Two St. John’s murder cases were called back-to-back in provincial court Thursday morning.
The two homicides occurred in the same area of the city’s downtown within four months of each other last year.
On December 27, police were called to a home on Cookstown Road where they encountered 20-year-old David Quirke with a woman who had reportedly been stabbed.
42-year-old Rayna Dove died at the scene despite the best efforts of first responders.
Quirke was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and remains in custody in Bishop’s Falls.
In court on Thursday, dates for the preliminary inquiry were set for mid-July.
Four months before that, on August 26, 49-year-old Jimmy Corcoran was found lying in the street on nearby Carter’s Hill. He died a short time later, also of an apparent stabbing.
Within a couple of hours, 28-year-old Lorraine Obed, the victim’s estranged partner, was arrested and also charged with second-degree murder.
She was already facing charges of assaulting the victim a year earlier and remains in custody in Clarenville.
Dates for the preliminary inquiry were to be set Thursday, but that was postponed for two weeks to ensure police investigators will be available.
That caught the ire of the judge, who reminded lawyers to work out those issues before getting to court to avoid unnecessary delays in such serious cases.