Lilie James ( May 2002 – 25 October 2023) was a student and water polo coach from Sans Souci, New South Wales, who was found murdered at St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney CBD. She was last seen alive at around 7 p.m. on 25 October 2023, entering the gymnasium toilet with a man following behind. Her body was discovered by police before midnight that day.
On 26 October 2023, police began investigations, initially at St Andrew's where they identified Lilie James as a victim of homicide. Paul Thijssen was later identified and named a prime suspect after reportedly disappearing. Thijssen was last seen at The Gap in Vaucluse, New South Wales, where he killed himself. His body was found and identified on 27 October 2023 by police.
Background and murder
Lilie James was born in May 2002 to Jamie and Peta James and resided in Sans Souci, New South Wales. She graduated in 2020 at Danebank, in Hurstville, and studied sports business at the University of Technology Sydney the following year. James was employed part-time by St Andrew's Cathedral School as a water polo coach and began dating Paul Thijssen, who was a sports coach and former student of the school, five weeks prior to her death. Close friends of James described her as "the nicest and kindest person".
Thijssen was born in the Netherlands as an only child and attended St Andrew's as a student from 2015 to 2017, where he was a sports captain and part of the school leadership team. He was hired as a sports assistant coach by the school the following year before completing his degree at a university in the Netherlands. Thijssen returned to Australia in 2020 to continue work at St Andrew's as a cricket and hockey coach and an after-hours coordinator. He was also listed as the hockey coach at St Vincent's College in Potts Point. Thijssen was studying for a master of teaching in order to become a PE teacher. Both James and Thijssen had no previous domestic violence-related issues or apprehended violence orders.
On 25 October 2023 at approximately 7 p.m., James went into the school's gymnasium toilet before CCTV captured Thijssen following behind her. The two split just days prior and it was assumed a fight ensued in the toilet. About an hour later, Thijssen left the toilet without James and arrived at Diamond Bay Reserve at 8:47 p.m., where he disposed of a hammer in a bin. Thijssen left the location at 9:49 p.m. before calling the police two hours later, informing them of a body at St Andrew's that needed to be investigated. Thijssen's last known location was at The Gap in Vaucluse, New South Wales, where he left a backpack with his personal belongings. A Lexus was also found in a nearby car park.
Investigation
First crime scene
A woman's body was found by police, before midnight on 25 October 2023, in the school's gymnasium toilet. Police described the body "as a woman in her early twenties" and concluded her cause of death to be homicide. Police also reported "serious head injuries" found on the body, leading her to be unrecognisable when discovered. The search for Thijssen, although not identified at this point, began as police believed he could assist with the investigation. At approximately 4:30 a.m. on 26 October 2023, St Andrew’s sent an email to all students' parents, stating that the school would be closed for the rest of the week due to a "critical incident." A second text message was sent at 6:30 a.m. to assure parents that no students were involved in the incident. The school brought in counsellors to provide professional support to both students and parents. Students taking their Higher School Certificate and final year International Baccalaureate exams were relocated to separate buildings. At around 10:35 to 10:40 a.m., the woman's body was confirmed to be James by a friend of her family. Thijssen was identified by police at 11:40 a.m.