Mother-murder accused face Melbourne court

Former lovers accused of killing a mother-of-four in a bid to takeover guardianship of her children are likely to stand trial in Melbourne.

Christine Lyons and Ronald Lyons, who are unrelated, have both pleaded not guilty to the murder of Samantha Kelly in 2016 at Kangaroo Flat, near Bendigo.

It's alleged the pair wanted to murder Ms Kelly so Christine could keep the victim's children.

Lyon's ex-husband, Peter Arthur, has previously pleaded guilty to Ms Kelly's murder, admitting to fatally striking her with a hammer in the early hours of January 22.

All four had lived together with Ms Kelly's four children.

Arthur told a pre-trial committal hearing in Bendigo in January that Christine and Ronald had tried to kill Ms Kelly with a drug overdose before he and the victim got into a fight.

Ms Kelly's body was found in a shallow grave about three weeks later.

The lead investigator told the hearing in January he suspected there was more to the murder than Arthur claimed, stating the man could be "taking the fall" for the pair.

Christine and Ronald appeared before the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday, when the date and location for their trial was debated.

The trial was listed for October in Bendigo.

But an application to move the trial to Melbourne will be heard by the court on August 10.