OLATHE, Kan. -- A Johnson County man pleaded no contest to murder in a case of random violence, KMBC's Peggy Breit reported Thursday.

Police said Nigel Marcotte, 42, was stabbed to death in his Lenexa home in December 2005 because he left his garage door open.

"He was a wonderful man, a wonderful husband and he's missed every day by numerous people," said Reina Marcotte, Nigel's widow.

Prosecutors said Charles "Kris" Riddle, of Olathe, stole the victim's credit cards and used two of them.

Riddle's plea of no contest means he admits the state has enough evidence to convict him.

Investigators said Riddle chose the Marcotte home because the garage door was open. Police said Riddle first stole credit cards from Marcotte's car, then went inside and confronted him.

Riddle was armed with a watermelon knife and wore gloves and a ski mask, police said.

Investigators said Riddle used two of the stolen credit cards in Platte County, one was at a grocery store, the other was "at an Outback Steakhouse about nine hours after the homicide to buy Mr. Riddle and a couple of his buddies dinner there and drinks," Assistant Johnson County District Attorney Rick Guinn said.

Prosecutors said evidence also showed that Marcotte's DNA was inside Riddle's car.

"All of our detectives worked a lot of long, hard hours on this case. On a day like this, it shows you it pays off," Lenexa Police Detective Derrick Pierce said.

Riddle's plea means he could be eligible for parole in 20 years, but it also means there will be no trial, which is what is important to Reina Marcotte.

"It means an awful lot to me. It means a lot that we didn't go to trial, especially for my two little girls at home. I didn't want to put them through that," she said.

Marcotte's daughters are 6 and 9, Breit reported.

Riddle is scheduled for sentencing in January.