Medical Examiner Reveals Chase's Cause of Death

The cause of death for former child star Daveigh Chase has been formally attributed to AIDS, with drug use also playing a role, according to a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's report released Monday. Chase, born Daveigh Schwallier, died June 16 at age 35; the report lists acquired immunodeficiency syndrome as the primary cause, with "chronic polysubstance use"—the use of more than one drug at the same time or within a short period of time—contributing. The document does not specify which substances were involved, and the case remains listed as open, NBC News reports.

Chase's father, John David Schwallier, previously told NBC that she had died from complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection, and said she had been homeless in Los Angeles and severely malnourished. He told the New York Times that he hadn't spoken to her since she was 19. Chase's parents divorced decades ago. Her mother, Cathy Chase, said Daveigh developed an addiction to oxycodone and other painkillers after a 2016 injury. She said she appeared "completely gone" in 2019, when she last saw her, and she later searched Los Angeles' Skid Row for her, without success.

Chase was a familiar face in early-2000s television, with appearances on ER, Charmed, The Practice, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Her breakout came in 2002, when she voiced Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch and portrayed Samara, the menacing child at the center of the horror hit The Ring. She also appeared in HBO's Big Love and played Samantha Darko in Donnie Darko and its direct-to-video sequel, S. Darko, reports Variety.