CCTV captures Paul Thijssen’s movements in Vaucluse after killing Lilie James
Security cameras in Vaucluse picked up Paul Thijssen in the hours after he allegedly beat his ex-girlfriend to death with a hammer at a Sydney school. Watch the video.
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Security cameras in Vaucluse have picked up Paul Thijssen in the hours after he allegedly beat his ex-girlfriend to death with a hammer at a Sydney school – showing him walking along a clifftop footpath.
Security cameras along Chris Bang Cres in Vaucluse showed Thijssen arriving in the street at 8.47pm, almost two hours after following water-polo coach Lilie James into a bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral School and allegedly beating her with a hammer.
Dressed in black, Thijssen can be seen getting out of his silver Lexus and walking along the cliffside footpath at 9.03pm.
Despite having allegedly killed Miss James an hour and half earlier, he walked at a steady pace.
He headed towards a bin which was later cordoned off and declared part of a crime scene.
Police sources alleged Thijssen may have dumped the suspected murder weapon – a hammer – into the bin. His ear pods were also found nearby.
After dumping the goods, Thijssen can be seen returning to his car about 10 minutes later, where he sat until 9.49pm and then drove a few hundred metres away to another clifftop location.
It was another two hours before Thijssen made a chilling call to police, alerting them to the horrific scene in the bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral.
Police sources said Miss James’ head injuries were severe and confronting for first responders.
After Thijssen made the call police believe he jumped off the cliffs at Vaucluse Viewpoint.
A body was discovered just before 8am on Friday morning, late on Friday police confirmed the body found was Paul Thijssen.
A police spokesman said the 24-year-old sports coach’s identity was confirmed using fingerprints and cross referenced with prints from Netherlands embassy.
Police rushed to the area under lights and sirens earlier this morning after a group of tradies working at a construction site along the cliffs spotted the body on the rocks below and called triple-0.
It took hours to retrieve due to the blustery conditions — and was moved to a blue tent on the clifftops at Vaucluse around 12.30pm, before being moved on a stretcher and loaded into a van shortly after 3pm, then driven away from the scene.
If you are experiencing distress or are concerned about someone, contact Lifeline on 131 114.
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Originally published as CCTV captures Paul Thijssen’s movements in Vaucluse after killing Lilie James
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