‘They had a duty of care’: Lilie James’ parents seek legal advice

The parents of murdered water polo coach Lilie James will seek to sue St Andrew’s Cathedral School for gross negligence and a breach in its duty of care to her as an employee.

The parents of murdered water polo coach Lilie James will seek to sue St Andrew’s Cathedral School for gross negligence and a breach in its duty of care to her as an employee.

Ms James, 21, was bashed to death by a colleague in a bathroom of the prestigious CBD institution on October 25 while the pair was at the campus after hours returning sports equipment from an earlier training session.

The Daily Telegraph has been told Jamie and Peta James are seeking legal advice about pursuing the school for compensation, and to establish how killer Paul Thijssen was able to kill their daughter inside the school without hearing or seeing it.

It is understood a significant part of the James’ legal action will centre around the lack of night time security at the $40,000-a-year campus.

Killer Paul Thijssen, 24, a former student of the school who was employed as a sports assistant, followed Ms James into a bathroom about 7pm, and bashed her to death with a hammer.

Lilie James, 21, was killed at St Andrew’s Cathedral School. Picture: Facebook

Lilie with her father Jamie, mother Peta and brother Max.

Her body was not discovered until midnight - five hours later - when Thijssen called Triple-0 to tell authorities what he had done. He then jumped to his own death from a cliff in the city’s eastern suburbs.

“There is a lot of anger there, and a lot of unanswered questions for Jamie and Peta,” a close family friend said.

“They, like the rest of us, want to know how this was able to happen inside a school of all places...They (the school) had a duty of care to protect Lilie as an employee.”

The close friend said the couple also wants to ensure security is bolstered at the school for current and future staff and students.

Killer Paul Thijssen.

Lilie had her whole life in front of her.

St Andrew’s Head of School Dr Julie McGonigle did not respond to requests for comment about the possible legal action, or whether additional security measures had been implemented in the wake of the tragedy.

Ms James and Thijssen had dated briefly in the weeks preceding her death after meeting in the school’s sports department.

The pair split up about a fortnight before Ms James was killed.

NSW Police said the murder was premeditated and not a crime of passion, after they discovered CCTV of Thijssen buying a hammer at a hardware store the morning of the murder.

A funeral service was held last Friday for Ms James at Danebank Anglican College where she was a student before graduating in 2020.

The family at Lilie’s funeral. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Family friend Daniel Makovec said it was a day that should “never be contemplated for any family”.

“The James family and friends are all distraught and still coming to terms with the loss of Lilie Anne James.”

He said Ms James’ old school was chosen for the funeral because she had spent more than half her life there as a student and member of the community.

“The farewell ceremony at Danebank was so fitting, a place she built relationships...and fell in love with the beauty of teaching and mentoring,” Mr Makovec said.