* February 15, 1988:

Woman, 18, is attacked while sleeping in her Huntingdale home. Man flees after a struggle, leaving behind a silk kimono stolen from a clothesline in the area

* September 1989:

Alleged Huntingdale "prowler" incidents, including an attack on a woman by a man wearing a nightie and women's underwear on his head, end when Edwards starts dating his first wife

* May 7, 1990:

Working for Telstra at Hollywood Hospital, Edwards grabs a social worker from behind, covers her mouth and drags her towards toilets, but she breaks free. He is sentenced to two years probation and cites an infidelity admission by his girlfriend and pressure to marry her as reasons for the attack

* November 23, 1991:

Marries his first wife

* Late 1994:

Relationship has become strained, wife starts an affair with another man

* January 1995:

The other man moves into the marital home

* February 12, 1995:

Girl, 17, is abducted in Claremont and taken to Karrakatta cemetery where she is twice raped

* Around mid-1995:

Edwards and wife become increasingly distant. He stays up at night on the computer while she goes to bed alone

* 1995-1997:

Male driver, either in a Telstra vehicle or identifying himself as a Telstra worker, offers lifts to women in Claremont or neighbouring Cottesloe, telling one he is "looking for damsels in distress" and trying to kiss her

* January 1996:

Wife moves out to be with the other man, leaving Edwards alone

* January 26, 1996:

She rejects his request to watch the Australia Day fireworks together

* January 27, 1996:

Sarah Spiers, 18, disappears in the early hours of the morning after leaving Club Bay View in Claremont and calling a taxi from a nearby phone booth. Her body has not been found

* Early June, 1996:

Edwards' wife tells him she is having a baby with the other man

* June 9, 1996:

Jane Rimmer, 23, vanishes from Claremont and is last seen outside the Continental Hotel

* June 10, 1996:

WA Police set up Macro task force to investigate the killings

* August 3, 1996:

Ms Rimmer's body is found in bushland at Wellard in Perth's south

* Early March 1997:

Edwards' matrimonial home is sold

* March 15, 1997:

Ciara Glennon, 27, is last seen in Claremont after visiting the Continental Hotel. Edwards is supposed to be with friends but only arrives the following day and allegedly lies about trying to reconcile with his ex-wife

* April 1, 1997:

Edwards meets his second wife

* April 3, 1997:

Ms Glennon's body is found in bushland at Eglington in Perth's north

* December 22, 2016:

Edwards is charged with murdering Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon, plus the Karrakatta and Huntingdale crimes

* February 22, 2018:

Edwards is charged with murdering Ms Spiers

* February 18, 2019:

Edwards is found alone in a prison shower block with an ear injury and a pencil nearby. Police later reveal it was likely self-inflicted

* February 18-19, 2019:

Prosecution theory that Edwards had a long obsession with women's undergarments, escalating to sexual attacks and abduction, then murders correlating with key moments in his first marriage breakdown, emerges at a pre-trial hearing

* June 6, 2019:

Trial set down to start in July is delayed because late disclosure by prosecutors left defence lawyers without enough time to prepare

* October 21, 2019:

Edwards pleads guilty to the Karrakatta and Huntingdale crimes, but maintains he did not commit the murders. Admissions mean length of the trial is slashed by at least three months

* October 22, 2019:

Trial set down to start on November 18 is pushed back to November 25.

Australian Associated Press