Revealed: Inside Lilie James’ final 24 hours

Lilie James’ murder on the grounds of a prestigious Sydney school shocked the country. Now, the details of her final 24 hours can be revealed.

When Lilie James arrived back at St Andrew’s Cathedral School on the evening of Wednesday, October 25, 2023, she chatted with students and her former partner before going into a bathroom to change into her swimmers.

Little did she know those would be the final moments of her life.

There was little warning before Ms James was brutally murdered on the grounds of the Sydney CBD school.

Ms James was murdered by Paul Thijssen after he cornered her inside the bathrooms and assaulted her with a hammer.

This is everything we know about the events of the final 24 hours of Lilie James’ life, following an inquest into her death.

Lilie James. Picture: Facebook

THE MORNING

At 6.45am, Jamie James found his daughter in the kitchen making toast. She was already dressed and walked out the door of her family home for the last time at 7.10am.

She drove to work at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, stopping at Carlton for petrol.

When Thijssen’s flatmates saw him walk out of his room that morning, his eyes were watery, he was sniffing and appeared to be hiding the fact that he had been crying.

At 9am, the inquest heard, Thijssen received a call from the school’s director of sport, who gave him a dressing down after Thijssen approached a colleague requesting access to some sports statistics.

Throughout the day he seemed upset about the conversation with his boss and later messaged a colleague saying: “This stuff is way more upsetting than the Lilie thing anyway, like this is basically family I’ve hurt I need to say that because it’s genuinely making me sick.”

He was scheduled to work the 5pm to 9pm sports admin shift that day and texted two co-workers asking if they could work for him - both declined.

At 9.30am, Thijssen attempted to call his parents, however they did not pick up given it was 12.30am in the Netherlands.

His mother attempted to call back, but he texted back saying it was a “pocket dial”.

Thijssen left his home at 11am.

Killer Paul Thijssen. Picture: Supplied.

THE PARTY STORE

Thijssen and Ms James were seen together at an outdoor table at St Andrew’s square just before midday.

He was said to be “staring very intently” at her and “ice-cold and angry” while Ms James was seen with her face down and crying.

At around 12.15pm, Ms James, Thijssen and a colleague left St Andrew’s Cathedral school and walked to Sydney Party Warehouse on Liverpool St where both Thijssen and Ms James purchased Halloween costumes.

At 1.42pm, CCTV captured Thijssen exiting the school grounds and going to the Cinema Centre Carpark, where Ms James’ car was parked. He then returned to the school.

Later that afternoon, Thijssen and Ms James again went shopping, this time at Priceline. Ms James is described as smiling and relaxed.

Ms James was due to coach a water polo session at Auburn that afternoon and she herself had a match that evening.

She left on the bus bound for Sydney’s western suburbs at 3.30pm.

Lilie James was murdered inside the school. Picture: Supplied.

THE HAMMER

Around this time Thijssen also leaves the school, which caused confusion among a colleague because he was due to do the late shift. He explained that he had forgot his shirt.

He took the light rail to Kensington, near his home.

At 4.10pm, he then got into his rental car, a silver Yaris, and drove back to St Andrew’s Cathedral.

While at home, it’s believed that Thijssen collected the hammer that would ultimately be used to murder Ms James.

Thijssen had days earlier purchased a hammer from a CBD hardware store, but it was later found by police inside a school storeroom.

His flatmate kept a 105-piece toolkit inside their Kensington home which included a hammer.

Just over a month after the murder, Matthew’s flatmate searched for the hammer but discovered it was missing.

The murder weapon has never been recovered.

Police believe that Thijssen collected the hammer when he went home and carried it into the school.

CLEANING IN PROGRESS

At 6.10pm, Thijssen again leaves the school grounds and goes to the car park to check the area where Ms James’ car is parked before returning.

He walks to the bathrooms where he would in just over an hour’s time commit an unspeakable murder.

He adjusts a “cleaning in progress” sign which police believe he placed outside of one of the bathrooms in an effort to coral Ms James into the bathroom he wanted to use to kill her.

In the sports area, Thijssen locks the sliding doors using a key to ensure that the doors do not open when the automatic censor goes off.

On CCTV, he is seen pacing back and forth in the staffroom, knowing that just minutes from now he is going to ambush and murder his former partner.

Paul Thijssen moments before he killed Lilie James. Picture: Supplied

THE KILLING

Ms James returns to the school on a bus with her students, chatting to them along the way about her favourite music.

She waits for her students to be collected and tells them: “I’ve got to go, I have to get to a game”.

She walks back into St Andrew’s Cathedral School for the last time.

There is a two-second call from Ms James’ phone to Paul at 7.11pm and she walks into the gym area where she is met by Thijssen and they walk towards the staffroom.

Ms James walks out carrying her green swimsuit, which she is going to wear for her own water polo game.

As she walks to the bathroom, she is seen smiling and talking to her killer.

At 7.12pm, Ms James turns her head back to look at Thijssen before entering the bathroom.

At 7.14pm, Thijssen stands outside the bathroom with the hammer in hand. He looks up and stares into the CCTV camera before entering, where he commits an unspeakable act of violence.

Paul Thijssen parked at Diamond Bay Reserve before killing himself. Picture: Supplied.

THE TEXTS

It’s not known exactly what happened inside the bathroom, but Thijssen stayed in there with Ms James’ corpse for over an hour.

At 7.50pm, a cleaner enters the sports area but cannot access the locked sliding door.

While in the bathroom, Thijssen commandeers Ms James’ phone and uses it to text her father.

“Don’t ask why or call please come to the school now and pick me up,” the text says.

The message sets off panic within the James family.

Messages between Lilie James' phone and her father on the night she was murdered. Picture: Supplied.

“Are you okay,” comes the reply before Mr James uses the Find My iPhone function to see that her phone is at St Andrew’s.

Her father desperately tries to call her while Thijssen exits the bathroom and walks out of the school grounds.

Thijssen is seen on CCTV seemingly carrying two phones. It is later revealed that Thijssen took Ms James’ phone.

Mr James again tries to call his daughter.

“All good just came (sic) trouble,” another message from Thijssen says.

Thijssen exits the school and gets into his silver car and drives to Diamond Bay Reserve to end his own life.

He arrives at the park at about 8.47pm and waits in his car.

Mr James rushes to St Andrew’s while her mother frantically tries to call her friends and by this stage a desperate search is underway.

A colleague messages Thijssen saying: “Finished up now, where you at?” and “Little worried mate hope you’re okay” and “Hello?”

At 11.48pm, Thijssen makes a triple-0 call, telling the operator that there is a body in the school but he declines to give his name.

About ten minutes later, Thijssen gets out of his car for the last time and walks into the reserve at about 11.59pm.

Police attempted to call Thijssen back and triangulated his position.

Around this time, officers who had been let into the school by security made the grisly discovery of Ms James’ body.

CCTV shown during an inquest this week showed police arriving at Diamond Bay Reserve at 12.02am - missing Thijssen by three minutes.

At the school, staff rushed to the scene to aid police. At 2.45am, a staff member views footage of Ms James entering the bathroom and is able to positively identify her.

Her father is informed and is driven home, where officers break the heart-wrenching news to Lilie’s mother and brother.

Thijssen’s body remains in the water for approximately 32 hours before it was discovered on the rocks at 7.40am on Friday, October 27.

When he was discovered, his body was naked.

Originally published as Revealed: Inside Lilie James’ final 24 hours