Daveigh Chase's father breaks silence after actress's AIDS cause of death confirmed

Daveigh Chase – who voiced Lilo in “Lilo & Stitch” and Samara in “The Ring” – died at 35 of AIDS, as determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s report made public on June 29, 2026.

The actress’s estranged father, John David Schwallier, has broken his silence for the first time following the news.

The Official Cause: AIDS and polysubstance use

The coroner attributed Chase’s cause of death to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), noting chronic polysubstance use – long-term, multi-drug abuse – as a major contributing condition. Her manner of death was deemed natural. The star died on June 16, 2026, at an L.A. Hospital, shortly after initial reports of meningitis and sepsis from her boyfriend.

Father’s Remarks: ‘It Is What It Is’

John Schwallier said he “wasn’t really shocked” that AIDS was the cause. “It is what it is, and that is something you kind of expect as well for the lifestyle that was lived,” Schwallier told the California Post.

“I have never met a child who does not want love from her dad,” the father lamented to The New York Times, adding that he last saw Chase in person when she was a toddler and had only heard her voice since age 19.

“She has lived through some stuff that is very difficult for many, and especially from her childhood.” Schwallier said he regrets the estrangement. “There’s a very empty space that you can have as a father or mother or a friend.” The body of his daughter has gone to her mother.

Years After Hollywood Success

Chase’s death in June 2026 followed months of a downward spiral: She had been living homeless and in an RV near Los Angeles’ Skid Row, before being admitted to the hospital on June 4. Reports indicated that by this time she was extremely emaciated and seriously ill.

Her career had ended around 2016 after she encountered legal trouble with drugs, and has not worked on a movie since that year’s “Jack Comes Home.”

“The family and close friends experienced some years of pain and struggle and difficult times when she went through hardship,” read a GoFundMe page from Chase’s boyfriend. “The bullying and difficulties continued, making her want to feel safe and find peace.” Among her best-known work were her voice role as Lilo in 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” Chihiro in the Studio Ghibli anime “Spirited Away” (2001) and playing the terrifying Samara Morgan in “The Ring” (2002).