BUTLER, Pa.—A New Jersey landscaper who killed his father and stepmother in western Pennsylvania has pleaded no contest to third-degree murder.

Forty-two-year-old Colin Abbott of Randolph, N.J. entered the pleas on Tuesday. Authorities say Abbott dismembered the bodies and scattered the remains on the family property in Butler County. That's about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh.

The remains of 65-year-old Kenneth Abbott, a pharmaceutical executive with a multimillion-dollar estate, and 55-year-old Celeste Abbott were found in July 2011. Prosecutors say that money was a factor in the killings.

Abbott is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, and as part of the plea deal he will avoid the death penalty.

Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 35 to 80 years.