Happy Monday, Lunch Club!

A Maryland detective working a 54-year-old murder case did something unexpected: he brought two orphaned siblings back together after six decades apart. Meanwhile, the gambling industry extracts billions from Americans while states look away, three Kentucky women are forcing their school district to confront decades of alleged abuse, and a historian reveals how Civil War prison camps gave birth to international humanitarian law.

Happy reading!

Brett

In 1971, an unidentified woman was found beaten and unconscious in a Maryland field, dying weeks later without anyone knowing who she was. In 2024, cold-case detective Wade Zufall used DNA from preserved tissue samples to identify her as Sarah Belle Sharkey, mother of siblings separated in a Catholic orphanage in the 1950s. The investigation revealed Sarah's children had been scattered for decades: Chuck Sharkey grew up struggling with PTSD after Vietnam, blocking out his past; Marie (Mildred) Sharkey spent 60 years searching for her brother; and Judith died unclaimed in Louisiana in 2020. Zufall's work not only gave Sarah back her name but reunited Chuck and Marie after 62 years apart. The detective personally paid to have Judith's ashes shipped for their October 2025 reunion. Sarah's murder remains unsolved, but Zufall restored something the siblings thought lost forever.

This story was published as the writer, Paul Duggan, was laid off from his position at The Washington Post.

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Since states legalized online sports gambling in 2018, the industry has exploded to over $600 billion in wagers. Platforms like FanDuel and DraftKings control 70 percent of the market, using AI-driven micro bets and constant promotions to keep users gambling despite mounting losses. Research from Rutgers University reveals that 2.5 million Americans show severe gambling problems, with credit scores dropping and bankruptcy rates rising in states with legalized betting. The industry particularly targets young men through gamified experiences and in-game wagering. Professional leagues promote betting despite integrity concerns, with scandals involving players fixing games increasingly common. States collect modest tax revenues but largely ignore the public health crisis, leaving families facing addiction and financial ruin. Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket exploit regulatory gaps, effectively lowering the gambling age to 18 by claiming they offer "event contracts" rather than sports bets.

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Three women who graduated from Shelby County Public Schools came forward at a December board meeting alleging decades of sexual misconduct by male educators. Hannah Ross, now 41, revealed her former agriculture teacher groomed her from age 13, began sexually abusing her at 15, and married her the day after her 18th birthday in 2002. Hayley Weddle said former basketball coach Chris Gaither groomed her and coerced her into sex just after graduation in 2014. Laura Wills-Coppelman described receiving excessive attention from principal Jim Flynn that sparked district-wide rumors about a relationship. The women say school officials knew about misconduct patterns but repeatedly ignored complaints and protected alleged abusers. Their advocacy has pushed Kentucky legislation forward, including House Bill 4 to criminalize grooming and House Bill 102 to strengthen reporting requirements. Shelby County Superintendent Joshua Matthews announced new anonymous reporting systems and third-party investigations in response.

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Civil War prison camps killed more Union soldiers at Andersonville than died at Gettysburg, with mortality rates reaching 29 percent in Confederate facilities. Historian W. Fitzhugh Brundage's new book documents how more than 400,000 men became prisoners when the South refused to exchange Black soldiers, viewing them as slave rebels rather than combatants worthy of protection. Confederate camps like Andersonville provided no barracks, sanitation, or medical care for up to 33,000 prisoners crammed into spaces designed for 10,000. While both sides failed their captives, Brundage argues the South's deliberate neglect stemmed from refusing to recognize basic obligations toward prisoners. The crisis prompted General Orders No. 100 in 1863, the first codification of war rules and foundation for modern humanitarian law. Camp commander Henry Wirz was executed for war crimes after the conflict, establishing precedent for prosecuting such abuses.

Read here, free for LBR Readers.