Columbus woman indicted on murder, accused of supplying drugs that killed man, robbing him
A Franklin County grand jury has indicted a Columbus woman on murder and other charges in connection with the January drug overdose death of a 30-year-old man in North Linden.
Columbus police allege that Rebecca Auborn, 32, admitted to investigators that she supplied the narcotics that killed Joseph Crumpler. Police did not identify the drug or drugs involved in the complaint, but a Franklin County Coroner's Office autopsy report states Crumpler had fentanyl and alcohol in his system.
Officers responded just after 9 a.m. Jan. 15 to the 2900 block of Azelda Avenue for an apparent overdose. Crumpler was taken to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he died.
Police also allege that once Crumpler took the drugs, Auborn stole from him while he was incapacitated and dying.
In addition to murder, a Franklin County grand jury also indicted Auborn also on charges of aggravated robbery, felonious assault, corrupting another with drugs, trafficking in drugs and illegal cultivation of marijuana.
About two and a half months after Crumpler's death, a complaint filed Sept. 1 in Franklin County Municipal Court states that Auborn also allegedly provided drugs to a Pataskala man around 12:40 p.m. on March 31 at a hotel in the 1700 block of Clara Street near the Interstate 71/East 17th Avenue interchange in North Linden. Auborn stole a vehicle, identification and credit cards from that man, police allege.
Auborn, who records indicate lived on the streets of Columbus and at one time in the city's Mock-Aberdeen neighborhood east of Linden near Arlington Park, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
Auborn has been charged in at least one other case involving a robbery that happened after prosecutors allege she gave a man narcotics.
Court records show Auborn was charged Sept. 1 after prosecutors allege she gave a Pataskala man fentanyl March 31 at a hotel near Interstate 71 and East 17th Avenue in North Linden. Prosecutors also accused Auborn of stealing a vehicle, identification and credit cards in that case, according to court records.
The man involved is believed to have died as a result of the drugs he was given, according to a report from the Franklin County Coroner's office. However, the coroner's office ruled the man's death as accidental, so The Dispatch is not identifying him. Auborn has not been charged with any crimes related to that man's death.
Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this report.
mferench@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus woman indicted with murder in January drug overdose death
