New details in the case of missing siblings Lilly and Jack Sullivan were released in court documents, including the result of polygraph tests administered to their parents.
The siblings disappeared from their home in rural Nova Scotia on May 2, prompting weeks of searches by law enforcement through dense forest.
The court filings show at least four polygraph examinations were conducted by investigators and that initial polygraphs for the children’s mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, and stepfather, Daniel Martell, had indicated truthful answers, according to a Friday report from CTV News.
Newsweek has reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) via email during non-working hours Saturday for comment.
Why It Matters
The case of Lilly, 6, and Jack, 4, has drawn international attention after they were reported missing from their home in rural Lansdowne Station, Nova Scotia, earlier this year.
The release of court documents sheds light on investigative steps taken by the RCMP, including forensic testing and wide-ranging record requests, and clarified that investigators have not established reasonable grounds to treat the disappearance as criminal.
What To Know
The children were first reported missing at 10:01 a.m. on May 2, with police arriving at the home shortly thereafter at 10:27 a.m. Surveillance footage showed the children with Brooks-Murray and Martell outside a local Dollarama the day prior.
The couple told investigators that the siblings had possibly slipped out of their sliding door as the parents slept in another room with their infant child.
According to the court records cited by CTV, Brooks-Murray and Martell were first given polygraphs on May 12. The couple were then given subsequent polygraph tests three more times during the investigation.
In each session, Brooks-Murray’s and Martell’s results indicated they were telling the truth, according to the report.
Additionally, the children’s biological father, Cody Sullivan, was given a polygraph on June 12 and his answers were “truthful,” the documents said.
The children’s step-grandmother was also considered for a polygraph exam on June 10, however her “physiology was not suitable for analysis and an opinion on the polygraph examination was not rendered,” according to the report.
The court filings also listed the items that were seized by investigators. They included the children’s toothbrushes, a sock, and pieces of a pink blanket that family members confirmed belonged to Lilly, with one piece in a tree near the home and another piece later found in a trash bag at the end of the driveway, according to the CTV report.
That pink blanket was found about less than a mile away in the woods by family members on the day the siblings were reported missing.
Investigators also examined clumps of boot prints in two sizes that were found in nearby woods.
The documents showed investigators sought multiple court orders, including requests for cellphone records, banking records and highway video surveillance on drivers leaving Nova Scotia between May 1 and 3. They also recorded receipt of hundreds of public tips and a witness account of two children walking toward a tan or gold sedan on May 2.
What People Are Saying
An unidentified investigator wrote in the court documents, cited by CTV News: “At this point in the investigation, Jack and Lilly’s disappearance is not believed to be criminal in nature. I do not have reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence has occurred. Because Jack and Lilly are still missing, polygraph examinations were conducted with the intention of ruling out that possibility.”
Belynda Gray, the children’s paternal grandmother, told The Globe and Mail earlier this month: “Just what did CPS do? What part were they investigating? What were their concerns and what were they doing? They might even have answers for the investigation on what happened to them or why it might’ve happened to them.”
What Happens Next?
Investigators continue to perform forensic testing on items recovered from searches.
The RCMP maintained that they had not ruled out any scenario while the files were being assessed under the Missing Persons Act.
The RCMP asked that anyone with information contact the Northeast Nova Scotia Major Crime Unit. Investigators continue to encourage tips as they assess forensic results and witness accounts.
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