&imwidth=896&imheight=504&format=webp&quality=medium "What happened to Daveigh Chase? Autopsy reveals The Ring star had advanced AIDS before death at 35")
Months after the death of Daveigh Chase, new details have emerged about her final days. Known for her performances in The Ring and Disney's Lilo & Stitch, the former child actress passed away on June 16, 2026, at the age of 35.
A recently released autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office has revealed Chase had been hospitalised for nearly two weeks before her death. Her medical records also revealed a history of advanced, untreated HIV/AIDS and drug use, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
Daveigh Chase's autopsy report
The medical examiner's report stated that Chase was discovered in the back seat of a vehicle on June 4. At the time, she complained of a headache, weakness, confusion and pain in her right thumb. A methamphetamine pipe was also reportedly found nearby.
Emergency responders subsequently transported her to Los Angeles General Medical Center, where doctors admitted her with several serious medical conditions.
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According to the report, her diagnoses included “advanced HIV/AIDS with wasting, cryptococcus without meningitis, MRSA and right thumb infection.”
The medical records also noted that toxicology tests detected methamphetamine and fentanyl in her system. Her condition reportedly continued to deteriorate during her hospital stay, with the actress passing away on June 16.
As per USA Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner determined AIDS to be her official cause of death, while chronic polysubstance use was listed as an additional significant condition. Her manner of death was ruled natural.
Daveigh Chase's struggles with addiction
Following her death, Chase's family spoke about the difficulties she had faced in the years leading up to her passing.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, her mother, Cathy Chase, spoke about her daughter's struggles with substance abuse. She attributed the beginning of those problems to a motorcycle accident around 2016, which left the actress with a back injury. Cathy said her daughter was prescribed strong pain medication, including oxycodone, after the incident.
“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. That was the beginning,” Cathy said.
Cathy recalled visiting her daughter in jail for the first time in 2019, following burglary charges. “She was completely gone, like, out of her mind. 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.”
Chase's father, John Schwallier, also spoke about her long-standing battle with addiction. He said she had struggled with substance abuse since she was 13 and had experienced homelessness and difficult living conditions in Los Angeles.
Daveigh Chase's career
Chase began working in the entertainment industry as a young child. One of her early notable performances came in 2001, when she appeared in Donnie Darko as the younger sister of Jake Gyllenhaal's character.
At just 11, she voiced Lilo in Disney's animated film Lilo & Stitch. The same year, she played Samara Morgan, the mysterious girl at the centre of the horror film The Ring, starring alongside Naomi Watts.
Her portrayal of Samara earned her the Best Villain award at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.
She later returned to voice Lilo in Stitch! The Movie and the television series Lilo & Stitch, which ran from 2003 to 2006. Chase also voiced Chihiro in the English-language version of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away.
Her other notable credits included HBO's Big Love, in which she played Rhonda Volmer across multiple seasons.
