Medical examiner says former child actor Daveigh Chase died of AIDS

Actor Daveigh Chase poses at the Season 5 premiere of HBO series "Big Love," in Los Angeles on Jan. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

LOS ANGELES — Former child actor Daveigh Chase’s death on June 16 was due to AIDS, the office of the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner reported.

The cause of death for Chase, 35, was acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, according to online medical examiner records from this week that listed her last name as Schwallier. “Chronic polysubstance abuse” was listed under “other significant conditions.”

Chase was known for voicing the lead role of Lilo in Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” and her performance in the 2002 horror film “The Ring.”

After her death in a Los Angeles hospital, her father John David Schwallier, confirmed to The New York Times that she died from complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection. She was homeless in Los Angeles with her boyfriend, he said.

Chase struggled with drugs since she was 13 years old, Schwallier told the Times. He said his daughter was estranged from her parents, who are divorced.

In a text message to The Associated Press on Tuesday about AIDS being the cause of death, her father said, “I know with her lifestyle that was probably the conclusion so I’m not surprised.”

Calling her death tragic, he added, “It would’ve been nice for all of you to find her and try and help her that would’ve been a nicer story than this.”

Chase auditioned for Lilo at age 8. For her role as the long-haired Samara in “The Ring,” she won an MTV Movie Award for best villain.

Chase also voiced another lead in the 2001 animated film “Spirited Away.” She had roles in the 2001 movie “Donnie Darko” and the 2003 show “Oliver Beene,” according to her profile page on the internet movie database IMDb.com.

She was born in Las Vegas and raised in the small town of Albany, Oregon. She began singing and dancing at age 3, according to IMDb.