Earlier this month, actress Daveigh Chase — who was best known for voicing the character Lilo in Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stich’ as well as starring in horror movie ‘The Ring’ — passed away at the young age of just 35.
Now, her cause of death has just been revealed.
According to the coroner’s report, Daveigh Chase died of AIDS, with substance abuse being listed as a secondary cause.
Here are the details:
Daveigh Chase, who voiced Lilo in "Lilo & Stitch" and starred in "The Ring," died of AIDS, according to the LA coroner's office.
A secondary cause was listed as “chronic polysubstance use.” Chase’s father told the New York Times that she had been homeless and had struggled with… pic.twitter.com/KnNBbPvngD
— Variety (@Variety) June 29, 2026
NBC News shared more details on the medical examiner’s report:
The actor, whose real name was Daveigh Schwallier, was 35 when she passed away on June 16.
While the case status was still listed as ”open,” the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner revealed the cause of death as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
The report by investigator Trini Godoy and Deputy M.E. Dr. Martina Kennedy also found that “chronic polysubstance use” was a contributing factor.
The findings did not include details of what drugs might have been used by Chase in adding to her demise.
At the time of her death, the actor’s father John Schwallier told NBC News that she died of complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection.
Previously, we learned that Daveigh Chase lived out her last few years homeless on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, where suffered from drug addiction and extreme malnutrition.
Per People:
After a successful career as a child, Chase stepped away from the spotlight, walking her last carpet in 2013. The actress’ final years were difficult as she struggled with a serious drug addiction and was living on Los Angeles’ Skid Row.
ADVERTISEMENT“It’s such a tragedy,” her friend Shawn Rosenthal, who says he was “close” to Chase from 2018 to 2023, tells PEOPLE.
“She was an incredible singer, and we would play music together that, unfortunately, we never had a chance to record. I wound up getting clean in 2023, which is why I haven’t seen her since then,” he adds. “Some of her sober friends and I were trying to find her and get her help, but to no avail. She was surrounding herself with the worst of the worst people. It’s such a tragedy because no one cared for her best interests at all.”
He says, “I pray she’s just finally at peace.”
Harrowing photos from her final days are circulating on social media:
Daveigh Chase reportedly struggled with severe malnutrition while living on Los Angeles' Skid Row before her death pic.twitter.com/CPwAgb7ujk
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) June 18, 2026
35-year-old actress Daveigh Chase from Ring and Lilo & Stitch died a few days ago, and the story is much darker and sadder.
Apparently she had lived the last few years homeless, drug addiction, in an RV on skid row in Los Angeles with her boyfriend.
Absolutely heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/s8arZo17Zx
— Hollywood Horror Museum (@horrormuseum) June 20, 2026
What a sad ending to yet another child star’s tragic life.
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