Breakthrough in Lilie James murder investigation as police outline chilling theory about the killer’s plot and Triple Zero call emerges

Paul Thijssen bought a hammer and arranged a car loan just hours before Lilie James was brutally murdered – as his twisted murder plan and a Triple Zero call are revealed.

Police now believe the murder of Ms James, 21, was not a crime of passion but a planned and premeditated attack that took place just days after she ended her brief five-week romance with 24-year-old Thijssen.

The aspiring water polo coach was beaten to death in the bathroom of a gym at St Andrews Cathedral School just after 7pm last Wednesday.

Thijssen, a former student at Sydney’s elite school, was captured on CCTV buying a hammer from a hardware store in the city’s east end, not far from his home in Kensington, on the morning of the attack.

It is understood that the hammer was not the one used to kill Mrs James. The police suspect that Thijssen had two hammers with him, one of which may have come from a school storage room.

Thijssen drove a borrowed 2003 Lexas sedan to work on the day Ms. James died. A source close to the investigation told the Daily Telegraph that the car would have allowed the sports coordinator to ‘get away quickly afterwards’.

He also called police four hours after Ms James was killed in the gym bathroom, with police receiving an urgent call from triple zero.

‘Informant says there’s a body in a bathroom to the right of the reception. Through the reception and to the left. The informant says he was there a few hours ago. Female body,” the operator explained.

It comes as exclusive photos from Ny Breaking Australia reveal the inside of Thijssen’s home just hours after he allegedly killed Ms James.

Pictures of his messy bedroom show a pile of pills, a broken cupboard, half-used toilet roll and clothes on the floor.

Thijssen moved into the cramped semi-detached house in Kensington in the south-east of Sydney in August with a young female roommate and a fellow male hockey player.

Neighbors said the three roommates were courteous but “kept to themselves” and were not aware of Thijssen’s identity until after the horrific events of October 25.

Thijssen, a former St Andrews graduate who grew up in the Netherlands, lived in nearby Zetland before moving to the Kensington house.

His last known address before he did the unthinkable looked hastily abandoned after the tragedy.

A rolled-up duvet, green and yellow shirt from the Dutch hockey label Stag, packs of Panadol, Nurofen and Strepsils, an electric shaver, personal items in storage bins including sunglasses, a sweatband the size of a wrist and a multi-task tool were dumped on the floor. the bed in the middle bedroom that was probably occupied by Thijssen.

A bottle of air freshener sat above his bed and clothes were scattered around the room, which also contained a flat-screen TV and a white wardrobe with a broken door.

A yellow Spirax notebook was wedged under another storage box, while the adjacent living room and kitchen seemed more organized.

There was toilet paper and tissues within reach, which, combined with the presence of over-the-counter medications, suggests he may have had a cold.

Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said Thijssen’s untidy room was not necessarily indicative of a “shambolic state of mind”, and that the killer had instead shown order in committing his heinous act.

“I don’t think his thinking was that shabby. He planned it. I suspect he went there with the gun to intimidate Lilie James or give her another chance,” Dr. Watson-Munro said.

“Which wouldn’t work. He had a murder on his mind. It’s a strange time to meet. It’s a strange place to meet. I’m sure she didn’t realize the danger of the situation.’

In the bedroom next to Thijssen’s, where his male roommate slept, the scene was much more orderly and tidy, with a work agenda full of tasks and items checked off.

There were no further messages after Wednesday, October 25, the day Mrs. James was murdered.

Last Friday afternoon, the roommate let female detectives in when they showed up with brown evidence bags to search the property.

The sports physiology student has since left home and is on leave from work in the wake of Ms James’ murder and the death of his flatmate. There is no evidence that any of the housemates were in any way involved in Ms James’ death.

A search was underway on Thursday by land and sea for Thijssen, who is said to have alerted police to Ms James’ death from the clifftops of the Vaucluse around midnight.

On Friday morning, traders working the coastal strip of the Diamond Bay cliff spotted a body stuck in the rocks below, where it was believed to have washed up after Thijssen jumped from the Diamond Bay reserve.

Police and rescue officers recovered the battered and bloated remains on Friday afternoon and brought them to the surface for removal by mortuary services.

The remains were later confirmed as those of Thijssen by matching fingerprints with data held at the Dutch embassy.

After police locked down St. Andrews Cathedral School late last week, principal Dr. Julie McGonigle welcomed back traumatized students on Monday and held a service at the cathedral.

Dr. McGonigle then provided counseling sessions for students coached by both Ms James and Thijssen.

Mrs James was described by St Andrews students as ‘nice and kind’ despite descriptions of Thijssen as ‘arrogant’ and ‘weird’ and a ‘control freak’. Two students who contacted Ny Breaking Australia defended him.

“What he did was disgusting and inexcusable,” one said, “and I’m in no way trying to validate his actions (but he) was a caring, enthusiastic coach.”

Thijssen’s parents made the grim decision on Wednesday not to return his remains to their native Netherlands, but will instead have him cremated before scattering his ashes in Sydney.

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