TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to alcohol and drug addiction.Some lives that once lit up movie screens end far from the spotlight, in ways that feel almost impossible to reconcile with the roles that made them famous. Daveigh Chase was one of those people. The actress who once terrified audiences as the girl climbing out of a television and voiced one of Disney’s most beloved characters passed away this past June at 35. This week the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office released the official autopsy report, filling in the difficult details of her final two weeks.
Daveigh Chase was found in a vehicle and rushed to the hospital
According to Entertainment Weekly, Chase was discovered on June 4 in the back seat of a vehicle. When she was found, Chase indicated to people that she felt weak and confused and was in pain in her right thumb and her head. A meth pipe was nearby at the time. Paramedics arrived and took her to Los Angeles General Medical Centre. Doctors admitted her with what the report described as “advanced HIV/AIDS with wasting, cryptococcus without meningitis, MRSA and right thumb infection.”Wasting is the severe, involuntary loss of body weight, almost a loss of more than 10% of body weight, including loss of muscle mass and fat, in a person who is not trying to lose weight, often seen in chronic diseases like AIDS, according to the National Cancer Institute. Cryptococcus is a fungal infection that can take hold when the immune system is already compromised, including patients with HIV/AIDS, according to Cleveland Clinic. MRSA is a tough, antibiotic-resistant staph infection that appears as bumps on the skin, according to Mayo Clinic. Together they painted a picture of a body under enormous strain.
What the tests and records showed about Daveigh Chase
The screening found methamphetamine and fentanyl in her system, as the report stated. It also noted that she “has a history of advanced and untreated HIV/AIDS and drug use.” Over the next twelve days, her condition continued to worsen. On June 16, she passed away. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as AIDS, with chronic polysubstance abuse listed as an additional significant condition.These details match what people close to her had shared earlier. Her former manager, John Ryan Jr., previously told Entertainment Weekly that she had gone missing in 2015 after spending time in rehab in the mid-2010s. Her mother, Cathy, spoke about how a 2016 motorcycle accident that injured Chase’s back led to prescribed painkillers and a deeper struggle with addiction.
The quiet decline of Daveigh Chase that no one could reverse
Even after she was in the hospital, the combination of untreated advanced HIV/AIDS, multiple infections, and ongoing substance use proved too much. The report simply states that her “health declined” until the end.It is a hard set of facts to sit with, especially for anyone who remembers the bright-eyed child actress who once seemed full of possibility. The report does not offer answers about how she reached that point.
Daveigh Chase’s career began quietly early
Daveigh Chase first appeared on screen as a child and quickly became a familiar face and voice. In 2002, she played the eerie Samara Morgan in Gore Verbinski’s remake of ‘The Ring’, the girl who crawls out of the television and leaves audiences unsettled for days. That same year she gave voice to Lilo in Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’, capturing the lonely, imaginative Hawaiian girl who finds family in an unlikely place. She also voiced Chihiro in the English-language version of Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘Spirited Away’.She appeared in ‘Donnie Darko’, had a recurring role on the series ‘Big Love’, and continued working into her twenties. Her final film credits came in 2016 with ‘American Romance’ and ‘Jack Goes Home’. After that, she largely stepped away from acting. Friends and family later described years of struggle with addiction, periods of homelessness, and long stretches when she was hard to reach.DISCLAIMER: If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol or substance abuse, please seek help from available helplines or support organizations.
