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A body had been found inside the bathroom of an elite Sydney private school which has frightened the whole of Australia.
Police had turned up at St Andrew’s Cathedral School just before midnight, after a chilling triple-zero call. There they encountered a “confronting scene” – 21-year-old water polo coach Lilie James, dead, with extensive head injuries.
Detectives believe she was murdered – allegedly with a hammer – hours earlier, according to local media who have citied anonymous sources.
CCTV had reportedly captured her colleague, 24-year-old hockey coach Paul Thijssen, entering the bathroom after her. Thijssen, who also made the call to authorities, later emerged alone.
Though police have made no public comments about a potential motive, local media have reported Ms James had recently ended a relationship with Thijssen. They had been seeing each other for only five weeks.
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Thijssen had vanished after calling in the tip-off from Vaucluse, and police launched a major manhunt focussed on the cliffside suburb.
There they found items “associated with the homicide” – allegedly the murder weapon – in a bin, and on Friday morning, a body which was later confirmed to be Thijssen.
Australia has had a National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children since 2010, but the statistics show the rates of violence remain stubbornly high.
According to a recent survey, while more than 90% of Australians recognise violence against women is a problem in the country, just under half say it is a problem in their own suburb or town.
The same study also found around four in 10 Australians wrongly believe men and women are equally likely to commit domestic violence.
