Father of NBA Star Marcus Camby’s Dead Nephew Alleges Drinking and Drug Use Before Tragic Death

The father of Marcus Camby's nephew claims the ex-NBA star and his family were drinking and smoking marijuana before the 9-year-old tragically went missing and was eventually found dead.

As The Blast previously reported, Marcus McGhee is suing Camby over the death of his son (also named Marcus McGhee) after the boy drowned on Camby's property over Thanksgiving in 2016.

The ex-NBA star responded to the lawsuit by claiming he is in no way responsible for his nephew’s death. He argued that he had no legal responsibility for the incident under Texas law and says it was "a terrible, tragic and unnecessary death of a young boy … who was part of Camby’s own family."

Camby pointed out that Marcus’ caretakers — his mother, aunt, and grandmother — were all present on the day of the drowning and says they “failed to properly supervise, monitor and control the activities of Marcus.”

According to new court documents obtained by The Blast, McGhee claims Marcus Camby was well aware of the boy's limitations due to his autism. McGhee says of his son, "Even though he was biologically nine years of age, Marcus functioned like a two-year-old: he could not talk, could not read, still wore diapers, and certainly could not swim."

He claims it took Camby over two hours to call the police once they realized young Marcus was missing. McGhee claims that once police “did arrive, they detected illegal drug use on the property, and Camby was reluctant to let police inspect certain areas of his house.”

McGhee claims Camby left multiple doors open or unlocked and failed to activate the alarm when young Marcus was visiting. He says there are "many inconsistencies about exactly what happened that led to Marcus’s drowning."

He points out the investigators found that alcohol was in use at the Thanksgiving party, despite Marcus Camby denying this in his deposition.

McGhee also claims the home security video that captured the disappearance — which cops previously reviewed — is now gone because "apparently the Camby family allowed the surveillance video to be overwritten."

McGhee describes how once he got the call about his son being missing, he flew right away from Connecticut to Texas. Once he arrived, he took issue with the partygoers continuing to drink while his son was still missing. McGhee said in his deposition, "And while all the dogs are sniffing my son's book bag and sniffing his underwear, I'm watching this. And then I'm watching these clowns party, and I'm watching Mr. Camby and his wife. They're also having a good time and there's laughing and it's cheering."

According to police reports, one of the officers noted that the family was consuming alcohol, but nobody seemed to be heavily intoxicated, using drugs or anything of that nature.

Another officer noted that when they arrived at the home, they "observed a large group of people walking around the exterior of the residence. I approached a group by the garage and could smell a strong odor of burnt marijuana."

McGhee is demanding the lawsuit continue on and Camby not be allowed to have the case dismissed.