Joseph Crumpler, 30, died on January 15, 2023, after being found in the 2900 block of Azelda Avenue in the North Linden neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Officers responded that morning to a report of a drug overdose; Crumpler was transported to Riverside Methodist Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead. The coroner ruled the manner of death an accident, listing fentanyl and alcohol in his system.

Investigators later linked Crumpler’s death to a wider pattern of overdoses and robberies beginning in December 2022. Authorities say Rebecca Auborn, 32, admitted supplying drugs that caused Crumpler’s fatal overdose and stealing from him while he was incapacitated. Auborn was arrested on August 26, 2023, and has been charged in connection with multiple cases; the coroner’s office released autopsy records for Crumpler and three other men who all had fentanyl in their systems.

Does anyone have information about Crumpler’s activities or contacts in North Linden in the weeks before January 15, 2023?