A hockey coach wanted for questioning over the death of a young female water polo instructor is seen grinning with his friends in his school uniform five years ago.
Paul Thijssen, 24, is the subject of a police manhunt after the body of 21-year-old Lilie James was found in the gymnasium bathroom of St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney’s CBD on Thursday morning.
Sources close to Ms James have told Daily Mail Australia that the pair had only been in a “secret relationship” in recent weeks, before Ms James’ body was found with gruesome injuries around midnight last night.
Mr Thijssen taught St. Andrews students hockey. He attended the school himself from years 10 to 12, having moved with his family from the Netherlands to Sydney during his senior years.
A single photo from 2017 shows that happy time in his life, wearing the CBD school’s signature navy blazer and gray pants. “Great photo of the boys after graduation,” the photo captioned.
Paul Thijssen is pictured in 2017, graduating from St Andrew’s Cathedral School. The photo was captioned: “Great photo of the boys after graduation.”
Lilie James’ body was found in the gymnasium bathroom of St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney’s CBD
Returning to Australia from the Netherlands in 2020, he took on the role of sports assistant full-time at St Andrews and began coaching hockey and cricket.
There he met Mrs. James. He is also believed to have worked as a hockey coach at the nearby St Vincent’s school in Potts Point, and is still listed on their website.
Chief Inspector Martin Fileman said Ms James suffered serious head injuries.
One line of the police investigation is that Mr Thijssen may have committed suicide.
“We don’t want to make any assumptions about the fact that that person may have committed suicide, but that’s just another line of investigation that we’re looking at right now,” said Supt. Fileman said.
He told a news conference at Day Street police station that the Police Air Wing and officers on the scene were scouring the coastline at South Head – at the entrance to Sydney Harbor – and the surrounding reserve for evidence.
Paul Thijssen, 24, was a hockey and cricket coach at St Andrews
A silver Lexus was towed from Diamond Bay in Vaucluse on Thursday morning
‘We are looking for a man in his early twenties. He is employed by the school,” he said.
‘The woman is an employee of the school. (She had) serious head injuries.”
Daily Mail Australia witnessed police towing a silver Lexus from the scene around 10am, searching a rubbish bin and packing items into brown evidence bags, including what appeared to be a set of Apple AirPods.
Mrs James’ cause of death will be determined through a post-mortem examination, although police have already treated the case as murder due to the nature of the injuries.
Supt Fileman said it was ‘a very sad time for family, school staff and students’.
He urged “anyone who may have knowledge of this murder” to contact police or Crimestoppers.
There was no reason to believe anyone else was involved.
Lilie James is pictured with her parents and brother on a recent trip to Hamilton Island
Police cordoned off the school on Thursday morning after Ms James’ body was found
During the search in the Vaucluse, a police helicopter circled the area between the Diamond Bay Reserve and The Gap at Watsons Bay before dawn.
Officers found some belongings belonging to Ms James’ male colleague in the reserve, along with ‘an item related to the murder’. It was unclear what exactly this was.
A police rescue helicopter arrived shortly after 9am for the possible recovery of the body, while Marine Command continued to patrol the coastline.
A rubbish bin, believed to be important to the investigation, has also been secured behind police tape and covered from the morning rain by an awning.
A silver 2003 Lexus sedan could be seen being towed away from Chris Bang Cresent overlooking the Diamond Bay Reserve just after 10am.
The investigation will continue all day.