Court hears evidence against accused murderer Lorraine Obed

Preliminary inquiry begins in the matter of woman who is charged with killing Jimmy Corcoran on Carter’s Hill in August 2021

Jimmy Corcoran’s loved ones will attend provincial court in St. John’s by video from across the country this week, while the court hears details of his death and the evidence against the woman accused of murdering him.

Sheriff’s officers escorted Lorraine Obed, 29, into the courtroom Monday morning, July 4, as her preliminary inquiry got underway before Judge James Walsh.

Obed, who has been in custody since she was charged with second-degree murder last August, has attended most, if not all, of her court proceedings virtually until now.

More than a dozen police and civilian witnesses are scheduled to testify at the inquiry, which is expected to last three days and will allow Walsh to assess whether there’s sufficient evidence to send Obed to trial at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court. Details of the proceedings are banned from publication, to protect the integrity of the evidence and Obed’s right to a fair trial.

Obed was charged after Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers responded to a report of an assault in progress in the Carter’s Hill area downtown. Upon arrival at the scene, RNC officers found Corcoran, 49, seriously injured in the street. Paramedics pronounced him dead shortly afterward.

Corcoran’s cause of death has not been released, but sources say his injuries were consistent with a stabbing.

At the time, Obed had been facing earlier charges of assaulting Corcoran and damaging his property; those charges were dismissed earlier this year, although she still faces two charges of failing to attend court and a charge of breaching a court order.

Corcoran’s family members and friends have described him as a caring and “super goofy” father who loved to make people laugh, and a man who embraced a humble life.