Emotional scenes have played out in court after CCTV showed the crushing moment a smiling Lilie James walked into a school bathroom, followed by her murderer who waits for two minutes holding a hammer and listening until he launches his attack.
An inquest into the deaths of Ms James, 21, and her killer Paul Thijssen, 24, has entered the second of three days of hearings on Wednesday.
Ms James’s parents, Jamie and Peta James, were given the opportunity to leave the court room while the footage was played and were seen weeping outside.
State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan immediately called for a 30 minute break after the footage was played.
The video taken inside St Andrew’s Cathedral School shows Ms James entering the bathroom at 7.12pm on October 25, 2023.
Paul Thijssen is then seen approaching the bathroom door wearing his backpack and holding his hammer in his right hand. At 7.14pm Thijssen pushes the door open with his left hand and enters the bathroom.
Immediately after playing the CCTV, Counsel Assisting the inquest Jennifer Single broke down saying that in the footage, ‘Lilie was smiling and interacting with Paul, there was no indication what he was going to do’.
Ms Single added, her voice breaking, ‘no matter how many times you view that footage, it is not easy to watch’.
An inquest into the deaths of murdered water polo coach Lilie James (pictured) and her ex-boyfriend has commenced 18 months after their deaths
Two days after Ms James was murdered the body of 24-year-old hockey coach Paul Thijssen, with whom she had had been in a brief relationship, was found at Vaucluse
The video of Ms James final moments was played in court after other footage showing an agitated Thijssen making his final preparations to kill Ms James in the half hour before the murder.
Thijssen strides purposefully through the area near the bathroom and can also be seen running as he works to cut off all access to the kill site.
He speaks with a night cleaner and waves to a security guard as he walks ‘with pace’ and then runs, using a master key to lock access doors to the school’s disabled bathroom where he has planned to carry out the murder.
The court heard that as Thijssen put the finishing touches on his sinister plan, Ms James was returning from water polo practice on a school bus with some of her students.
The pupils would later recall that they had been talking about their favourite music with Ms James, who then told them, ‘I’ve got to go, I have to get to a game’.
At 7.11pm, Ms James made a two second call to Thijssen’s mobile and he walked down to the school’s main foyer and let Ms James into the school. They then walked to the gym area near the bathroom.
Seventeen seconds later Ms James can be seen exiting the school staff room wearing school shorts, a jacket and white runners, and carrying a green swimsuit.
Paul then exits the staff room with his backpack over his right arm.
Ms James’ parents, Peta and Jamie, are pictured arriving at the NSW inquest on Tuesday
Ms James was found dead inside a gymnasium bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in the Sydney CBD on October 25, 2023. Students are pictured outside the school
After a half hour break during court proceedings, Ms James’s parents returned to the court room and were told by the Coroner: ‘I just want to acknowledge how difficult this is and my heart goes out to you.’
Ms Single said the inference is that Thijssen told Ms James which bathroom to use and before she entered Ms James can be seen glancing at the ‘cleaning in progress’ sign he purposely placed outside the other bathroom.
She said the bathroom door opened slightly from the inside before Thijssen entered.
‘It was at that point Lilie was attacked and killed. After entering the bathroom he attacked and killed Lilie with the hammer in the bathroom,’ Ms Single said.
‘It would have resulted in Lilie becoming incapacitated quickly and it was not protracted.’
Ms Single said at least twelve people were inside the school at the time.
Thijssen, who had taken Ms James’s bag and removed her phone from it, stayed in bathroom for one hour and 12 minutes following the murder.
At 8.23pm, a message was sent via her phone to her father, Jamie James. It said: ‘Don’t ask why or call, please come to the school now and pick me up.’
Mr James replied: ‘Are you okay’.
Thijssen then exited the murder scene and picked up the cleaning sign he had placed outside Bathroom Three and put it outside the bathroom where Lilie’s body lay inside.
Dutch national Paul Thijssen is pictured
Up to 12 people were inside St Andrew’s Cathedral School when Ms James was killed
He then appeared to place a small knife in his backpack. Jamie again tried calling Lilie and then received another message, sent to by Thijssen saying ‘All Good just came trouble’. Jamie frantically texted, ‘can you call please’. (The inference was that the message was saying ‘just come’ and ‘came’ was a typo.)
At 8.22pm, Thijssen exited the school, walking calmly through the foyer and entered the car park and at 8.33pm he drove off
Thijssen drove from St Andrews school to Diamond Bay Reserve at Vaucluse without stopping. At 9.49 pm he drove further along the cliff top road in Vaucluse closer to the cliff edge. At 9.52 and 9.53pm he made an electronic $9,100 transfer to each of his flatmates with the notation ‘six months rent’.
At 11.15pm, he exited the car and walked off into Diamond Bay Reserve.
As Ms James’s identity was confirmed, police scoured the coastline at Diamond Bay, Vaucluse for Thijssen and conducted line searches on the cliff above.
