Weeks after the death of actress Daveigh Chase, best known for voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and playing Samara Morgan in The Ring, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has officially revealed the cause of her death.
According to the medical examiner’s report, Chase died from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The report also lists chronic polysubstance use as a significant contributing condition. Her death has been ruled as natural.
Earlier, her boyfriend Roy Hernandez had said that Chase had been battling bacterial meningitis and a blood infection, which eventually led to multiple organ failure. Those illnesses are now understood to have occurred alongside the underlying medical condition identified in the official report.
Following the news of her death, renewed attention has turned to Chase’s long and difficult struggle with substance addiction.
In a 2019 interview with the Daily Mail, her mother, Cathy Chase, revealed that the actress’s addiction began after she suffered a serious back injury in a motorcycle accident in 2016. According to her mother, Chase was prescribed pain medication during her recovery, which eventually led to drug dependency.
Cathy Chase had said, “She was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people. I never kicked my daughter out. She wanted freedom, and these people got her hooked on some drugs. It upsets me because people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother, but I never gave up on her. As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home.”
After Chase’s passing, Roy Hernandez launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking financial support for expenses related to her death. In the fundraiser, he described the hardships she allegedly faced in recent years, including a difficult childhood, estrangement from her family and homelessness in downtown Los Angeles. The fundraiser description read, “Behind the scenes, she’s faced more than her share of hardship. After a difficult childhood and a painful falling out with her family, Daveigh was bullied and struggled to find safety and happiness in downtown LA. When we met, I promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved.”
However, Hernandez’s fundraiser later became the subject of controversy after Chase’s former manager publicly questioned its legitimacy, stating that her funeral expenses and estate were already being handled by her family.
Daveigh Chase rose to fame as a child actor with a string of memorable performances. In 2002, she voiced Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and portrayed the terrifying Samara Morgan in The Ring. She also appeared in Donnie Darko, Big Love, and several television series before stepping away from acting in the mid-2010s.
Also Read: Daveigh Chase, Voice Of Lilo In Lilo & Stitch And The Ring Star, Dies At 35
By
