True Crime with Kimbyr - Murder at Midnight: The Shocking Killing of Lily James at a Prestigious Australian School: Part 3

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

The final part of True Crime with Kimbyr’s deep dive into Lily James’s murder brings chilling revelations and hard truths. In Part 3, Kimbyrleigha examines the shocking conclusion of the investigation—tracing Paul Tyson’s final movements, the aftermath of the crime, and the legacy Lily left behind. Why did this tragedy unfold the way it did, and could it have been prevented? With compassion and clarity, Kimbyrleigha delivers the heartbreaking ending to a case that captivated and devastated a nation. Don’t miss the conclusion on True Crime with Kimbyr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Early Friday morning on October 27, the construction crew made a gruesome discovery. They were working on a portion of the boardwalk above Diamond Bay Reserve on the cliff's edge when they noticed a white object wedged between the jagged rocks below being pounded repeatedly by the waves. It appeared to be a human body. The police were notified and ambulances rushed to the scene. A police helicopter was also called in to review the object from above, and it didn't take long for them to confirm that this object, was indeed the body of a man, and it appeared to be naked, battered, and bloated at the base of the cliff.

The churning waters of the Pacific Ocean are unforgiving, and at the base of the Diamond Bay Reserve, they hit the rocks with such force that the resulting spray reaches high into the air, creating an almost perpetual mist. The relentless waves pound against the jagged cliffs, which make it nearly impossible to access the rocks. Because of these treacherous waters and low visibility, it took several hours, for police on boats and on jet skis to even be able to reach the body. They had to lower rescuers in on ropes, risking their own safety and even their lives to make the recovery. In the end, it took hours, but the body was finally retrieved by members of a search and rescue team, a bomb disposal unit, and Marine police units.

Once they were able to safely climb onto the rocks, the body was transported back to land, and it was placed within a blue police tent. After an initial three-hour assessment, behind that tent. It was confirmed as belonging to a male who is believed to be Paul Tyson. Stateside mortuary officers then wield a stretcher inside and the body was removed and taken away in a van for a post-mortem examination to confirm the identity. That same day, Lily's family broke their silence about her murder. In a statement they said, quote, we're devastated and heartbroken by the loss of our beautiful Lily James. She was vibrant, outgoing, and very much loved by her friends and her family.

We're tremendously grateful for the support of this community at this difficult time." End quote. A source that was close to the family also told Daily Mail Australia that everyone in Lily's circle was completely numb, that it was numbing, that there were no other words that could be used to describe the pain that they were in, that everyone was just completely numb.

And I can't even begin to imagine the heartache and the pain that they were going through. I am so sorry. Not too long after this, the identity of the body found in the water was confirmed to be Paul Tyson's. The medical examiner matched fingerprints on the body to records of Paul's that were held by the Dutch embassy. There was a disturbing psychological aspect to Paul's actions on the day of the murder and in the hours following. A leading criminologist, Zanthea Mallet, from the University of Newcastle who reviewed the case, noted that Paul was obsessed with control and had likely planned not only the murdered self,

but also what he would do once Lily was dead. He showed signs that he wanted Lily to be found. That may indicate he was hoping someone would find her and call an ambulance, for example, but alternatively, he may have been wanting to potentially change the time at which the police thought she had died by sending those proof-of-life messages to her father,

and then later calling the police. The circumstances of Lily's murder indicate that Paul had a fragile ego, and he was enraged by Lily's rejection. He most likely believed that he was that she should have been grateful that he deemed her worthy of his affection. But when she rejected him, it sent him into a fit of rage. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision.

Instead, experts think that Paul wanted Lily to pay. There was clear intention to what he did. Paul also exhibited vindictiveness by texting Lily's own father from her phone immediately after he murdered her. That's the ultimate control, humiliation, and traumatization of her family. The criminologist explained, it's not just killing her. but then ruminating about what he had done, and then how he could inflict additional damage on her family.

We saw this in another international case I did on the school girls that were murdered in South Africa. It's such a similar and heartbreaking case, where the killer also texted the victim's father in the aftermath, and I'll link it above and below. It's known that men that do this in a situation like this are very insecure. They feel the need to control the entire situation.

And after Paul's death, old posts from his face, were resurfacing. And while they don't directly relate to Lily's murder, they provide some insight into his need for control in the lengths he's willing to go to get what he wants. Back when Paul was applying for that extension for his working visa, he was a member of a Facebook group dedicated to foreigners living down under. In a post that he made in the group, which I found and I will put up on the screen, he said he'd been waiting to hear back from the government department responsible for issuing visas. He decided that the best course of action was to email the case manager, every single day to try to get his paperwork prioritized. So essentially, he's harassing and bombarding this person in this department. The post was from December 14th, 2021, and it says, quote,

Hi, all, just want to spread some good news, applied from Europe for my second working holiday visa last Monday, and got it granted today, December 12th. I emailed the working holiday department every day after I applied. And my guess is that maybe this might have actually helped, Just want to give you some encouragement to keep on hoping. They're definitely approving new applications now, end quote. It might seem like an innocent post, but just note,

if this is how he interacts with a government department, imagine what it might have been like to be his partner or someone he wanted something from, the bombarding, the non-stop emailing every single day. It's likely that at some point, during Lily and Paul's very short relationship, Lily got a sense that something just wasn't right with him. Maybe he messaged her too much

or demanded she told him what she was doing at all hours of the day and night. These type of behaviors are pretty typical of people who might have the potential to harm others. Oftentimes, these type of people come across as loving and affectionate in the early stages of a relationship. They may love bomb their partner,

shower them with gifts and compliments, but there is also an underlying sense of control. They might be coercive or use their partner's emotions against them before escalating into physical and financial control. People like Paul who aren't used to being told no can become enraged and might demand that their partner

or see less their family or their friends or cut them off entirely to gain even more control. They also use gaslighting as a form of control over their victims. I'm sure you've seen this in many cases when it comes to narcissists. But because this case didn't go to trial, we will likely never know exactly what the relationship between Paul and Lily was like.

But it doesn't matter. Lily's instincts told her to leave him. And after just five weeks of dating, it shouldn't have been hard for either Paul or Lily to just move on. But rather than do that and be strong, Paul became a killer, which shows he was weak and a coward. Women are the most at risk of death

in the two-week window after breaking up with a narcissist or an entitled and controlling partner. Lily didn't even make it to one week. Now, it's important for me to let you know, there were no previous complaints of violence against Paul, and he did not have a police record. But after Paul's death, his parents chose not to have his remains return to the Netherlands.

Instead, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Sydney. His parents have never commented about this case. And to me, that's pretty telling. But without you thinking that I'm sympathizing with a killer, I do have compassion for you. or his parents, as a parent myself. His parents did lose him, the boy they raised and loved. That loss is still real, deep, and heartbreaking,

even if he did do something as horrific as this. It makes me realize how fragile people can be on the inside, and it is sad that Paul didn't know a better way to cope with rejection. Was it nurture or nature, you might ask, or both? Was it a result of his privileged lifestyle, underlying narcissism? We can't know for sure.

But what's clear is that Paul did have a sense of entitlement to Lily's affection. And it brought the spotlight back to an epidemic in Australia. In 2003, Lily was the 41st Australian woman to die at the hands of a current or former romantic partner. And by the end of that year, at least 64 women were dead for the same reason. I think this next part is so important to mention. I try to make sure we learn something from these cases and that there's a message to take away from them. As the conversation about fatal domestic incidents increased after Lily's murder and people began looking into Paul's background, a disturbing theme began to emerge. But it wasn't about Paul's own behavior.

It was about the school where Lily and Paul both worked. It turned out, Paul was far from the first violent former student or teacher at St. Andrews. Diving into the school's troubling history was sparked in November of 2023 when the former principal of St. Andrews School, a Dr. John Colley's, came under fire for comments he made about Lily's murderer Paul Tyson. It was in a school newsletter. He wrote, quote, Paul Tyson was, in everyone's estimation, an absolute delight. I knew him years ago as a fine student, a prefect, a role model. He was not a monster. Rather, in the last five hours of his life,

he committed a monstrous act, end quote. Now this man, Dr. John Collier, continued by telling parents of students at the school that they should forgive Paul. Remember, this is a religious institution, but he said, quote, forgiveness literally is from the divine, end quote. The newsletter was shared online by a parent who felt that these comments negated the seriousness of what Paul had done. Here was the principal saying that this killer was a good guy that just made one bad decision,

really? That one horrific and selfish decision. ended the life of an innocent person forever. So parents and online communities immediately started to react to this newsletter, and that's what prompted a former student to come forward and talk about other instances where Dr. Collier had asked people to forgive

and forget to just sweep things under the rug. Back in 2013, a male math teacher at that same school was outed for filming up the skirts of female students and colleagues, Yes, it's true. Some of these children were as young as 13-year-olds. The teacher was arrested after a member of the public actually witnessed him filming up the skirts of a woman at a train station.

And then when his phone was examined by police, they found recordings of several other incidents of females being recorded inappropriately. This included those young students, and they could be identified by their school uniforms. However, when the principal, Dr. Collier, advised parents and students about the arrest of the teacher, He said the whole case was just about one incident. Again, there's that one incident statement.

He stated that the teacher was just filming three girls' legs. Really? And there was no evidence that he was filming the underwear of the students. Then he went one step further and commended this teacher for his high regard among their colleagues and students. He said, quote, this instance is to be condemned. But it is not helpful to misrepresenting. or magnify it, end quote. And just like in the statement about Lily's death, he called on the school community to show compassion.

Compassion for the perpetrator. For the emotional devastation that he would no doubt be feeling and for the consideration for his wife and his children. Wow. I am appalled. But you know, it wouldn't be the first time. I've even seen family members of the victim forgive a killer, for instance. But it's important to note that during a site,

subsequent investigation, this math teacher, Robert Arthur Emmett, he was found to be in possession of more than 10,000 inappropriate child images. I think you know what I mean, 10,000 of these images. But because of the fact that both his parents were high court judges and that he pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him, he avoided jail time and he was allowed to serve his sentence in the community. So community service. Now, while these two cases are unrelated to Lily's murder aside from their connection to and Andrews School, it's important to connect the disturbing way in which the perpetrators are described by highlighting all the good that they did in their work. Then the impact of each man's actions is overshadowed and minimized. And this creates this misleading narrative and suggests that their positive contributions somehow mitigate the severity of their crimes. And both of these crimes are extremely serious, exploiting children and murder. It doesn't get much worse than that. Oddly, There were several other criminal cases associated with students at St. Andrews,

and one of them involved the boy who was in the same year as Paul when he was a student. He even played on the same cricket team. This boy attacked a teenage girl and forced to have sex with him more than once. And another student was convicted of choking a girl who rejected him. He too was in Paul's graduating class. That's more than a coincidence that all three of these men had this demeanor and attended this school in the same graduating class. And neither one of these other cases resulted in the perpetrators serving any jail time. They were both given community service or home detention. And that poses another question. What message does that send to victims?

This is a school that boasts about providing an elite level of education and charges thousands of dollars every year, but there's a pattern of disturbing attitudes towards women. And that attitude doesn't seem to change even when serious criminal behaviors among staff and students are involved. It seemed like this former principal was known for watering down the severity of violent actions taken against girls and women. And Lily's parents seemed to agree. In the months after her murder, they announced they were considering what legal actions that they could take against St. Andrew's school. They wanted to know how a crime like this was able to happen inside a school of all places,

a place that had a duty to protected students and its employees. And I would love to hear your thoughts on that. I also want to make this last point. And it's about the media. Reports about Lily's murder also caused another controversy. As statements about her death and Paul's disappearance flooded news sites, one report stood out among the rest. But for all the wrong reasons.

The news outlet The Guardian, which I'm sure you've heard about before, they came under fire because they put up a poll, and they asked their readers what they thought about Lily's death, whether it was self-inflicted, a murder, or an accident. Wow. Can you even believe that that would be a question? Can you even believe that that was a question? Who would be able to bludgeon themselves to that point?

As readers and other news outlets became aware of this poll, the Guardian was condemned for being insensitive and inappropriate. Because of the backlash, the Guardian actually had to come forward and make a statement and remove the poll. And you know what they said? That this poll was automatically generated by artificial intelligence. Yikes. This meant that there was no human oversight. And I don't know if that makes it better or worse. Because where is the humanity in a situation like this? And that's exactly why I wanted to do this case. Because I stumbled upon a number of AI generated videos from random faceless channels created by AI.

And everything was fake. The voices. The comments. They were all bots. Even the script. All written by a robot. And it's obvious. Or at least, should be. But the lines can be blurred with these channels buying likes and views and even their subscribers just so that they boost their numbers and have social proof to get you to click. I wanted to do Lily's case justice and I hope I have. I wanted to humanize her and not make her a mere headline or a poll or an AI-generated story. And for the record, the Guardian at least did eventually issue an apology to their readers and to Lily's family, but by that time, the damage was already done.

It's so important to remember that these are real people with real families. Lily's family bid her farewell in a moving ceremony at her high school, which was attended by hundreds of her friends, family, and colleagues. She was remembered as an amazing coach and a friend. Her grandma came forward and said, this, I'm going to play it for you.

Some people come into this world, I think they're so special, and they don't stay long, And I think that was my granddaughter. She had a lot of fun, Lily, and she was so kind to everybody else. So kind. Just a beautiful person, a beautiful, beautiful young woman and so full of life, never stopped. Lily's father's eulogy included the following.

He sat on top of working and studying. Lily loved coaching and playing water polo. She loved to dance. Even with her busy schedule, she always still made time. to support her brother Max, her friends, and her family. We cannot thank the community enough for their thoughts, prayers, generosity, and messages through this difficult time.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for the many great memories we all share with Lily. Lily James, we are all so proud of you, and thank you for sharing a wonderful and jam-pack 21 and a half years together. Lily's tragic case once again highlights the issues. with domestic incidents, and the violence that still persists in communities around the world. Her case is unique in the sense that her killer did not have a violent past, but she's also one

of so many women who die at the hands of their partner when they choose to leave them. Please share this story with someone you think should hear it, and thank you all so very much for being here today for Lily's story. I will see you in my next video. Bye.