The “Lilo & Stitch” and “The Ring” actress’ estranged father reacted after the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner ruled Chase’s cause of death as AIDS.

Daveigh Chase’s father offers heartbreaking reaction to daughter’s cause of death at age 35

The "Lilo & Stitch" and "The Ring" actress' estranged father reacted after the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner ruled Chase's cause of death as AIDS.

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Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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June 30, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

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Daveigh Chase in 2009. Credit:

Noel Vasquez/Getty

- *The Ring *and *Lilo & Stitch* actress Daveigh Chase's father reacted to her cause of death.

- John Schwallier told the* California Post that* his daugther's death "doesn't surprise" him.

- Chase died from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with chronic polysubstance use as a significant condition.

*The Ring* and *Lilo & Stitch* star Daveigh Chase's father has addressed his daughter's June 16 death at age 35, shortly after her cause of death was announced.

On Monday, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner ruled Chase's cause of death as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with chronic polysubstance use noted as a significant condition.

Chase's father, John Schwallier, told the *California Post* on Monday that his daughter's cause of death "doesn't surprise" him, given her estranged family's prior admission that Chase distanced herself from her close-knit circle and had struggled with substance abuse following a 2016 prescription for painkillers. She was also reportedly unhoused at the time of her death, per her father.

Daveigh Chase in 2013.

Donato Sardella/WireImage

Schwallier told the publication that "it is what it is" with regard to Chase's death, and that "it’s something you sometimes have to expect with the lifestyle she was living."

He added that Chase's cremated remains would be transported to her mother, Cathy, and that he hasn't seen Chase since she was around 6 years old. He said he'd spoken to her on the phone throughout her childhood.

“I had an empty feeling inside for not being with her for all these years,” he told the outlet.

Chase's mother previously told *Daily Mail* that Chase "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," she said.

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Chase's boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, previously told TMZ that the former child star died following a bout of meningitis and a blood infection, amid Chase reportedly being hospitalized earlier in the month for malnutrition.

Hernandez eventually established a GoFundMe the day before Chase's death, because he said she'd received a terminal diagnosis from doctors.

"When she started losing weight, she finally agreed to go to the hospital, and that's when we learned how serious her condition was," he wrote on the page's description. "The doctors told me the medicine isn't working, and that she is passing away. Despite everything, Daveigh wants to spend her remaining time with me, comfortable and together, rather than in a hospital."

Daveigh Chase in 2012.

Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Outside of her voice role in *Lilo & Stitch *and her popular turn as the ghostly Samara in *The Ring*, Chase also had roles in *Donnie Darko *and another lead voice role in Hayao Miyazaki's beloved 2001 animated feature *Spirited Away.*

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John Ryan Jr., a producer who managed Chase in the final stage of her career before her last role in 2016, previously told ** that Chase went missing after she missed a meeting with a major Hollywood force.

"Rob Reiner had called us and had a role for her, and she never showed up," he told EW after news broke of Chase's death. "He said, 'I've got a role I want to talk to her about — have her come in!' And then when we followed up the next day with him, like, 'Hey, how did [the meeting] go?' They were like, 'She never showed.' And then we were like, 'Okay, something's up.'"

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