The body of Lilie James was found at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, Sydney. Photo / Facebook
The body of Lilie James was found at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, Sydney. Photo / Facebook
Chilling footage shows Paul Thijssen practising his ambush of Lilie James at St Andrew’s Cathedral School.
Thijssen meticulously planned the attack, using CCTV to track and corner James in a bathroom.
He later made a calm triple-0 call before taking his own life at Diamond Bay Reserve.
WARNING: This article discusses suicide and may be upsetting to some readers.
Chilling footage of Lilie James’ killer practising his deadly ambush of the beloved waterpolo coach can be revealed for the first time after it was released by a court as part of an inquest into her shocking death.
Lilie James was just 21 when she was slain by Paul Thijssen, who she was briefly in a relationship with, on the grounds of St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney’s CBD on October 25, 2023.
The shocking case of domestic violence and Thijssen’s death – when he took his own life at Diamond Bay Reserve in Sydney’s eastern suburbs – is being examined by a coronial inquest before Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan.
On Thursday, the court released a trove of images and videos that have been shown during the inquest, including a disturbing video of Thijssen practising charging into the bathroom where he ultimately bludgeoned James to death with a hammer.
The court has also given access to video of Thijssen buying a hammer and duct tape at Mitre 10, his efforts to stalk James at a Sydney train station and his triple-0 call before he killed himself.
A frame from CCTV showing Paul Thijssen outside the bathroom. Photo / Still from CCTV
The dry runs
Evidence aired during the inquest has shown the lengths Thijssen went to to carefully plan his horrific attack, including doing several “dry runs”.
Footage released by the court showed Thijssen walking into the school on the day of the murder and carefully setting a trap for James, who had no clue about what her former partner and colleague was planning.
CCTV from the school showed him on three occasions practising quickly opening the door to the bathroom where he ultimately cornered and killed her.
In one clip he practised charging into the bathroom on several occasions, using a different hand on each occasion to open the door as he charges in.
The CCTV tracked Thijssen and his movements around the school on the afternoon of October 25, including placing a “cleaning in progress sign” outside one bathroom.
Counsel assisting Coroner Jennifer Single SC told the court Thijssen did this to corral James into the bathroom he had selected for her murder.
“Your Honour, it is submitted that after practising entering both bathrooms, Paul had by this stage decided to attack Lilie in bathroom one,” Single told the court.
“We submit that Paul placed the cleaning in progress sign outside of bathroom three to ensure Lilie did not use that bathroom, and to force her into the larger disabled bathroom where the attack in fact occurred.”
The moments before the killing
The court has been shown harrowing footage of James’ final moments as she entered the bathroom where she was killed.
The CCTV showed James arriving back at the school – after a water polo game – on the evening of October 25 and walking through the hallways, chatting to Thijssen as she headed to the bathroom.
As she entered the door, he called out to her before she disappeared into the bathroom, where she was killed moments later.
A photo released by the court shows Thijssen lingering outside the bathroom, staring directly into the CCTV camera – which he would have known was watching him and would record evidence of his crime.
The vision showed Thijssen moving towards the door and lingering outside for a moment, as he seemingly listened to what was happening inside, before he charged in with the murder weapon in his hand.
Lilie James was found dead at St Andrew's Cathedral School in October 2023. Photo / Facebook
The hardware store
Further footage released by the court shows Thijssen buying a hammer and duct tape at a York St hardware store on Monday, October 23, 2023 – two days before the killing.
The hammer was not used by him during the attack and was later found in a school storeroom.
In the footage, Thijssen goes into the Mitre 10 and picks up various hammers, seemingly weighing them in his hands and gauging how easy they would be to swing.
Stalking
The court was told that in the six days leading up to the murder, Thijssen stalked James on seven occasions – driving to her house in Sydney’s south in a hired car before returning to his Kensington home.
Footage released by the court also showed him driving into the carpark at Allawah Station in a rented silver Yaris and loitering there for over an hour.
It was a part of Thijssen’s attempt to track James and further footage also showed her getting off at the same station on the same day.
Triple-0 call
Before Thijssen jumped from a cliff at Vaucluse, he made a disturbing triple-0 call in which he alerted authorities to James’ body, which was in the bathroom at the school.
During the inquest, Thijssen was described as being “calm, almost emotionless” during the call.
“Hi Katrina, I would like to report a body in St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney CBD,” Thijssen said on the call.
“Sorry, you’d like to report?” the operator responds.
