Sitdown Sunday: Her bones were picked clean - but authorities say her pet bears didn't kill her

Settle down in a comfy chair with some of the week’s best longreads.

IT’S A DAY of rest, and you may be in the mood for a quiet corner and a comfy chair.

We’ve hand-picked some of the week’s best reads for you to savour.

1. The double life of Jeffrey Donaldson

sir-jeffrey-donaldson-arrives-at-newry-crown-court-where-the-jury-will-continue-to-consider-its-verdict-in-his-trial-alongside-his-wife-lady-eleanor-donaldson-on-charges-of-historical-sexual-offences Jeffrey Donaldson arrives at Newry Crown Court. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

This summer, former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency, which he committed against two women when they were children, on dates between 1985 and 2008.

(The Times, approx. 19 mins reading time)

“At 6am on March 28, 2024, 11 days after his meeting with Biden, police knocked at the door of Donaldson’s home on a hill near Dromore, Co Down. Later that day he was charged with child rape and a string of historical sexual offences. He resigned the DUP leadership the following day, promising to contest every charge.”

2. An ex-tradwife is warning other women

Bernadine Bluntly was married at 21. She went on to have six children and was a successful tradwife content creator. But her life and marriage were not as they seemed. Now she’s warning others about the dangers of the movement – and how hard it can be to escape.

(The New York Times, approx. 15 mins reading time)

“She felt trapped, she said, in a psychological and spiritual cage. Traditional wives who try to leave ‘are not just feeling that they’re disappointing their husbands,’ Bluntly said, adding: ‘It’s worse than that. They are directly disobeying God.’ And the expectation to have as many children as possible keeps them physically in the home, and the movement. ‘If you get pregnant, you’re less likely to leave, less likely to fight back,’ she said. ‘You’re a lot more vulnerable.’”

3. Almost every fish in a UK lake died overnight. Why?

dead-fish-and-dead-branches-with-fallen-leaves-floating-on-the-surface-of-a-pond File photo of a dead fish. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

A lake in East Sussex experienced a mass fish mortality event almost overnight. The couple who run the lake initially blamed themselves, then discovered pollution had entered the lake from a nearby stream.

(The Guardian, approx. 23 mins reading time)

“On the morning of 20 June 2024, Alistair and Simon walked down to the lake and noticed dead fish floating on the surface. ‘We looked at it and thought: ‘This is a bit odd,” says Alistair. On further inspection, almost everything in the 2.4-hectare lake was dead. ‘It brings tears to my eyes,’ says Diane. There were at least 15 species of fish in the lake, she adds: carp, tench, bream, roach, trout and some large eels. ‘You get a sort of relationship with them, as living beings.’ The larger fish even had names.’”

4. Toddlers are facing immigration judges in Texas

judge-gavel-on-wooden-court-desk-blur-female-crossed-hands-close-up-view-justice-and-law-concept-lawyer-office Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

This article looks inside a Texas courtroom where children as young as two are making their cases to stay in the US before immigration judges.

(CNN, approx. 10 mins reading time)

“Mateo, a 3-year-old in a blue jacket with neatly combed hair, was in court for an initial appearance. When called to the defence table, he tested the microphone, drawing laughter from some in the audience. As the judge spoke with Mateo’s attorney, who appeared remotely, the 3-year-old talked and played with the microphone.”

5. The man who wanted to be Robin Hood

A former police officer pulled off a huge armed robbery of a bank in Austria. He said he planned to give the money to people in disadvantaged situations.

(The Atavist, approx. 30 mins reading time)

“The next day, a team that included some of Gabriel’s former colleagues raided his upscale apartment and placed him under arrest. Unlike Tamara, Gabriel confessed right away. When detectives asked why he had committed such an audacious crime, he replied that he hadn’t stolen the money for himself. He’d done it for the children of Africa; he planned to build an orphanage there.”

6. Does drug decriminalisation work?

drug-use-harm-reduction Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

This thoughtful article analyses Portugal’s drug decriminalisation policy for personal use to see if such policies can reduce drug harm.

(The Conversation, approx. six mins reading time)

“Portugal embraced this approach during a devastating heroin crisis in the late 1990s. Injection drug use was fuelling one of Europe’s worst HIV epidemics, while problematic drug use was felt in Portuguese communities across social and economic lines.”

…AND A CLASSIC FROM THE ARCHIVES…

7. What killed Kay Grayson?

black-bear-ursus-americanus-great-smoky-mountains-national-park-spring-tn-usa-by-dominique-brauddembinsky-photo-assoc Kay lived with around 20 black bears at one point. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

A woman lived alongside black bears for 22 years in a swampy US forest. But when hunters killed most of her bears, her life began to spiral. Then, aged 73, she went missing, and the authorities found her bones picked clean in the forest. Authorities said the bears hadn’t killed her. This 2022 article from Outside looks into the mysterious life and death of Kay Grayson.

(Outside, approx. 20 mins reading time)

”Visitors would hear grunts and huffs and the rustle of big creatures moving through brush. And then, out from the forest, black bears would lumber toward her. She called them by name. Munchka. Susan. Highway 64. Betty Sue. David. ‘Stand up,’ she would tell them, and they’d stand, and then she’d feed them peanuts out of her hand.”