Details of the state's case against the accused Claremont serial killer are beginning to emerge in the lead up to what is expected to be one of the biggest murder trials in West Australian history.

Bradley Robert Edwards has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Sarah Spiers, 18, Jane Rimmer, 23, and Ciara Glennon, 27, in 1996 and 1997.

Bradley Robert Edwards has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

The 49-year-old has also denied raping a 17-year-old girl in Karrakatta Cemetery in 1995 and attacking an 18-year-old woman in her Huntingdale home in 1988.

During a directions hearing in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Thursday, state prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo indicated the state planned to use propensity evidence in its case against Mr Edwards.