Lilie James (c. May 2002 – 25 October 2023) was a student and water polo coach from Sans Souci, New South Wales, who was found murdered at St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney CBD.
[1] On 26 October 2023, police began investigations, initially at St Andrew's where they identified Lilie James as a victim of homicide.
[6] Thijssen was born in the Netherlands as an only child and attended St Andrew's as a student from 2015 to 2017, where he was a sports captain and part of the school leadership team.
[7][10] Thijssen returned to Australia in 2020 to continue work at St Andrew's as a cricket and hockey coach and an after-hours coordinator.
[5] About an hour later, Thijssen left the toilet without James and arrived at Diamond Bay Reserve at 8:47 p.m., where he disposed of a hammer in a bin.
[19][24] At approximately 4:30 a.m. on 26 October 2023, St Andrew’s sent an email to all students' parents, stating that the school would be closed for the rest of the week due to a "critical incident.
Students taking their Higher School Certificate and final year International Baccalaureate exams were relocated to separate buildings.
[26] Criminologist Xanthe Mallett speculated that the killer's motive for sending those texts was either to ensure that James' body would be found or to potentially alter the time at which the police believed she had died.
[19] The area around the cliff edge at Diamond Bay was cordoned off and a bin was also sealed off with a police rescue tent set up nearby.
[33][34] A body was spotted on the rocks beneath Diamond Bay Reserve by a group of tradesmen, who were working nearby on a construction site at the top of the cliff.
[45] A video also stood on St Andrew's website, displaying James performing a monologue of Macbeth as part of her HSC drama major work.
[38][45][46] A letter by St Andrew's principal was sent to all parents, saying that police had assured her that the killing was unforeseeable and vowed not to let the "horrors of evil" define the school community.
[48] A candlelight vigil was held for James in Sans Souci (where she was raised) on 28 October 2023, with members of the community, including close friends and family, attending.
A poll included by Microsoft Start on a Guardian article asked readers whether they thought James had died by murder, suicide or accident.