- Rebecca Auborn, 33, faces a total of 28 charges in the separate murders that occurred between December 13 and June 17
- Four out of five of her alleged victims died of an overdose and one man survived, but authorities have declined to publicly identify them
- Auborn is being held in the Franklin County Jail and arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday
An Ohio woman has been charged with murdering four men she allegedly met for sex before fatally drugging them and robbing them of their belongings.
Rebecca Auborn, 33, faces a total of 28 charges in the separate murders that occurred between December 13 and June 17.
She is accused of meeting men for sex at hotels in northeast Columbus, giving them lethal doses of fentanyl and stealing from them.
Four of five of her alleged victims died of an overdose and one man survived, but authorities have declined to publicly identify them. Investigators believe there are more victims.
Auborn is being held in the Franklin County Jail and arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday.
Rebecca Auborn, 33, has been charged with murdering four men she allegedly met for sex before fatally drugging them and robbing them of their property
She is accused of meeting men for sex at hotels in northeast Columbus, giving them lethal doses of fentanyl and stealing from them
Auborn has been charged with four counts of murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter, five counts of aggravated robbery, five counts of assault, five counts of corrupting another with drugs, one count of tampering with evidence and four counts of drug trafficking.
A victim’s first overdose attempt is believed to have occurred on December 13, but he survived.
But four other victims died of overdoses on January 15, April 1, April 13 and June 16.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost shared news of her indictment on Wednesday, warning: “Don’t buy sex in Ohio – it ruins lives and could cost you yours.”
He believes Auborn meets the criteria for a serial killer because the four deaths she is accused of follow a similar pattern.
“If you have someone who commits a series of murders separated in time, to me that’s a serial killer,” Yost told the newspaper. Columbus Shipping.
‘We have the same MO here.
‘I have never seen a similar case in my career, and after speaking to colleagues, they have not seen this kind of thing.
The suspect had already been charged in September and found not guilty of murder and drug-related charges in the overdose death of 30-year-old Joseph Crumpler, a man who died in January.
But the case is now included in the new indictment filed Wednesday, in which the victims’ names were redacted.
Court records show that she admitted to investigators on March 31 that she had put fentanyl in a man’s crack pipe and that she knew he was overdosing when she left the hotel room and took his car and bank card.
The investigation remains ongoing, the attorney general’s office said, and investigators are focusing on her activities in northeast Columbus between December last year and August 2023.
Police are focusing on the area between Interstate 71, Ohio 161, Cleveland Avenue and East 17th Avenue as officers search for more possible victims.
“These charges are the result of our close collaboration with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation,” said Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant.
“The Columbus Police Department remains committed to ensuring justice for all victims and their families affected by the actions of a single individual.”
Auborn, who has at least one child and a daughter who died in 2016 at just 18 days old, had no prior criminal history.
The first hearing on the charges against her was scheduled to take place on Friday, but was postponed until Monday.
Anyone with information about overdose deaths between December and August has been asked to contact the police homicide tip line.
While everyone who has spoken to her has been asked to come forward without fear of prosecution if they asked for sex.