An appeals court has ordered a third trial for a New Jersey man convicted in the strangulation deaths of his parents.

The court ruled Tuesday that the judge at Michael Maltese's second trial committed an error when he instructed jurors on the law regarding self-defense.

Maltese alleged his father attacked him and he was defending himself when he strangled the older man.

He was also convicted of strangling his mother during the violent argument.

Prosecutors presented evidence Maltese and his girlfriend drove the bodies to a park and buried them in a shallow grave.

Maltese's first conviction was thrown out when the state supreme court ruled that his confession was improperly obtained.