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The official cause of death for former child star Daveigh Chase has been revealed. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that the actress, best known for her role in The Ring and for voicing Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch, died from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Chronic polysubstance use (the repeated use of multiple drugs over time) was listed as a significant contributing condition. Her death was ruled natural.
Chase passed away on June 16 at just 35 years old. Initial reports from her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, suggested she had died from complications related to meningitis and sepsis after spending several days in the hospital. He had even launched a GoFundMe campaign while she was still receiving treatment, saying her condition had become critical. However, the medical examiner's findings now provide clarity on the true cause.
Her final years were marked by hardship and isolation. Friends revealed they had spent years trying to track her down after she disappeared from Hollywood, even searching Los Angeles' Skid Row after receiving tips she was living there. Chase reportedly spent her last years in an RV with Hernandez before being hospitalized earlier this month.
Her mother, Cathy Chase, previously shared that her daughter's struggles with addiction began after a motorcycle crash in 2016, which led to dependence on painkillers and a downward spiral. Those close to her described her as surrounding herself with people who didn't have her best interests at heart, despite efforts from sober friends to get her help.
Despite her troubled later years, Chase's early career left a lasting mark. She became a household name in 2002, voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and terrifying audiences as Samara in The Ring, a role that earned her an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. She also appeared in Donnie Darko, HBO's Big Love, and Spirited Away.
