The mother of two young siblings who have been missing for eight months told Nova Scotia police her common-law partner had been physically abusive at times, according to newly-unsealed court documents.
The documents were filed to support applications for search warrants, and none of the allegations have been tested in court.
Lilly and Jack Sullivan — aged six and four at the time — were reported missing on May 2, 2025, from their home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., in Pictou County.
The children’s family had called 911 and said the siblings wandered away that morning from the home, which is situated in a heavily-wooded area.
Despite repeated and extensive searches involving police, volunteers and cadaver dogs, the children have not been found.
At the time, they were living with their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray and her partner, Daniel Martell.
Among the unsealed documents is an interview with police where Brooks-Murray discussed her relationship with Martell.
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“When asked if Daniel was physically abusive, Malehya said he would try to block her, hold her down and once he pushed her,” the document read.
“She said he would also take her phone from her when she tried to call her mom, which would sometimes be physical and hurt.”
In his interview with police, the documents stated Martell said the couple had been together for about three years and “it moved pretty quickly.” He said the two had recently been fighting about money.
“He said their relationship is good, they have ups and downs like any couple,” the document read.
“He said they would yell at each other when they were fighting, but there was no physical violence in their relationship.”
Reached Thursday by The Canadian Press, Martell denied the allegations of abuse, saying they are part of a narrative designed to make him look evil.
The unsealed documents also revealed that police spoke to the children’s biological father, who said he had not seen the siblings in “a couple years” but had been paying child support up until he lost his job nine months earlier.
Nearly six months into their disappearance, Martell told Global News he no longer believed the siblings were in the woods near the family’s rural home.
“Speculations run wild. But I’d like everybody to know that I’m working with (the RCMP’s) major crimes (unit) almost every day, just trying to figure stuff out,” he said on Oct. 30, 2025.
In a year-end interview with Global News, Chief Superintendent Dan Morrow with Nova Scotia RCMP’s criminal operations division called the case “extremely rare.”
He said police have received about 1,030 tips and conducted 86 formal interviews.
He added that more than 8,100 functioning videos have been reviewed by the team supervising the investigation, as well as seven polygraph examinations conducted.
“So there’s been a lot of work conducted behind the scenes,” Morrow said.
“I’ve never seen it across my career. But while it’s rare, the part that isn’t rare is the complexity of the case, like why it’s taking so long, because these investigations have to be done in a methodical approach.”
— with a file from The Canadian Press
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