In a case that sparked global headlines, a woman has faced court accused of murdering three people by serving them poisonous mushrooms.
Erin Patterson, 49, appeared before Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on Friday morning after she was charged with three counts of murder.
She was also charged with five counts of attempted murder, four of which relate to her ex-husband.
Patterson was not required to enter pleas and was remanded in custody ahead of her next hearing date on May 3.
Police allege she murdered her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, by serving them death cap mushrooms.
All three died in hospital days after consuming a meal at Patterson's Leongatha home on July 29.
She is also accused of attempting to murder Ms Wilkinson's husband Ian, 68, who spent close to two month in hospital critically ill and is still in recovery.
Police will allege she first attempted to murder her ex-husband Simon Patterson between November 16 and 17, 2021.
She is accused of again attempting to murder him twice in 2022 - between May 25 and 27 and on September 6 - and at the July 29 lunch.
Erin Patterson was arrested at her Leongatha home on Thursday, with police searching her property for several hours.
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said Patterson's arrest was the next step in the "complex and thorough" investigation.
"This investigation has been subject to incredibly intense level of public scrutiny and curiosity," he told reporters on Thursday.
"It's particularly important that we keep in mind that at the heart of this, three people have lost their lives."
Hundreds of people attended public memorials for Mrs Wilkinson and Don and Gail Patterson, who were remembered for their commitment to their families and tight-knit community in Korumburra.
