An Australian mother has been ordered to stand trial on charges of murdering her four children over a five-year period.
Carol Matthey (26), of Bannockburn, about 100 kilometres southwest of Melbourne, pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder.
The trial will begin on July 4th.
Matthey, who was released on bail, was accused of killing her children - aged from nine weeks to three years - between 1998 and 2003.
Victorian state coroners had attributed the deaths of seven-month-old Jacob Matthey and his nine-week-old sister, Chloe, to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
A Victorian coroner found three-month-old Joshua died of a rare infection, while three-year-old Shania died the day after allegedly falling off a table.
But during a committal hearing, US forensic pathologist Janice Ophoven said the deaths were clear cases of homicide.
Dr Ophoven said Jacob, Shania and Joshua were victims of "homicidal assault", while Chloe's cause of death was undetermined.