Heartsick family of Sandy Nicole Lopez hopes for answers into her sudden death

CASS COUNTY, Mich. -- A heartsick family is begging for answers after the sudden death of their loved one remains suspicious after two full months.

Thirty-two-year-old Sandy Nicole Lopez, or Nikki as her friends and family called her, died in the middle of the night inside a Niles home on August 20th.

Her family says they still don't know exactly what went down inside that house and how it led to Nikki's death.

Michigan State Police tells ABC57 they are actively investigating Nikki's death as suspicious and there is no cause of death to point to at this time.

As police wait for both toxicology and autopsy reports from the Medical Examiner to help with their investigation, Nikki's family says living day-to-day life without her is hard, but the unknown of what took her so suddenly from their lives is even worse.

"How do you get rid of 32 years? How? How do you stop feeling that? You don't. And it's a lie when they tell you, 'Oh it will get easier.' It's a lie," says Isabel Jaramillo, the mother of Sandy Nicole Lopez.

Every day since August 20th has not gotten any easier, since the day Nikki's family learned she had suddenly died.

"I was asking her, I said 'Sister, has Nikki called you all day? Have you heard from mija?' And she says 'No.' So, she goes 'You know what as a matter of fact she hasn't," I said, 'Because she hasn't responded to none of mine.' And as we're talking about that, we have two state trooper cars that drove up," Jaramillo explains.

Though Nikki's cause of death remains unknown, her family fears foul play was involved mostly because of the condition her post-mortem body was in, they say she was littered in possible bruises and marks.

The family says the funeral director asked them if Nikki was in a car accident prior to her death.

"Even then, I'm waiting to walk in to just a black eye or a bruise. That's not what we walked into," recalls Jaramillo.

Family describes Nikki as fierce and feisty, family-oriented, but above all else she was a loving mother to four boys who are all now under the care of their fathers.

They know nothing can repair the hole her loss has burned in the family, but they do hope to someday get answers.

"I know that what I want to say, I know I can't. What I do want is justice for my daughter," Jaramillo hopes.

Michigan State Police say getting the medical examiner's report can take time, but for now, they say it is not classified as a criminal case; they must wait for that report from the medical examiner before they can make that kind of determination.

ABC57 will stay on top of this story and report updates as they come in.