Two minutes to murder: The heartbreaking moment evil killer paused before he launched his savage hammer attack on Lilie James in a school toilet – as harrowing footage brings inquest to an emotional halt

Emotional scenes have played out in court after CCTV showed the moment a smiling Lilie James walked into a school bathroom followed by her murderer who waited for two minutes holding a hammer and listening until he launched his attack. 

An inquest into the deaths of Ms James, 21, and her killer Paul Thijssen, 24, has entered the second day of hearings. 

Ms James’s parents, Jamie and Peta, were given the opportunity to leave the courtroom while the footage was played, and were seen weeping outside. 

State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan immediately called for a 30minute 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 was then seen approaching the bathroom door wearing his backpack and holding a hammer in his right hand. At 7.14pm Thijssen pushed the door open with his left hand and entered the bathroom.

Immediately after playing the CCTV, counsel assisting the inquest Jennifer Single became tearful saying, ‘Lilie was smiling and interacting with Paul, there was no indication what he was going to do’.

Her voice breaking, Ms Single added: ‘No matter how many times you view that footage, it is not easy to watch.’

The video of Ms James’ final moments was played in court after other footage showed an agitated Thijssen making his preparations to kill her in the 30 minutes before her murder.

Thijssen walked purposefully towards the bathroom and could also be seen running as he worked to cut off all access to the eventual murder site. 

He spoke with a night cleaner and waved to a security guard as he walked ‘with pace’ and then ran, using a master key to lock access doors to the school’s disabled bathroom where he 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 building. They then walked to the gym area near the bathroom.

Seventeen seconds later Ms James was seen exiting the school staffroom wearing school shorts, a jacket and white runners, and carrying a green swimsuit.

Paul then exited the staffroom with his backpack over his right arm. 

After a half hour break during court proceedings, Ms James’ 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 it’s believed Thijssen told Ms James which bathroom to use. 

Before she entered, Ms James could be seen glancing at the ‘cleaning in progress’ sign Thijssen had purposely placed outside the other bathroom.

Ms Single 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, saying ‘don’t ask why or call, please come to the school now and pick me up.’ 

Mr James replied: ‘Are you okay.’

Thijssen then left 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.

He then appeared to place a small knife in his backpack. 

Mr James again tried calling Lilie and then received another message, sent to by Thijssen saying ‘All Good just came trouble’. 

Mr James 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 walked calmly through the school foyer, and exited the school. He then walked to the car park and drove off at 8.33pm.  

Thijssen drove from St Andrews School to Diamond Bay Reserve at Vaucluse without stopping. 

At 9.49pm he drove further along the road in Vaucluse, and 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 message ‘six months rent’.

At 11.15pm, he exited the car and walked into Diamond Bay Reserve.

He then made a triple-zero call from a Vaucluse clifftop, notifying emergency services that the body of a ‘female’ was inside a bathroom at St Andrews school. 

Speaking quietly during the three-minute call, a ‘calm’ and ‘almost emotionless’ Thijssen told the emergency operator, ‘I’d like to report a body at St Andrews Cathedral school’ before giving details on how to find it. 

‘If you go into the school, there is an entrance on the left. There is a bathroom on the right hand side where there is a body… where you go into the sports area, the bathroom is there on the right. It’s the first door on the right,’ he said. 

Thijssen was asked if the body was male or female, and he answered ‘female’. 

The operator then asked him ‘Do you know who it is’ and he replied ‘No’. Asked what his name was, he said ‘I’d rather not say’. Thijssen then added: ‘I think someone should just go in there before people arrive in the morning’. 

As Ms James’ identity was confirmed, police scoured the coastline at Diamond Bay,  for Thijssen and carried out line searches on the cliff above.

His body was later found floating in the ocean below.