regains custody of their children. However, Simon is forbidden from seeing them, unsupervised, for a total of three years, with the chance of regaining custody afterwards. (SVU: "Child's Welfare")

After completing the court's orders, Simon and Tracy married at some point, but things eventually fell apart between them, likely due to the strain brought on by their forced separation, and Tracy took their children and left. Simon soon fell out of touch with both them and Benson and started using drugs at around the same time, eventually becoming addicted. In September 2019, Simon runs into his sister again at the park. He tells Benson that he is now clean and wants to get to know her adoptive son Noah. Benson agrees to meet him for lunch with Noah. However, Simon does not turn up, and Benson angrily leaves him a message saying that she never wants to see him again. Eventually, Benson discovers that Simon had died of a drug overdose. This revelation leaves Benson distraught, upset that her voice message might have been the last thing Simon ever heard. (SVU: "Murdered at a Bad Address")

More than a year later, Simon's death is re-investigated after it is connected to multiple other overdoses with similar lethal drug combinations. The overdoses are eventually revealed to have been committed by a trio of escorts who seduce and drug their wealthy clients before robbing them blind. During this time, Benson learns that Simon had died without hearing her final message to him. It was also revealed that, after Simon's death, Benson attempted to reconnect with Tracy and their children, but Tracy left her to deal with Simon's body before suggesting a family get-together to scatter his ashes; this never materialized due to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting. Eventually, Benson learns from an old high school friend of Simon's that Simon died accidentally after the friend got him drunk and high and then brought in the escorts in an attempt to cheer him up from his many misfortunes. (SVU: "Trick-Rolled At The Moulin'")

Trivia[]

  • Originally, Simon's body was going to be reexamined by the medical examiner in the twenty-first season finale, with the intention of having his death be reclassified as a murder. However, the idea was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely suspending production and forcing the season's episode count to be shortened. It was eventually inducted into the twenty-second season.

Appearances[]

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