The cause of death for actress Daveigh Chase, best known for her roles in “The Ring” and “Lilo and Stitch,” has been confirmed.
According to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, Chase, born Daveigh Schwallier, died in the hospital from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Chronic polysubstance use was also listed as a significant condition in her cause of death.
Her boyfriend, Chase Hernandez, first confirmed her death to TMZ on June 17. He told the outlet at the time she had septic issues that contributed to her death. The outlet added that she had been admitted to the hospital earlier this month for malnutrition.
It appears Chase started a GoFundMe under her own name, but with a note written by Hernandez that read, in part, “Recently, everything changed. Daveigh was diagnosed with meningitis and several serious blood infections. Her condition has become critical, and the doctors have told me she may not have much time left. All she ever wanted was a place where we could live together, feel safe, and be happy. Now, more than ever, I want to give her that sense of home and peace in her final days.”
Chase’s former manager, John Ryan, questioned the validity of the fundraising campaign, telling TMZ, “A man claiming to be Daveigh’s boyfriend has launched a GoFundMe page purportedly on behalf of Daveigh and her family. Neither her family nor her close friends know who this person is.”
The actresses’ mother, Cathy, spoke with The Daily Mail following her daughter’s death, saying she believed Chase’s addiction began when she was prescribed oxycodone and other painkillers after suffering a back injury in a motor cycle accident in 2016. “She was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people,” she told the outlet “I never kicked my daughter out. She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs. That was the beginning.”
Cathy said she saw Chase in jail after several run-ins with the law, and saw her for the final time in 2019.
“She was completely gone, like, out of her mind,” Cathy said. “I honestly thought there was something wrong with her. My daughter was never diagnosed with mental health other than PTSD. But the drugs took hold of her … She went back to the streets and I couldn’t find her. I will live forever feeling I failed her.”
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