I don’t believe there is such a law in NJ. And there is a duty to retreat before using lethal force. If he thought his life was in danger for some reason (even though he was the one with the weapon, it seems), he should have left.
In my experience, juries are actually pretty smart. Sure, there are outlier cases like OJ (Jeff Toobin’s book is a fascinating read on the case). But for the most part, I’ve had juries who see through any noise and make correct decisions as to the law on the facts presented. And jurors do watch the lawyers carefully. I also think jurors might find dredging up the victim’s (irrelevant) past or SM or personality traits distasteful. That’s my experience anyway.
Time will tell what his defense is, if any.