Rebecca Auborn pleads guilty in serial killings of Ohio men

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Court TV) — A woman pleaded guilty in Ohio to a series of murders described as serial killings by the state attorney general.

Rebecca Auborn pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count of felonious assault after prosecutors said she intentionally caused the fatal overdoses of four victims and tried to overdose a fifth.

“Today’s plea closes a tough case,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement announcing the plea. “An overwhelming amount of convincing evidence and an airtight investigation conducted by BCI and Columbus Police left no doubt that a conviction was forthcoming. When law enforcement works together, there’s hope for families to secure justice.”

The victims in the case were not identified by name in court documents; investigators said they were killed between Dec. 13, 2022, and June 17, 2023. Auborn was accused of targeting men in a specific area of Columbus.

Auborn has been compared to Aileen Wuornos, a serial killer sentenced to death who confessed to the murders of eight men while working as a prostitute in Florida.

Detectives in Auborn’s case said they began investigating after hearing a woman was meeting men for sex, then dosing the “Johns” with drugs with the intent of stealing from them.

Auborn is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20, 2026.