2nd round of polygraphs conducted in disappearance of N.S. children amid lack of answers

Nova Scotia RCMP feature conducted a back labialise of polygraph examinations in the disappearing of jack up and Lilly Sullivan, with two of those tests focused on one of the only pieces of physical evidence in the case: a light pink blanket found hanging in a tree.

Lilly, 6, and Jack, then 4, were reported missing on the morning of May 2, 2025, from Lansdowne, N.S., a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax.

Their disappearance sparked a massive grid search of the thick woods surrounding their home, where they lived with their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray; stepfather, Daniel Martell; and their younger sister.

A piece of Lilly’s blanket, found on the first day of the search tangled in a tree's twigs, has been the subject of much speculation, fuelled by a lack of answers in the case. 

Pink blanket focus of N.S. Missing children polygraphs

Family members on all sides have suggested online and in media interviews that it was planted.

Haley Ferdinand, Brooks-Murray’s stepsister, was one of the people who came upon the piece of tattered blanket off Lansdowne Station Road, a kilometre from the children’s home, as they scoured for Jack and Lilly alongside dozens of search and rescue members.

“We went down one side of the road and came back up the other,” said Ferdinand, adding that Brooks-Murray’s half-brother, Haiden Murray-Smith, was with her at the time.

“We came back up the other side and all of a sudden there was this pink thing in the tree.”

Ferdinand said it was intertwined in branches roughly a metre off the ground. She described its position as “odd.”

“Emotions were very high that day already... And sure enough, we sent the picture to Malehya and she ID’d it as being Lilly’s,” said Ferdinand in a recent interview at her home outside Truro, N.S.

“It was just very emotional to see.”

Ferdinand said she was asked four questions during a polygraph examination on Feb 20: “Did you plant the blanket in the tree? Did you place the blanket in the tree? Did you put the blanket in the tree? Did you leave the blanket in the tree?”

She said she responded “no” to each question, and at the end, she was told she passed the examination.

RCMP declined a request for an interview, but confirmed in an email that more polygraph examinations have taken place as part of an extensive investigation being led by major crimes.

The Mounties also confirmed the blanket — one of two pieces of physical evidence in the case that the public is aware of — is still at the RCMP lab for forensic examination. 

The second piece is a boot print consistent with Lilly’s foot size found on the pipeline trail near the family home.

In Canada, polygraph tests are used as an investigative tool and are not admissible in court.

Michelle Jeanis, an associate professor in the criminal justice department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said police conduct polygraphs to help shape interviews, narrow down suspect pools and to guide who they should be speaking with as part of an investigation.

Jeanis, whose areas of expertise include best practices for recovering missing persons, said she feels the fact that police are conducting a second round of polygraphs signals that RCMP have exhausted all immediate leads.

“The best thing to do when you have a long … term missing persons case would be to go back from the beginning and start over and with fresh eyes and look for anything that they might have missed before,” said Jeanis, who has been following the case closely.

“It is absolutely concerning that the investigation has gone on for this long and we still have no recovery. All missing persons cases are usually resolved very quickly. So this in and of itself is very abnormal and concerning.”

Details about the blanket’s discovery are laid out in search warrant applications sought by RCMP early in the investigation.

The documents said the blanket was discovered around 4 p.m. AT on May 2, 2025, and police dogs were brought to the location, but no scent was picked up.

Two days later, another piece of the same blanket was seized from inside a trash bag at the end of the driveway at the children’s home, said the documents, which lay out an officer’s summary of the investigation to that point.

Martell had been using the blanket to stop a draft from a door, it said. About a week before the disappearance, Brooks-Murray took it from the door because the weather was getting nicer and she threw it in the garbage.

“There was already a piece missing from it when she did that because Daniel ripped it off when he put it up,” the document said, summarizing Brooks-Murray’s statement to police.

He said it was his understanding that his DNA was taken in connection with the blanket, but RCMP have not confirmed that.

According to the court documents, a number of people underwent polygraphs in the weeks and months immediately following the disappearance, including Martell and Brooks-Murray.

Ferdinand and Murray-Smith were not polygraphed during the first round of tests.

During an interview in January, RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon said there were “a number of different areas” investigators were following up on in connection with the blanket.

“We'll make decisions on that once we have all that we need, but right now we're not in a position to really comment on that.”

For Ferdinand, her polygraph was simply another box to tick. 

“I knew that I went into the test being truthful and I knew my result was going to be truthful. So it was really just another normal day … another task to complete in the pursuit of finding out what happened to them,” said Ferdinand, becoming emotional at times.

“It hurts the longer time goes. We just want answers and we want Lilly and Jack 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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