Newly released court documents in the case of Jack and Lilly Sullivan offer more details on the relationship between their mother and stepfather leading up to the children’s disappearance more than eight months ago.
Lilly, 6, and Jack, 5, have been missing since May 2, 2025, when their mother Malehya Brooks-Murray called 911 to report they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne, N.S., a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax.
Their disappearance sparked an extensive grid search of the thick woods surrounding their rural home that turned up little evidence apart from a pink blanket and child-size boot print.
Over the past eight months, authorities have brought in cadaver dogs, conducted 75 interviews and several polygraph examinations, reviewed 1,066 tips and 8,000 video files and have assigned RCMP units from multiple provinces to investigate the case.
At the time of their disappearance, the children were living with Brooks-Murray, their stepfather, Daniel Martell, and the couple’s baby daughter. The family, including Lilly and Jack, were last seen in public the day before the two children were reported missing.
What court documents tell us about relationship between mom, stepdad of missing N.S. children
As part of the case, police sought 12 search warrants between May 16, 2025 and July 16, 2025.
More details of those applications for warrants are laid out in court records that were obtained by CBC News and The Globe and Mail this week.
In those court documents, there are details of an interview conducted by police with Brooks-Murray. She discusses her relationship with Martell, saying she moved in with him on his mother’s property in Lansdowne around August 2023.
Brooks-Murray was asked if Martell was ever physically abusive.
“Malehya said he would try to block her, hold her down and once he pushed her,” the documents said.
“She said he would also take her phone from her when she tried to call her mom, which would sometimes be physical and hurt.”
Meanwhile, Martell told investigators they had recently been fighting about money, but otherwise their relationship was “good.”
“They have ups and downs like any couple,” the documents said, recounting what Martell told police during an interview.
“He said they would yell at each other when they were fighting, but there was no physical violence in their relationship.”
The documents also suggest that Lilly and Jack’s biological father, Cody Sullivan, had not seen the children in a few years, but was paying child support up until he lost his job nine months before their disappearance.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon confirmed the nature of the relationship between Brooks-Murray and Martell at the time of the disappearance is part of the investigation.
“I’m not going to comment on … anything being a factor, but I will say that any situation like that would be considered and followed up on by our people,” said McCamon in an interview.
When asked if any of the children’s family members are considered suspects in this case, McCamon said there are no suspects he can identify at this time.
“I wouldn’t say anybody’s a suspect. Again, we continue to gather information, whatever evidence that we are able to find, and we’ll make our decisions based on that,” said McCamon, the officer in charge of major crime and behavioural sciences.
The disappearance is still being investigated under the provincial Missing Persons Act and has not moved to a criminal investigation, according to RCMP.
The mysterious nature of Jack and Lilly’s disappearance and lack of answers in the case has fuelled widespread speculation online amid international media attention.
In submissions filed recently with the court as part of the CBC’s application to access records, the Crown noted that although there is currently no “reasonable grounds” to believe a crime has taken place, as the investigation persists, it “could become criminal, and persons of interest in the disappearance of the children might be identified.”
The submissions also included an affidavit filed by the RCMP, noting police are “leveraging technology-based investigative techniques which may provide information to support criminality and uncover the whereabouts of the missing children.”
McCamon said those techniques include the use of sophisticated drones and video review programs.
Michael Arntfield, a former police detective and criminology professor at Western University in London, Ont., said the Crown is choosing its words carefully in its submissions.
“When they state that there are no reasonable grounds for a criminal offence, what that really says to me is that there is currently not enough evidence to make an arrest for a crime, but a crime is not obviously being ruled out,” said Arntfield in a recent interview.
“It’s a very important linguistic distinction.”
Arntfield said he’s surprised the investigation has not turned criminal. In his experience, missing persons cases are generally deemed suspicious if they are not found after about a week.
“Investigators are still sort of pussyfooting around whether or not foul play is involved and whether this should be a strictly criminal investigation,” he said.
“I don’t have all the facts, but I will just say, it is novel in terms of these types of investigations, particularly dealing with two children.”
McCamon said once investigators have gathered all the necessary information, “we’ll make decisions on any criminality that may be relevant to the case.”
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