A four-week trial into the cold-case murder of a Shepparton teenager could hear from up to 40 witnesses and be held in her home town, a court has heard.
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Brisbane dog groomer Steven James Bradley, 53, was charged with the 1983 murder of Michelle Buckingham, 16, in March this year.
A directions hearing before Justice Lex Lasry in the Melbourne Supreme Court on Friday set a date for a four-week trial that could hear from up to 40 witnesses to begin on September 21.
The trial has been set to run in Shepparton, but Mr Bradley's defence lawyer James Fitzgerald said his client is likely to apply for a change of venue.
Prosecutor Alex Albert told Justice Lasry the case would hinge on the evidence of Mr Bradley's brother-in-law, who Mr Bradley visited the morning after Michelle Buckingham was killed in October 1983, and allegedly told him he had killed her.
Mr Fitzgerald said a trial would examine the extent of the confession, or whether a confession took place.
Justice Lasry directed the prosecution to file an opening summary by April 3, the date on which an application for the trial to move locations is likely to be lodged.
