Family of pregnant reality star found dead in the Bronx say they believe there was foul play

The family of a pregnant reality star found dead in the Bronx in just a pajama top and her underwear and in possession of cocaine believe her death was the result of foul play.

Lyric McHenry, 26, who appeared on E! show EJNYC alongside Magic Johnson’s son EJ, was discovered lying on a Bronx sidewalk early Tuesday after a night spent hopping between bars and nightclubs in lower Manhattan.

Police believe a drug overdose claimed the life of the Stanford graduate, who had volunteered for the Obama campaign and been best friends from childhood with EJ Johnson, the son of Magic Johnson, with whom she had appeared in E!’s EJNYC.

Her father Doug McHenry, 66, is a producer whose hit movies include New Jack City while her mother is a stylist whose clients have included Oprah Winfrey.

Her mother Jennifer, 61, who lives in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles collapsed Tuesday after hearing the news from her younger daughter Maya and was later taken away by emergency services.

Lyric McHenry, who appeared in the E! show EJNYC with Magic Johnson’s son EJ (pictured together), was found dead on a sidewalk in Manhattan wearing no pants on Tuesday 

Grief: Lyric McHenry's Hollywood stylist mom Jennifer, 61, was taken to hospital after learning of her elder daughter's death. Lyric's father Doug McHenry is a movie producer whose credits include New Jack City

Grief: Lyric McHenry's Hollywood stylist mom Jennifer, 61, was taken to hospital after learning of her elder daughter's death. Lyric's father Doug McHenry is a movie producer whose credits include New Jack City

Grief: Lyric McHenry’s Hollywood stylist mom Jennifer, 61, was taken to hospital after learning of her elder daughter’s death. Lyric’s father Doug McHenry is a movie producer whose credits include New Jack City

Police sources said McHenry (pictured hours before her death) was 20 weeks pregnant and in possession of cocaine. She had been out celebrating her birthday 

Police sources said McHenry (pictured hours before her death) was 20 weeks pregnant and in possession of cocaine. She had been out celebrating her birthday 

While McHenry spent the bulk of her birthday celebrations in lower Manhattan, she was found in the Bronx 

While McHenry spent the bulk of her birthday celebrations in lower Manhattan, she was found in the Bronx 

Throughout the night she had posted a slew of Instagram videos at various hotspots in Manhattan

In one picture, posted by her sister Maya, McHenry can be seen enjoying a rooftop bar

Throughout the night she had posted a slew of Instagram videos at various hotspots in Manhattan, taking a selfie in a bathroom and enjoying a rooftop bar 

Neighbors told DailyMail.com that she ‘screamed hysterically’ for three hours on learning of Lyric’s death and said the personal shopper and style advisor is in ‘a bad way’.

Friends of the family said they suspected foul play and added that while the family knew she was pregnant, they had never heard of her taking drugs.

Retired criminal defense attorney Ardis Irvine, 86, a neighbor of McHenry’s mom told DailyMail.com the family had been told it seemed she had died somewhere else and been dumped where she was found.

Irvine added: ‘She didn’t die at the place they found her. She didn’t live in the Bronx, though she lived in New York.

‘She was partying for her birthday. She was found in a pajama top, no pants and a little pouch with some cocaine in it.

‘Her knees were all scraped up, so either she was dumped there or she crawled trying to get out of that area and then she passed out.’

Another family friend, who asked not to be named, said he also suspected that Lyric’s death than a simple drug overdose.

‘I knew her personally. She was friends with my cousin. She was over at my house probably about a month ago. It’s sad.

‘I don’t see how you can overdose like that. Why would you be on cocaine when you’re pregnant? It doesn’t add up. It seems like there’s some foul play involved.’

Irvine said that the dead woman’s mother had been distraught.

‘Jennifer’s other daughter called and told her mother that Lyric was deceased,’ he told DailyMail.com.

‘I was in the back and I heard the screaming. At first I thought it was a dog. Then I thought it was a baby. But it kept going, louder and then softer, and it kept going.

McHenry was discovered above the Major Deegan Expressway (pictured) in the Bronx around 5am on Tuesday

McHenry was discovered above the Major Deegan Expressway (pictured) in the Bronx around 5am on Tuesday

Before her stint on television, McHenry was a Ron Brown scholar at Stanford University and worked on Barack Obama's presidential campaign when she was just 15 years old

Before her stint on television, McHenry was a Ron Brown scholar at Stanford University and worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign when she was just 15 years old

She then made her way to the Dream Downtown, a hotel in Chelsea, and enjoyed rooftop views

In this snap her male companion excitedly said 'It's your birthday' while she blew a kiss for the camera

She then made her way to the Dream Downtown, a hotel in Chelsea, and enjoyed rooftop views

EJNYC lasted for one season E! and featured EJ and a slew of close friends in Manhattan. McHenry was also a producer on the show (they are pictured here on a recent trip to Miami) 

EJNYC lasted for one season E! and featured EJ and a slew of close friends in Manhattan. McHenry was also a producer on the show (they are pictured here on a recent trip to Miami) 

She went on to work as an agent trainee at UTA before moving on to jobs in video production at Complex Networks and Refinery29

McHenry had also worked for Artists For A New South Africa, a charity that helps to 'improve post-apartheid South African society through combating HIV/AIDS', since she was 11 years old

She went on to work as an agent trainee at UTA before moving on to jobs in video production at Complex Networks and Refinery29

‘It wasn’t like anyone being hurt, it was like someone hurting internally. Everyone was trying to find out what was going on. You can recognize the sound of pain coming from a woman.

‘The police and fire department came and took her to the hospital. There were four police officers and two ambulances from the fire department.

‘She’s in a bad way. If you get a call saying your daughter is dead, your life goes boom.’

Raised in Los Angeles, Lyric enjoyed a Hollywood upbringing – due in no small part to her parents’ careers in film and fashion.

In her Linkedin profile, stylist Jennifer notes that her clients include Magic and Cookie Johnson – on whose son’s reality show Lyric appeared – and LaTanya and Samuel L. Jackson.

Other clients include Oprah Winfrey, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and actor Forest Whitaker.

Lyric, a Stanford graduate, and her sister Maya later relocated to New York – where the pregnant 26-year-old spent her final evening celebrating her birthday in a hotel in Manhattan’s Tribeca district.

She had documented the evening on social media, posting photos of herself in a form-fitting pink dress at The Frederick Hotel before moving on to the Soho Grand.

Lyric then went on to a hotel in Chelsea, accompanied by her sister Maya. The 26-year-old was later found dead 12 miles north, close to the junction of I-95 and the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx.

McHenry’s aunt Patrice Theard, 56, said she was close to ‘breaking down.’

Irvine added: ‘She was a beautiful young lady. She didn’t live here, but I met both the daughters. They would come here in the summer time.

‘They were quiet, off on their own. I met the younger one through her mother. Being across the street from each other, you come out and you talk to each other.

‘They come every summer to visit their mother. I saw them last summer but I haven’t seen them since.

‘Her mother was trying to get her to move back here, but those kids have their own things going on.’ 



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk