On Christmas morning in 2003, a security guard on the Johnson and Wales

Harbors had campus in Providence, Rhode Island, discovered the body of a young man

leaning up against a chain link fence. Fingerprints would later

identify the man as 22 year old Roy Weber. Roy was part of a population of men who engaged

in street-based sex work in Providence, many of them

exchanging sexual acts for money to support their substance use. Almost 20 years

later, Roy's homicide is still unsolved, though police have photos of a man

they said could have information about what happened to Roy.

Still, no arrests have been made to this day.

Richard Holcomb knew Roy Weber, their lives intertwined by their mutual lifestyle at the time.

He's now in recovery, and Rich has spent much of his adult life

advocating and raising awareness for street-based sex work and helping

researchers, health care professionals, and the general public better understand the realities of that life, one that he fell into at a young age.

This is the case of Roy Weber, but it's also the story of Richard Holcomb and how he sought recovery and helped reclaim

Roy Weber's legacy by helping other men like him.

I'm Kylie Lowe and this is Dark Down East.

When I started researching Roy Weber's story, the name Rich Holcomb appeared around every corner.

I truly wonder if Roy's memory and story would have lived on as it has without Richard Holcomb's work.

I contacted Rich on LinkedIn, and thankfully my message reached him.

He agreed to share his story and Roy's on Dark Down East.

I'm from Providence, Rhode Island.

I'm a person in recovery from substance use and sex work.

...