Dispute Over Dishes Led To Parents' Deaths, South Jersey Man Claims: Report

WEST DEPTFORD, NJ —A man on trial for his parents' deaths told detectives they assaulted him first after a dispute over household chores, a report said.

Edward Coles Jr., 58, and Rosemarie Coles, 55, were found dead in their West Deptford home in August of 2016. Officials arrested their son Ryan, who was in the home at the time, after he went to the hospital for a medical evaluation.

The couple died of blunt head trauma, the Gloucester County Medical Examiner found.

Trial began last week for Coles, who is 34, NJ.com reported.

Coles told detectives his parents had injured him because they were angry he did not finish chores at their house, New Jersey Advance Media reported. Detectives told him he had no evident defensive wounds.

More information is available on NJ.com.