Australian police have found a body in the search for a Dutch national who is suspected of involvement in the death of 21-year-old Lilie James, Australian media report.

The body, which has not been officially identified, is thought to be that of Paul Thijssen (24), who had been in a brief relationship with the girl when they were both working as sports coaches at the prestigious St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sidney.

James was found bludgeoned to death in the school’s gym bathroom on Wednesday night. Security footage subsequently showed Thijssen walking down a path in the Diamond Bay reserve in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse where he was seen dumping a hammer, thought to be the murder weapon, in a bin before driving off.

On Friday morning tradesmen working in the Diamond Bay area alerted police to a body on the rocks.

Thijssen had no history of interaction with police. “There was nothing whatsoever to indicate any future trouble,” one person who knew him well at school told the Sydney Morning Herald.