‘The Ring’ and ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Star Daveigh Chase Died of AIDS, Medical Examiner Finds

The actress died on June 16 after being hospitalized in Los Angeles for meningitis and multiple serious blood infections.

Actress Daveigh Chase arrives at HBO's “Big Love” Season 5 premiere at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles on Jan. 12, 2011. Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The cause of death of former child actress Daveigh Chase was revealed on Monday as a result of complications related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

The report also listed chronic polysubstance abuse, defined as using more than one drug or substance at the same time or within a short period of time, as a contributing condition. The manner of death was ruled as “natural.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, AIDS is caused by HIV, or a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and occurs at the most advanced stage of the HIV infection.

The Epoch Times contacted the Medical Examiner’s Office for further comment on the matter, but did not hear back by publication time.

Chase, best known for her roles in “The Ring” and voicing Lilo in Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch,” died on June 16 at the age of 35. At the time, loved ones said she had been hospitalized in Los Angeles for meningitis and multiple serious blood infections.

Two days before her death, her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, created a GoFundMe page detailing her years of personal struggles, which included addiction and homelessness.

“When we met, I promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved,” Hernandez wrote. “Together, we found moments of happiness and hope.”

“All she ever wanted was a place where we could live together, feel safe, and be happy,” he continued. “Now, more than ever, I want to give her that sense of home and peace in her final days.”

Speaking to The New York Times, Chase’s father, John David Schwallier, said she struggled with substance abuse from the age of 13 and had become estranged from both of her divorced parents.

Born in 1990 in Las Vegas but raised in Albany, Oregon, Chase began her career as a child actor appearing in commercials and theater productions.

In the early 2000s, she landed television roles on a number of hit series, including “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Charmed,” “ER,” “The Practice,” “Oliver Beene,” and others.

Her credits also feature a role as Samantha Darko in the 2001 cult film “Donnie Darko,” and voicing the character of Chihiro in the English-language version of “Spirited Away.”

Chase’s breakout performances however, came in 2002, when she voiced Lilo in Disney’s animated hit “Lilo & Stitch” and portrayed Samara Morgan, the haunting child at the center of the blockbuster horror film “The Ring.”

The following year, Chase won the accolades for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production at the Annie Awards and for Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards.