The murder of a very dear water polo coach in a school bath did not imply a “momentary control loss”, but was carefully planned and tested by his ex -boyfriend, he has heard a forensic.
Lilie James was beaten until death inside the St Andrew Cathedral school in the city center of Sydney, just before midnight on October 25, 2023.
The 21 -year -old had ended a brief relationship with her murderer, colleague Paul Thijssen, who is suspected of committing suicide hours after her death.
An investigation into his deaths today revealed the story of the Dutch -born man to stalk James and a previous partner, as well as a network of lies that turned over his time in Australia.
Those lies cheated friends, housemates, their employer and, with numerous counterfeit documents, Australian visa authorities.
After being abandoned by James, he dedicated himself to stalking her and carefully planning her murder, he listened to the coroner.
In the hours before the murder, “the attack rehearsed,” said the lawyer who attended Jennifer Single SC.
“It was not a momentary control of control, it was a premeditated murder,” he said.
“Mathematics itself was exaggerated.”
While the cause of both deaths was known, “the issues that led Paul to act as he did,” Single said.
“It is important to understand what happened to Paul to understand what happened to Lilie,” he said, pointing out the research approach in preventing similar deaths.
Research will deepen broader issues, such as coercive control and unacceptable behavior in relationships.
The Forensic of the state of NSW, Teresa O’Sullivan, will consider issues such as the role of technology in relationships and how to improve public understanding of ways of identifying harmful behavior in relationships.
The research will focus particularly on relationships between young adults, such as James and his ex -boyfriend.
The coroner will also try to determine if the authorities could have intervened at some point before the couple died.
James’s parents attended the opening day, although they are not represented by lawyers in the investigation.
The Thijssen family says it has evidence that Paul’s life had “derailed”, but that information has not been provided to the coroner.
In a colorful commemorative service after his death, James was remembered for his family as “vibrant, outgoing and very loved by his family and friends.”
Sixty -four women were killed through violent acts in 2023, according to the research group that told dead Australia.
The coercive control has been identified as a precursor of 97 percent of the homicides of domestic violence as an intimate couple in Nueva Wales del Sur between 2000 and 2018.
Readers looking for support can contact Lifeline in 13 11 14 or beyond blue in 1300 22 4636.
