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.
The Surviving Victim
- Richard Bixler, 61 — December 13, 2022 — Columbus, Ohio: Bixler survived what prosecutors identified as Auborn's first known attempted overdose in the series. The December 13 incident occurred approximately one month before Joseph Crumpler's death. Auborn was ultimately convicted of felonious assault for the attack on Bixler. His survival provided investigators with another event that could be compared with the later fatal overdoses and demonstrated that Auborn's pattern had begun before the first confirmed murder.
Deaths Initially Appeared to Be Overdoses
An important feature of the Auborn case was the way the murders could initially appear to be unrelated overdose deaths. Autopsy and toxicology records showed fentanyl in all four deceased victims. The Franklin County Coroner's Office initially classified the deaths as accidental drug overdoses based upon the medical evidence available at the time.
The criminal investigation changed the understanding of those deaths. Police and state investigators found evidence that the fentanyl exposures were not simply accidental episodes of voluntary drug use. Auborn had intentionally administered or supplied the drugs while carrying out robberies. Her later guilty pleas to four murders legally established her responsibility for the deaths even though the original medical classifications had described them as overdose accidents.
The Investigation
The investigation grew from information received by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force. Authorities learned of allegations that a woman was meeting men for paid sexual encounters in northeast Columbus and deliberately drugging them so she could steal from them. Investigators began comparing incidents and discovered similarities among several overdoses and robberies.
The Columbus Division of Police worked with special agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Detectives focused on an area that included Interstate 71, State Route 161, Cleveland Avenue and East 17th Avenue, examining overdose incidents that had occurred between December 2022 and August 2023.
The January death of Joseph Crumpler provided investigators with particularly significant evidence. Columbus police reported that Auborn admitted supplying Crumpler with the narcotics responsible for his fatal overdose and acknowledged stealing from him while he was incapacitated. As investigators examined Auborn's activities more closely, additional overdose deaths were connected to her.
The investigation also uncovered robberies involving substantial property. Authorities reported incidents in which vehicles, debit or credit cards and other possessions were stolen. Auborn was also connected to the theft of more than $2,000 worth of tools from a man's vehicle. These incidents strengthened the prosecution's contention that financial gain was the underlying reason for incapacitating the men.
Indictment as a Serial Murder Case
In October 2023, a Franklin County grand jury returned a sweeping 28-count indictment against Auborn. The charges included 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, four counts of drug trafficking and one count of tampering with evidence.
Ohio authorities publicly described the investigation as a serial-killing case. The characterization reflected the repeated pattern: separate victims were attacked over a period of months using substantially the same method and for the same general purpose. Investigators also considered the possibility that additional victims existed and examined other overdose deaths from the period in which Auborn was active.
Guilty Pleas
The prosecution continued for more than two years. Auborn initially pleaded not guilty, but on December 19, 2025, she changed her plea in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. She pleaded guilty to four counts of murder for the deaths of Crumpler, Snoke, Akin and Renda and to one count of felonious assault for the surviving victim.
The guilty pleas eliminated any remaining question about whether Auborn was merely suspected of the deaths. She formally accepted criminal responsibility for murdering all four men. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost described the case assembled by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Columbus police as overwhelming, noting the extensive evidence developed during the joint investigation.
Sentence
On February 19, 2026, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Karen Phipps sentenced Rebecca Auborn to four consecutive prison terms of 15 years to life for the four murders. Because the sentences were ordered to run consecutively rather than simultaneously, Auborn must serve at least 60 years before becoming eligible to seek parole.
The sentence effectively ensures that Auborn will spend the great majority, and potentially all, of the remainder of her life in prison. The consecutive sentences also treated each death as a separate loss rather than allowing the punishment for the four murders to overlap.
A Serial Killer Who Used Fentanyl as a Weapon
The Rebecca Auborn case stands apart from many traditional serial-murder cases because her weapon was not a firearm, knife or other immediately recognizable instrument of violence. Instead, she exploited the lethal properties of fentanyl and the circumstances surrounding drug use. An overdose could initially resemble an accidental death, making it possible for the criminal pattern to remain concealed until investigators connected the victims, robberies and Auborn's presence.
Between December 13, 2022 and June 17, 2023, at least five men were subjected to the pattern attributed to Auborn. Richard Bixler survived. Joseph Crumpler, Robert Snoke, Wayne Akin and Guy Renda did not. What initially appeared to authorities as a collection of separate overdose incidents was ultimately prosecuted as a series of intentional murders committed to facilitate robbery.
With Auborn's December 2025 guilty pleas and February 2026 sentencing, the four deaths became established murder convictions. She received four consecutive life sentences and cannot become eligible for parole until she has served a minimum of 60 years.
