A woman who pleaded guilty to fatally drugging four Ohio men during alleged meetups for sex is prison-bound, according to authorities.
Rebecca Auborn, 36, was indicted in October 2023 in connection with the “serial killings” that occurred in northeast Columbus earlier in 2023, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office said in an earlier news release that announced her indictment.
Auburn was accused of meeting men for sex and drugging them “so she could rob them” of their belongings, according to the attorney general’s office.
She also allegedly drugged another man who survived what authorities described as an attempted overdose in 2022, authorities said.
In December 2025, Auborn pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count of felonious assault in connection with drugging the five men, according to the attorney general’s office.
A judge sentenced Auborn to four consecutive sentences of 15 years to life in prison on Thursday, February 19, the attorney general’s office announced in a news release.
“This sentence reflects the defendant’s disregard for life and the callousness not only to kill, but to do it repeatedly,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement. “My heart goes out to the families who lost a loved one — I pray that this measure of justice brings them closure and peace.”
The four men who authorities said were fatally drugged in 2023 were identified as 30-year-old Joseph Crumpler, 54-year-old Robert Snoke, 64-year-old Wayne Akin, and 42-year-old Guy Renda, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The men’s relatives were present for the sentencing hearing, the newspaper reported.
In court, Crumpler’s brothers said they had spoken with Auborn one day after she allegedly fatally drugged him, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
“She swore on her daughter’s life she had nothing to do with it,” one brother, Mark Crumpler said, according to the newspaper. “I hope at the end of the day hell denies her the peace my brother now has.”
Auborn was represented by attorney Mark Hunt, who told the courtroom that Auborn is a different person now, and that she had a difficult past that involved her being trafficked and abused, the newspaper reported. Hunt also said that she has repeatedly admitted to the alleged fatal overdoses.
“If she had not confessed to these, you guys aren’t getting justice at all,” Hunt said, according to the newspaper. “It was her admitting that she had drugged these guys such that they would pass out and she stole their stuff. These guys would have never stood out otherwise but for ultimately the statements made by my client.”
Hunt did not immediately return Us Weekly’s request for comment on February 19.
The daughter of Akin detailed the pain she has experienced as a result of her father’s death in a victim impact statement shared with NBC News.
“Dear Rebecca, my father would have never hurt you,” Akin’s daughter, Christyn Akin-Crockett, wrote, according to the news outlet. “He wasn’t like any man you might have encountered. He was kind. He was gentle. He was loving. He was awkward and so tender.”
“No matter how much torment this has caused, I want you to know that I couldn’t bring myself to hate you and I never will,” Akin’s daughter added, according to NBC News.
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