Murder of Lilie James: Ex-principal of elite school where young teacher was murdered raises eyebrows after calling her killer Paul Thijssen ‘an absolute delight’ and a ‘role model’

An ex-principal of the elite school where young teacher Lilie James was murdered has come under fire for comments in a newsletter article describing her killer as a “role model” and an “absolute delight”.

Dr. John Collier, former principal of St Andrews Cathedral school in Sydney’s CBD, where Ms James was killed on October 25, made the comments in a school newsletter, the Shore Weekly Record.

Dr. Collier is now the principal of the Shore School for boys in North Sydney.

In the column entitled Looking Into the Face of Savagery, addressed to ‘students, parents and carers’, Dr Collier described Paul Thijssen, who killed Mrs James, as a ‘fine student, a prefect and a role model’.

“The chilling thing about the tragedy that occurred at St. Andrew’s, the shock and sadness of which will long linger, is that the young man in question was, in everyone’s opinion, an absolute delight,” Dr. Collier wrote.

‘At the risk of tolerating controversy, I have a probably very unpopular alternative question; Why don’t events like this happen more often in our world?’ Dr. Collier wrote in part of the column, before referencing acts of violence and barbarity around the world and throughout history.

Thijssen murdered 21-year-old Ms James last Wednesday before her body was found by police just before midnight.

The 24-year-old man’s body was found by police and retrieved by rescue crews two days later after Thijssen jumped from the Diamond Bay reserve in the Vaucluse.

Dr. Collier, who was principal at St Andrews between 2010 and 2022, said he knew Thijssen and that he “wasn’t a monster”.

He said he had committed “a monstrous act that completely contradicted what everyone who knew him had observed during the remainder of this short life.”

He said the former hockey coach committed an act that was “deeply out of character.”

“This makes the situation chilling because he looked like the best of us on every indicator,” Dr. Collier said.

The Shore School told Daily Mail Australia in a statement that Dr. Collier were not intended to “create any additional suffering for those affected by this tragedy.”

“The views expressed in this weekly article are deeply personal and reflect the thoughts of a school principal who knew the alleged perpetrator and who, like many others, struggles to make sense of the seemingly senseless,” the spokesperson said.

‘This edition of our weekly newsletter for parents seeks to consider what responses might be appropriate at a school seeking to build good men and how our character development programs need to dig deep into what respect for women fully means.

“As has always been the case, Dr. Collier’s deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim and those who knew her.”

Yvette Vignando, director of the anti-domestic violence organization Mary’s House, said that while Dr. While Collier may have been trying to understand Thijssen’s actions, his comments were less than ideal.

“What struck me was that it was quite shocking to read that, after such a gruesome murder, someone described the alleged perpetrator as an ‘absolute delight’, that didn’t help,” Ms Vignando told police. ABC.

Others commented online on Dr. Collier’s words, with one calling on Shore to “censor and fire” him.

“If I had a son who was present I would remove him,” the message on X read.

ABC host Julia Baird posted in response to Dr. Collier: ‘So damaging, so revealing’.

Thijssen was sports captain at St Andrews after moving to Australia from the Netherlands in 2015 to study for years 10-12.

He graduated from the school in 2017 and subsequently got a job there as a cricket and hockey coach.

Mrs. James was a water polo instructor at the school and was also a talented dancer and swimmer.

Daily Mail revealed that Mrs James had been in a ‘secret relationship’ with Thijssen for several weeks prior to her death. Ms James’ girlfriend said the relationship had only recently ended.

Thijssen is said to have met Ms James on the school grounds the night he killed her, after Ms James had gone to the school to return sports equipment.

Police suspect the man used a hammer to bludgeon Ms James to death before allegedly dumping the weapon in a bin and returning to his car.

NSW Police Chief Inspector Martin Fileman said at the time that the victim had suffered serious head injuries.

Thijssen sat in his car until 9:49 pm last Wednesday evening and then drove to another location nearby, where he waited for two hours before calling the police to report that there was a body in the school gym.

After her death, Mrs James’ family said in a statement: ‘We are devastated and heartbroken by the loss of our beautiful Lilie James.’

‘She was lively, outgoing and very loved by her friends and family.

“We are extremely grateful for the community’s support during this difficult time.”

Police continue to investigate Mrs James’ cause of death but they believe it was a homicide as she suffered horrific head injuries.