Abbott Koloff

USA TODAY Network

The man who allegedly killed a former New York Knicks draft choice in the Closter house they shared used an ax to commit the crime, authorities said in a complaint made public on Thursday.

Court documents also revealed that Mark A. Holdbrooks, 59, who is charged with murder and other offenses, faced a theft by deception charge for allegedly obtaining in excess of $75,000 worth of property from two unnamed victims. It was not clear on Thursday what connection, if any, the theft charge had with the killing.

The theft took place from Jan. 1, 2014 to Nov. 5, 2015 — the same day authorities believe Michael Wright, 35, a former University of Arizona basketball star, was killed, according to court papers filed in Bergen County Central Municipal Court.

Holdbrooks, people who knew the family have said, had been living for years with Wright, who never played for the Knicks but made a name for himself by playing in Turkey and Europe. The two men had been raising two daughters together and were sharing a home at 67 MacArthur Ave. in Closter last year when Holdbrooks called police on Nov. 8 and told them that Wright had been missing since Nov. 5.

Wright’s body was found covered by a garbage bag in the back of his Lexus SUV parked on a Brooklyn street on Nov. 10.

Bergen County’s acting prosecutor, Gurbir S. Grewal, announced on Wednesday that Holdbrooks and an alleged accomplice, David Victor, 35, of Brooklyn, were arrested Tuesday at their homes and charged in connection with Wright’s death. Holdbrooks was living in Manhattan with the two daughters, according to authorities. After Holdbrooks was arrested, Grewal said, the girls remained with a woman who also lived at the Manhattan home.

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Authorities said in the complaint that Wright was killed “on or about Nov. 5.” That also is the date authorities have said they determined, using cell phone data, that Wright’s car crossed the George Washington Bridge into New York and headed to Brooklyn.

Holdbrooks and Victor allegedly drugged the 6-foot-7 basketball player with Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, which is known as a date rape drug, before killing him in Closter, authorities have said. Victor then drove Wright’s SUV to Brooklyn, leaving it parked on East 16th Street, authorities have said.

The two defendants each were charged with murder and possession of an ax “with the purpose to use it unlawfully against another.” The court papers did not indicate which man used the ax against Wright, who died from a head trauma, according to authorities. Both men also were charged with moving and concealing human remains, concealing and destroying evidence, and illegal possession of GHB, according to the court papers.

Holdbrooks additionally was charged with giving false information to law enforcement authorities between Nov. 8, 2015 and May 18, 2016 and with theft by deception of property worth more than $75,000. The victims of the theft were identified in court papers only by their initials, P.G. and M.B.

Grewal did not provide details about the theft charge and declined to say whether it was connected to Wright’s death.

Abbott Koloff writes for The (Bergen) Record, part of the USA TODAY Network.