Rebecca Auborn

Serial Killer

Rebecca Auborn: The Columbus Fentanyl Serial Murders

Rebecca Auborn is an Ohio serial killer who murdered four men in Columbus during a series of drugging-and-robbery attacks in 2023. Prosecutors established that Auborn met men for sex in exchange for money and intentionally gave them fentanyl so that she could incapacitate them and steal their property. Four men died from the fentanyl she administered, while a fifth man survived an earlier attempted overdose. The crimes occurred between December 2022 and June 2023 and were concentrated primarily in northeast Columbus. The deaths initially appeared capable of blending into the large number of accidental drug overdoses occurring in the region. Fentanyl is an exceptionally powerful synthetic opioid, and a person who receives an unexpected dose can quickly lose consciousness, stop breathing and die. In Auborn's case, however, investigators eventually uncovered a repeated pattern connecting several apparently separate overdoses: Auborn had been with the men, drugs had been administered, the victims became incapacitated, and property was taken.

The Pattern of Drugging and Robbery

Authorities said Auborn arranged encounters with men in Columbus and then used narcotics, particularly fentanyl, to cause them to overdose. Her purpose was robbery. Once the men were impaired or unconscious, she could take money, bank cards, vehicles or other valuables with little or no resistance. The pattern was especially dangerous because some of the victims did not know they were receiving fentanyl. Investigators said Auborn intentionally caused the overdoses rather than merely being present when recreational drug use unexpectedly turned fatal. In one incident described during the investigation, Auborn admitted mixing fentanyl into a man's crack pipe. Authorities also developed evidence that in at least one case she knew a victim was overdosing but stole property rather than obtaining lifesaving medical assistance. Investigators ultimately connected Auborn to five overdose incidents beginning on December 13, 2022. The first known victim survived. Four subsequent men died between January 15 and June 17, 2023.

Confirmed Murder Victims

• Joseph V. Crumpler, 30 — January 15, 2023 — Columbus, Ohio: Crumpler was found suffering from an apparent overdose at his residence in the 2900 block of Azelda Avenue in northeast Columbus. Police and emergency personnel responded, and he was transported to Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators later said Auborn admitted supplying Crumpler with the narcotics that caused his death and stealing from him while he was incapacitated. His death became one of the incidents that helped investigators recognize that the overdoses were connected to deliberate criminal activity.
• Robert Snoke, 54 — April 1, 2023 — Columbus, Ohio: Snoke, a Pataskala resident, died from a fentanyl overdose on April 1. Coroner records indicated that he was found at a hotel on Clara Street near the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus. Snoke's death was ultimately linked to Auborn's pattern of intentionally drugging men before robbing them. Authorities said Auborn took property connected to one of the overdose victims, including a vehicle and financial cards, as investigators reconstructed how robbery was intertwined with the druggings.
• Wayne Akin, 64 — April 17, 2023 — Columbus, Ohio: Akin was found dead inside his apartment in the 4300 block of Chesford Road on Columbus' northeast side. Court records established an important distinction between the date of the criminal act and his official date of death: investigators said Auborn provided Akin with fentanyl on April 13, 2023, but Akin was found and declared dead on April 17, his 64th birthday. His verified date of death is therefore April 17, 2023. Akin's family became suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his death, particularly after discovering that personal property was missing and receiving information suggesting that a woman known as "Becka" might be connected to multiple overdose deaths.
• Guy Renda, 42 — June 17, 2023 — Columbus, Ohio: Renda died on June 17 after another fatal fentanyl exposure connected to Auborn. He was found outside in a residential area in the 2700 block of Grasmere Avenue on Columbus' northeast side. Later prosecutors identified Renda as being from Belpre, Ohio. His death became the fourth confirmed killing attributed to Auborn and helped establish the repeated nature of the crimes.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Joseph Crumpler Age: (30), Date of Death: 2023-01-15

Survivors:

Richard Bixler , Date of Attack: 2022-12-13

Columbus Woman Indicted in Serial Killings - Ohio Attorney General