Daveigh Chase, Voice of Lilo in LILO & STICH, Cause of Death Revealed

Published: July 2, 2026

By Michaela Gordoni

The beloved former child actor Daveigh Chase died of AIDS and drug abuse on June 16 at the age of 35.

Her father, John David Schwallier, said Chase struggled with drugs since the age of 13 and had recently been homeless. He had not spoken to her in many years, Variety reported. She had been hospitalized for malnutrition earlier this month, USA Today reported.

Chase’s boyfriend Roy Hernandez told TMZ that she had contracted meningitis and sepsis.

Before she died, Hernandez wrote in a GoFundMe post, “After a difficult childhood and a painful falling out with her family, Daveigh was bullied and struggled to find safety and happiness in downtown LA. When we met, I promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved. Together, we found moments of happiness and hope.”

Chase played Lilo in the LILO & STITCH franchise and also played serious roles in THE RING, BIG LOVE, AMERICAN ROMANCE, JACK GOES HOME and DONNIE DARKO.

After she stopped acting in 2016, Chase was charged for riding in a stolen car and being in possession of drugs.

This is another tale of a child star gone sour. She’s an example of what happens when children are exploited instead of protected.

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Her mother, Cathy Chase, who had not seen her daughter since 2019, said, “It upsets me because people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother, but I never gave up on her. As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home.”

Cathy claims her issues began after she got in a motorcycle accident in 2016 and was prescribed painkillers.

“She was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people,” Cathy said. “I never kicked my daughter out. She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs. That was the beginning.”

However, that may have not been her first introduction to drugs, as she would have been around 26 at the time of the accident. Her father said exposure started around age 13.

Cathy says she “tried desperately to try to get [Daveigh] help, but you can’t legally force someone who doesn’t want that help.”

“She was completely gone, like, out of her mind,” she added. “The drugs took hold of her.”

Her friend, Shawn Rosenthal, said he was close to Chase from 2018 to 2023.

“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 said.

“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 said.

The last time he saw her, he didn’t recognize her.

There’s a lot we don’t know about Chase’s life. But we do know as a child actress in several horror movies, plus playing a child bride in a drama series, her parents chose not to protect her from things they should have. From a young age, she was exposed to mature themes, language and drugs, apparently.

Could her life have had a better outcome if she had been better protected? Almost certainly so.

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