The family of reality TV personality Lyric McHenry are speaking out after the 26-year-old was found dead on a Bronx sidewalk Tuesday morning. McHenry was not wearing any pants when her body was found at 5 a.m.
McHenry was pronounced dead on arrival at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital on Tuesday. She was 20 weeks pregnant and a small Ziplock bag of cocaine was found on her body.
There were “no obvious signs of trauma observed,” according to a police report obtained by CNN.
Family friend Lisa Nkonoki tells PEOPLE McHenry was full of life and “very excited about the future.”
McHenry starred in reality TV show EJNYC with Magic Johnson’s son EJ Johnson on E! Network. EJ and Lyric posed together in a cell phone photo dated June 4, 2014.
According to published reports McHenry died of a suspected drug overdose. But the family released a statement Wednesday, saying her cause of death is yet to be determined.
“The McHenry Family deeply appreciates the many communications of support from Lyric’s many friends upon learning of her untimely death at approximately 6:00 AM the morning of August 14th, 2018,” the family tells PEOPLE in a statement. “Despite the speculation in earlier reports, at this point in time the cause of Lyric’s death has yet to be determined.”
The family described McHenry as a “brilliant, creative and lovely young woman who shared a deep passion for writing, film and a long-standing commitment to social justice.”
At age 15, she worked on the Obama campaign. In January 2017, she posted a throwback photo of herself posing with First Lady Michelle Obama on Instagramm.com. “Working for this campaign made my awkward stage at 15 so much doper,” she captioned the image.
McHenry’s dad, Doug McHenry produced the urban movies New Jack City and Jason’s Lyric, among others.
