'Serial killings': Columbus woman charged with deaths of men she met for sex
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus woman called a serial killer by the Ohio Attorney General is accused of meeting men for sex and then drugging them -- sometimes fatally -- with the intent of robbing them.
On Wednesday, a Franklin County grand jury charged Rebecca Auborn, 33, with the following:
- 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
- Four counts of trafficking in drugs
All of the charges are felonies.
During a task force investigation, Attorney General Dave Yost said Auborn was connected to several overdoses and robberies, including:
- 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. She has been held in Franklin County Jail since her Sept. 11 arrest on those charges.
The task force, comprised of detectives from the Columbus Division of Police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, believe there may be other victims, Yost said. The focus of the investigation stretches from December 2022 to August 2023 and detectives are looking at the areas around Interstate 71, State Route 161, Cleveland Avenue, and East 17th Avenue.
Yost asked anyone with information related to overdose deaths that occurred during those time periods and near those locations to call the CPD's homicide unit at 614-645-2228.
Auborn is scheduled to be in court on Oct. 27.