🎊Shocking Court Files Unsealed: Mum’s Explosive Abuse Claims Against Stepdad in Heartbreaking Case of Missing Kids Lilly and Jack Sullivan – ‘He Held Me Down and Took My Phone!’
In a bombshell development that has rocked a quiet Canadian community and reignited anguish for a family torn apart, newly unsealed court documents from January 15, 2026, have revealed chilling allegations of physical abuse made by the mother of missing siblings Lilly and Jack Sullivan against her former partner.
Malehya Brooks-Murray, the devastated mum who first raised the alarm when her children vanished from their rural home in Lansdowne Station, Nova Scotia, back in May 2025, told RCMP investigators in a recorded interview that her common-law partner Daniel Martell had been violent towards her during their relationship.
The documents, released to the public after applications for search warrants, paint a disturbing picture of the household where six-year-old Lilly and four-year-old Jack were last seen.
According to excerpts from Brooks-Murray’s May 9, 2025, interview with police, she claimed Martell would “try to block her, hold her down and once he pushed her”. She went further, alleging he would snatch her phone away when she attempted to call her own mother for help – and that these incidents “would sometimes be physical and hurt”.
One particularly harrowing detail stands out: Brooks-Murray described moments when the confrontations turned painful and physical, leaving her unable to reach out for support.
This photo shows Daniel Martell and Malehya Brooks-Murray together, captured before the nightmare unfolded.
Martell, the stepdad to Lilly and Jack and father to the couple’s baby daughter, has categorically denied every single accusation.
“I never abused Malehya physically,” he insisted in statements to media outlets following the unsealing of the files. “I have never laid a hand on her in anger.”
The 34-year-old, who lived with the family in the isolated Gairloch Road property, maintains his innocence amid mounting scrutiny.
No charges have ever been filed in connection with these specific abuse claims related to Brooks-Murray, and the allegations remain unproven in any court of law.
But the revelations come at a devastating time – nearly nine months after the children disappeared without a trace.
On the fateful morning of May 2, 2025, Brooks-Murray dialled 911 in panic, reporting that Lilly, then six, and Jack, four, had seemingly wandered away from their home in the sparsely populated Pictou County area, about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax.
What followed was one of the largest missing persons searches in recent Canadian history: hundreds of tips, thousands of hours of video reviewed, cadaver dogs deployed, polygraph tests, and searches of lakes and forests.
Yet, shockingly, Lilly and Jack have never been found.
Lilly Sullivan (left) and her little brother Jack – the adorable siblings who vanished in May 2025 and remain missing.
Heart-wrenching photos of Lilly and Jack released by authorities in the desperate hunt for clues.
The case continues under Nova Scotia’s Missing Persons Act – not as a criminal homicide probe – meaning no one has been officially labelled a suspect.
Sergeant Rob McCamon of the RCMP emphasised in recent updates that the investigation remains active and open, now stretching into its eighth month (and beyond) with no breakthroughs.
“We are working tirelessly,” he said, refusing to speculate or point fingers while tips continue to pour in.
The unsealed files also highlight other tensions in the household, including reported arguments over money in the days leading up to the disappearance.
Brooks-Murray initially told police she put the children to bed around 9 p.m. on May 1, later adjusting that to 10 p.m. She noted Martell stayed up later, with uncertainty about when he joined her.
Surveillance footage from the previous day showed the family together at a Dollarama store in nearby New Glasgow – one of the last confirmed sightings of the happy, carefree kids.
Martell himself sat for interviews, even offering to take a polygraph, and has spoken publicly about his grief.
But in late January 2026, just weeks after the abuse allegations surfaced, he faced separate charges: assault, sexual assault, and forcible confinement involving an adult victim (not related to the children’s disappearance, according to police).
He was arrested, released on conditions, and is due back in court.
The developments have fuelled intense online speculation and heartache for loved ones.
Friends close to Brooks-Murray describe her as “taking it day by day”, shattered by the loss and the relentless public glare.
Her inner circle told CBC News she remains in deep pain, coping privately amid the storm.
The rural Nova Scotia community, once peaceful, now grapples with unanswered questions: How could two young children vanish from their own home? Was there foul play? And what really happened behind closed doors?
As the calendar flips further into 2026, the mystery deepens.
RCMP continue to urge anyone with information – no matter how small – to come forward.
For the family, every day without Lilly and Jack is agony.
The unsealed documents offer a glimpse into a troubled relationship, but provide no closure on the children’s fate.
One thing is clear: until Lilly and Jack are found, the nightmare will not end.