Shortly after her two kids went missing in Nova Scotia, mom Malehya Brooks-Murray had to take a polygraph test, and she wasn’t the only one. Her current partner, as well as the children’s father, also had to take one. Investigators are still unsure what led to the disappearance of the children. It is believed the little ones may have simply wandered off from home. At least, that’s what their parents think. Based on their investigation so far, police don’t see a reason to disagree, but the children are still missing, which makes things more distressing.
Recently released court documents are giving new insight into the case of the missing children, CTV News reported. One document states that the children, 6-year-old Lilly and 4-year-old Jack Sullivan, were reported missing on May 2, 2025. Their mother, Brooks-Murray, told police she believed her children had wandered away from home. The last time they were seen was on May 1, leaving a store with their mother and their stepfather, Daniel Martell.
On May 12, 10 days after the children were reported missing, two of at least four polygraph tests were done on the parents. The test performed on Martell “indicated he was truthful,” as did the test administered for Brooks-Murray. Her test included specific questions, but those were redacted in the court documents.
“At this point in the investigation Jack and Lilly’s disappearance is not believed to be criminal in nature,” reads a comment at the end provided by an unidentified investigator. “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.”
Polygraph tests, which measure fluctuations within a person’s sympathetic nervous system while they answer questions, are often used as an investigative tool.
Janie MacKenzie, the children’s stepgrandmother, underwent a polygraph test on June 10. However, the document stated her “physiology was not suitable for analysis and an opinion on the polygraph examination was not rendered,” CTV News reported. Two days later, on June 12, the children’s biological father, Cody Sullivan, was tested. His answers were found to be “truthful.”
A different document claims that Brooks-Murray told police on May 3 that the children could be with their father. A request for footage stated “Malehya later reported to police that she thought Cody Sullivan, Lilly and Jack’s biological father, might have picked up them and taken them to New Brunswick.”
When Sullivan was questioned, however, he told investigators he hadn’t seen his children in three years. This was backed up by an interview his mother, Belynda Gray, did with CBC in June. Gray explained that Brooks-Murray ended their relationship and even fought for sole custody of Lilly and Jack.
“When she did that, he said that he was done. He just didn’t want no part of it,” Gray told CBC. Sullivan lives with his mother. “He hasn’t seen the kids for three years.”
Gray added that she hasn’t seen her grandchildren in two years, after their mother began a relationship with Martell. Despite this, she went into the wooded area near the children’s home, hoping to find any traces of her grandchildren.
“I’m yelling for Lilly and Jack,” she explained, per CBC. “I started to feel that I can’t see them being in the woods.… There’s trees everywhere. You literally have to climb over trees, climb under bushes. It is really, really thick.
“My heart tells me these babies are gone,” Gray admitted. “I just want them back.”
