Ohio woman indicted on murder charges in deaths of at least four men, attorney general says

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON
Associated Press/Report For America

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman has been indicted on murder charges in the deaths of at least four men in the capital city of Columbus, the Ohio Attorney General said Wednesday, though investigators believe there are more victims.

Rebecca Auborn, a 33-year-old from Columbus, is accused of meeting men for sex before fatally drugging them and then robbing them, state Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement.

A message seeking comment was left with her attorney Thursday. The Columbus Division of Police declined to comment further on the investigation.

“Don’t buy sex in Ohio – it ruins lives and could cost you yours,” Yost said in a statement.

Four out of five of Auborn’s alleged victims died of overdoses between December 2022 and June 2023 and one man survived, authorities said, but they did not identify the victims.

Auborn gave the men fentanyl before robbing them, according to the indictment, which also charged her with involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and robbery.

She already had been indicted and pled not guilty in September to murder and drug-related charges in the January overdose of one of the men.

Auborn is currently being held in Franklin County jail and an arraignment is scheduled for Friday.

The investigation remains ongoing, according to the attorney general’s office and investigators are focusing on her activities in northeast Columbus between between December of last year and August 2023 as they search for more possible victims.

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Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.