Mother of missing N.S. children ‘taking it day by day,’ say loved ones

‘You marvel every daytime where they ar,’ say loved ones of Lilly and jack up Sullivan

Nine months after Lilly and Jack Sullivan vanished without a trace in rural Nova Scotia, the silence surrounding their mother has been broken under the glare of intense public scrutiny.

“Frustration comes to mind, especially when you sit there and you kind of feel like your hands are tied and [there’s] not much that you can do,” Angeline Maloney-Arsenault, Brooks-Murray’s childhood best friend, said during a recent interview in Brookfield, N.S.

Brooks-Murray has not spoken publicly about the case apart from one media interview during the initial search and a written statement she released through a volunteer search group. 

She has been heavily criticized in comments on social media for remaining silent as armchair sleuths have speculated online about what happened to her children.

But Cheryl Robinson, a close family friend, said if you knew Brooks-Murray personally, her silence would not be surprising.

“That's just who she is. She was always quiet. She never was a confrontational person. She's very shy,” said Robinson.

“I know that her behaviour to a lot of people may seem odd and may seem different and it may not be what a lot of people would do if their two kids were missing, but until you're in that situation, you really don't know how you would act.” 

Grandmother sheds light on Lilly and Jack Sullivan's lives before disappearance

On the morning of May 2, 2025, Brooks-Murray called 911 to report that Lilly, 6, and Jack, then 4, had gone missing from the rural home she shared with her boyfriend, Daniel Martell, and their baby daughter.

An extensive grid search of 8.5 square kilometres of mostly thick woods involving 1,700 crew members over 12,000 hours turned up little evidence apart from Lilly’s pink blanket hanging in a tree and a child-size boot print on a nearby trail.

Cyndy Murray, Brooks-Murray’s mother, said the past nine months have been “absolute torture.”

Murray last saw her grandchildren about a month before they went missing, when they came to her house for an egg hunt on Easter weekend.

“I miss them calling me Nae Nae.”

The hardest part for her family, she said, is not knowing what happened.

“Two kids just go missing without a trace or answers, you know, doesn't make any sense to me,” said Murray, pausing at times to compose herself.

“It’s just a nightmare. Like I can't describe it. It's mental torture to figure out … how come it's taking so long for them to find out what happened?”

Robinson said Brooks-Murray has been staying with her intermittently and she has not been doing well. As a result, Brooks-Murray tries to avoid the gossip circulating on the many YouTube shows and Facebook groups following the case.

“We just try to help her and guide her in the right direction and give her the hope that the kids will be found,” said a sombre Robinson.

“I've noticed a significant decrease in her weight since the kids have gone missing. She's just trying to take it day by day.”

Since the disappearance, authorities have brought in cadaver dogs, conducted 75 interviews and several polygraph examinations, reviewed 1,079 tips and 8,100 video files, and have assigned RCMP units from multiple provinces to investigate.

The case is still being investigated under Nova Scotia’s Missing Persons Act and has not moved to a criminal investigation, according to RCMP.

As part of the investigation, police asked Brooks-Murray and Martell about their relationship.

According to the court documents, the couple met on Facebook Dating in the spring of 2022 and the relationship moved quickly. Martell started living with Brooks-Murray at her grandmother’s house after two weeks. 

Stepfather of N.S. Children believes their disappearance is criminal

In August 2023, they moved to his mother’s property in Lansdowne, a sparsely populated community roughly 65 kilometres from Brooks-Murray’s support circle in Truro, N.S., the documents said.

Soon after, she started distancing herself from her friends and family, said Robinson. She said she heard through family members that Brooks-Murray was not happy in the months before the children vanished.

Martell told police during an interview that he and Brooks-Murray had been recently fighting about money, according to the documents. Martell has previously said he was only working one shift a week at a local sawmill.

Lilly and Jack’s father, Cody Sullivan, had not seen the children in a few years. He was paying child support, but stopped after losing his job around August 2024, the documents said.

Brooks-Murray was asked by police if Martell was ever physically abusive during their three-year relationship.

“Malehya said he would try to block her, hold her down and once he pushed her,” the officer said in court documents when recounting the interview.

“She said he would also take her phone from her when she tried to call her mom, which would sometimes be physical and hurt.”

Martell, meanwhile, told investigators there was no physical violence in their relationship, the documents said.

Missing children are ‘not going to be a cold case,’ N.S. RCMP say

When asked if he monitored her phone, Martell said: “She also monitored mine.”

“She blocked her friends on my phone and she blocked them on her own phone,” said Martell.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Robinson said the day the children went missing was the first time she saw where Brooks-Murray had been living, in a mobile home on an isolated property. She also met Martell and some of his family members.

Inside the home, it was cluttered and disorderly, she said. Outside, chaos was unfolding, as loved ones of Lilly and Jack and dozens of police and searchers tried to piece together what happened.

Something felt off, said Robinson. She described the mood as “different.”

“A lot of controversy, a lot of family issues, a lot of family dynamics,” she said. €œ[It] just didn't feel very welcoming.”

She didn’t know it at the time, but it was foreshadowing a fallout between the two families.

The next day, an argument broke out in the driveway of the home.

Brooks-Murray’s sister was particularly incensed, said Martell. He said this led to Martell’s mother ordering her off the property, so Brooks-Murray and her family left. 

Robinson said they all went to the nearby command centre for a briefing on the search. 

As she reviewed maps of the large swaths of woods that crews had already covered — with no trace of Lilly and Jack — Brooks-Murray handed off her baby to a loved one because she was having a panic attack and received medical attention, said Robinson.

She would never return to the Martell property.

“We weren't leaving her there,” said Robinson. €œAfter learning everything … we did, and seeing the condition that [the baby] was living in, it just wasn't the proper fit.”

Last week, RCMP laid charges of sexual assault, assault and forcible confinement against Martell in connection with an adult complainant. He’s due to appear in Pictou provincial court on March 2.

Martell could not be reached for comment.

When it comes to the missing persons investigation, Martell has repeatedly said he is fully co-operating with RCMP. In December, he voluntarily provided a DNA sample to investigators, said Martell.

He said when he signed the consent form, there was a box checked that said “no criminal involvement.”

“I've known since the start that I'm 100 per cent innocent … but then to also see it visually with my own eyes, it was a big thing,” said Martell.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon confirmed investigators took a blood sample from Martell, “because it was the appropriate time.”

McCamon said police sometimes find DNA in places they expect to find it, and blood samples are taken to eliminate sources.

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.

Murray, the children's grandmother, said the RCMP have not been forthcoming with details about the case, and as time ticks on, it’s harder to be patient.

“I hope that they're checking every avenue and doing as much as they possibly can,” said Murray. €œIn my heart, I want to believe that that's what they're doing.”

Brooks-Murray’s inner circle believes the children may have been abducted, and question why it was ruled out as a possibility so early on.

But McCamon said there is no “direct evidence” to suggest they were taken.

“If that were something that took place, we will gather the information and we'll pursue that and we will pursue any charges related to anything like that that took place,” said McCamon, the officer in charge of major crime and behavioural sciences.

“Sometimes when it comes to not sharing information more broadly, it's because we need to ensure we maintain the integrity in order for us to pursue the investigative efforts that we need to do.”

Robinson hangs her head as a fuzzy blanket decorated with red cherries is pulled from a garbage bag of the children's belongings, where it has sat crumpled since being taken from their home.

It’s the first time she’s been able to bring herself to look inside the bag of bedding. It was stashed in her shed with the hope that Lilly and Jack will someday be able to cuddle up with their blankets again.

“It was one of her favourite blankets,” Robinson said in a soft voice. €œBut every blanket she had was her ‘favourite,’ as long as it was pink.”

The many unanswered questions have driven Maloney-Arsenault to sleuth the internet for every piece of information.

“[It’s] kind of like a second job. You don't know what types of things are on there that could actually lead up to something huge, right?”

The ordeal has brought Maloney-Arsenault and Robinson closer under a common goal.

“We all have one main focus, and it's to find Lilly and Jack and hopefully find answers as to what happened to them,” said Robinson.

“We want to bring them home."

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Reporter/Editor

Aly Thomson is an award-winning journalist based in Halifax who loves helping the people of her home province tell their stories. She is particularly interested in issues surrounding women's health, justice, education and the entertainment industry. You can email her with tips and feedback at aly.thomson@cbc.ca.

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