Men Murdered Former Knicks Draft Pick In His Bergen County Home: Prosecutor

A former New York Knicks draft pick whose body was found in Brooklyn last year was drugged and killed in his Bergen County home by a man whom he lived with for years, authorities said.

Mark A. Holdbrooks, 59, and an alleged accomplice were charged with murder and other crimes after a yearlong investigation into the killing of Michael Wright, a 35-year-old who died in his Closter home, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal said in a news release.

Closter Police received a call from Holdbrooks on Nov. 8, 2015 and reported Wright, his roommate and a close family friend, Grewal said. Holdbrooks allegedly told police he had not seen Wright since 1 p.m. Nov. 5.

RELATED: Michael Wright, NBA Draft Pick, Dead in Brooklyn 'Homicide'

Wright’s body was found in a large garbage bag in the back of a white Lexus registered in his name near 98 East 16th St. in Brooklyn, authorities said.

Officials determined that Wright suffered head trauma; the New York Police Department notified Closter police and the county prosecutor’s office Homicide Squad about the discovery.

Detectives determined that Holdbrooks and David Victor, 35, drugged and murdered Wright in their Closter home, the prosecutor said. Victor then drove Wright’s body to Brooklyn where he left the vehicle while Holdbrooks remained at home, authorities said.

Holdbrooks and Victor were arrested Nov. 1 in New York City by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Closter Police Department, and the New York Police Department’s 70th Precinct. They were both charged with first-degree murder, possession of a weapon, desecration of human remains, hindering apprehension, and possession of GHB.

Superior Court Judge Susan Steele set bail for each man at $3 million with no 10 percent option. The men are awaiting extradition from New York to New Jersey.

A Chicago native, Wright played basketball at Farragut Career Academy High School. Then, in college, he was star forward for the University of Arizona Wildcats.

The Knicks drafted Wright in 2001, but did not name him to the roster, the Daily News reports. Instead, he traveled abroad to play for pro teams in Poland, Turkey, Israel, Germany and France.

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Photos: Mark A. Holdbrooks, 59, and David Victor, 35 — Courtesy of Bergen County Prosecutor's Office