Reporter: A week before Diane Marcell is set to travel back to Albuquerque from Texas for Justin Hansen's trial, she gets an unexpected phone call from detective Jodi Gonterman. She said, "He's gonna plea. They're gonna do a plea hearing today at 2:00." I know you can't be here, but call your daughters, get people there." The defendant agreed to plead no contest. Reporter: Hansen pleads no contest to attempted murder and aggravated burglary. Prosecutor David Waymire says this avoids the risk of a trial while ensuring Hansen serves time. We knew that the jury would have questions on whether or not the single blood drop of Justin Hansen's in the absence of a concrete motive would really be enough to convict. How do you plea? No contest. Hardest decision of my life. The way my lawyer explained it to me is, no contest isn't a guilty plea, it's basically saying you understand that there is a chance if you took it to trial, that you could be found guilty. Reporter: But afterwards, once you get out of prison, you're going to be a felon, which means, essentially, it's a guilty plea. But you don't believe you are guilty. No, I know I'm not guilty. I don't have to believe it, I know I'm not guilty. Reporter: Hansen continues to insist he is not the person who beat Brittani Marcell to the brink of death. Did you take that shovel and batter Brittani Marcell in the head with it? No, I did not. Reporter: You were not in that house? No, I wasn't. Reporter: Was it you who jumped through the window? No. Reporter: So why didn't you fight it? It was hard, it just seems like everything just kind of stacked up against me. Reporter: He says rolling the dice on up to 50 years behind bars, away from his children, was a gamble he wasn't willing to take. I'm most concerned about not being there for my kids. You know, I love them to death and so thinking about not seeing them and not being there for them and to teach them wrong from right. It's scary. Reporter: As part of his plea Hansen now faces up to 18 years in prison. A judge will make the final decision next month. Until then, basically a free man, that the Marcell family says they can't seem to escape. Just last week Hansen was back in the news when Brittani's sister Jennifer ran into him, capturing this video at a baseball game. Hansen's baseball night was approved by his pretrial services officer. He can show up anywhere and we can't do anything about it. Reporter: Detective Jodi Gonterman says that's about to change. She's hoping the judge will give Hansen the maximum sentence. I think he's really convinced himself that he can fool people. We know that it's him. Reporter: He still hasn't admitted that he beat Brittani. No, he hasn't. Why can't he give her an answer now, why he did it? Reporter: Do you still wanna know that, why he did it? It may be a lie, I may not be able to believe it, but I wanna know. Reporter: As for Brittani, after a decade of fear, she's ready to move on. To people watching this, what message do you want them to come away with? That you can survive. I think if you have a strong mindset and to what your next goal is, I think you can get through it. Reporter: So even though some of her memories are streaked with pain, Brittani Marcell says she's now ready to make more. What's your greatest hope for Brittani's future? That she's able to get out there and face the world with strength and faith and no fear.