COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A woman facing four murder charges for allegedly luring men for sex and then drugging them appeared before a judge in a Franklin County courtroom Monday.
Rebecca Auborn, 33, was initially set to be arraigned in Franklin County Common Pleas Court last Friday. However, the county prosecutor’s office said the case was moved to Monday, when her attorney waived her bond.
Auborn will remain in Franklin County Jail while the case proceeds.
Auborn was arrested on Oct. 25 for allegedly meeting men for sex and then drugging them with the intent of robbing them. In total, Auborn is accused of doing this at least five times, with four of the victims dying from an overdose, according to court records.
The five incidents Auborn is currently charged with are:
- An attempted overdose on Dec. 13, 2022
- A fatal overdose on Jan. 15, 2023
- A fatal overdose on April 1, 2023
- A fatal overdose on April 13, 2023
- A fatal overdose on June 17, 2023
Auborn was previously charged with aggravated robbery, felonious assault, murder, corruption of another with drugs, trafficking in drugs, and the illegal manufacture of drugs in connection with the Jan. 15, 2023 incident.
All charges from the five incidents now appear in one court case in online records.
In total, Auborn was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on 28 total charges, including four counts each of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and trafficking in drugs; five counts each of aggravated robbery, felonious assault, and corrupting another with drugs; and one count of tampering with evidence.
The Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which investigated the cases against Auborn, is continuing to search for possible victims in the case. In particular, the task force is investigating any overdoses reported between December 2022 and August 2023 in the area around Interstate 71, State Route 161, Cleveland Avenue, and East 17th Avenue in north Columbus.
Auborn has been held in Franklin County Jail since Sept. 11, when she was first arrested on charges related to the Jan. 15 incident. Court records say that police found Joseph Crumpler suffering from an overdose and he was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
During an interview with police, Auborn admitted to supplying Crumpler with narcotics and stole from him while he was incapacitated.
According to additional court records, Auborn was arrested and admitted to engaging in prostitution at a Days Inn hotel and mixing fentanyl into a victim’s crack pipe on April 1. Once the victim overdosed she reportedly stole the man’s car and credit cards.
Auborn is also accused of stealing over $2,000 worth of tools from a man’s vehicle on West Weber Road. She was arrested on July 30 and admitted to taking the tools to a drug house.
