Man admits Melbourne factory fire murders

A beggar has admitted murdering three squatters, including a mother and daughter, in a Melbourne factory fire last year.

Darren Patrick Clover, 53, pleaded guilty to three charges of murder on Wednesday, the same day his trial was due to begin.

Clover's former lover Tanya Burmeister, her 15-year-old daughter Zoe Burmeister, and new partner David Griffiths died on March 1 last year in the fire at the old Footscray rope works factory where they had been staying.

Witnesses told a pre-trial hearing in February they heard Clover threaten Ms Burmeister: "I'll burn you to your grave".

Clover will return to court for a two-day plea hearing in November.