Overview
- State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan ruled James died from multiple blunt force injuries inflicted with a hammer and determined the killing occurred in the context of domestic and gendered violence.
- CCTV and witness evidence showed Paul Thijssen meticulously planned the attack, conducting ‘dry runs,’ selecting the bathroom, placing a cleaning sign and locking doors before ambushing her.
- The inquest identified major evidentiary gaps, noting the use of disappearing messages on Snapchat, missing phones and the unrecovered murder weapon.
- After the killing, messages were sent from James’s phone to her father, Thijssen called triple zero to report a body at the school and then died after intentionally falling at Diamond Bay Reserve.
- O’Sullivan urged urgent action on technology‑facilitated abuse, recommending education and advice services focused on 16–24‑year‑olds, and James’s family appealed for better media reporting and broader community conversations as the case was set within a wider pattern of violence against women.