THE BLAZE
An Ohio woman is accused of carrying out the “serial killings” of at least four men in Columbus. The woman allegedly lured the men to hotels with the promise of sex. However, the woman instead would fatally drug the men before stealing their belongings, according to the attorney general.
Rebecca Auborn was charged on Sept. 11 with aggravated robbery, felonious assault, murder, corruption of another with drugs, trafficking in drugs, and the illegal manufacture of drugs.
On Wednesday, authorities announced new charges for Auborn. The 33-year-old from Columbus is now facing four counts of murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter, five counts of aggravated robbery, five counts of felonious assault, five counts of corrupting another with drugs, one count of tampering with evidence, and four counts of trafficking in drugs — all felonies.
Investigators suspect Auborn to be involved with the overdose of four men and one who survived the encounter with the woman. The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force received information that a woman was meeting men in northeast Columbus and then dosing the “johns” with drugs in order to steal their belongings.
Police believe Auborn lured a man to a hotel room with the promise of sex on Dec. 13, 2022. The man overdosed but survived.
Between January 2023 and June 2023, police said there were four men who suffered a fatal overdose of drugs while suspected of being with Auborn for sexual relations.
The Columbus Dispatch reported, “Court records from another case said Auborn admitted to detectives that she had mixed fentanyl in a man’s crack pipe after meeting him for sex. In that case, Auborn told detectives she knew the man was overdosing, but took his vehicle and debit card, according to court records.”
Investigators stressed that they believe there are more victims. Police are reinvestigating overdose deaths that happened near the other crime scenes from around the same timeline as the other deaths.
A statement from state Attorney General Dave Yost described the death as “serial killings.”
“Don’t buy sex in Ohio – it ruins lives and could cost you yours,” Yost said.
Auborn has been detained in the Franklin County jail. She is expected to appear in Franklin County Common Pleas Court for an arraignment on Friday.
Police are urging anyone with information related to the deadly overdose cases to contact the Columbus Division of Police homicide tip line at 614-645-2228.
