Daveigh Chase's father speaks out for the first time as actor's tragic death confirmed as AIDs

Daveigh Chase’s father says he's not surprised to hear that his daughter died of immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The Lilo & Stitch voice actor, also known for playing the little girl in The Ring, passed away at the age of 35 on 16 June.

According to a Los Angeles medical examiner report, her cause of death was AIDS with other significant conditions including chronic polysubstance use, defined by Cleveland Clinic as ‘using more than one substance and following a pattern of use that affects your health and quality of life’.

Footage obtained by The California Post showed Chase looking extremely ill and unable to move while inside a tent.

Daveigh Chase’s father says he wasn't surprised to hear how his his daughter died (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

She was said to be living in Skid Row, home to thousands of homeless people in LA.

Following her death, Chase's father John Schwallier told The Post that her cause of death ‘is what it is’ and is ‘something you sometimes have to expect with the lifestyle she was living’.

“I had an empty feeling inside for not being with her for all these years,” he said, adding that her remains were sent to her mother Cathy.

Daveigh Chase's breakout role was voicing Lilo in 2002's Lilo & Stitch (Kevin Winter/ImageDirect)

“I actually thought it was fake news, that first time I saw it, and then, but then all of a sudden, it's all of these different legitimate sites had her name and I realized that it wasn't fake,” Cathy admitted to the Daily Mail.

Cathy would search up her daughter, who she last saw in 2019, every evening for her whereabouts.

"I would just put her name in the coroner's [search system] and see if her name came up and if somebody had her somewhere," she said.

Daveigh Chase with her mother Cathy in 2004 (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

"I would look at their list of unidentified bodies. It was very difficult, but you do everything you can as a mother."

Daveigh injured her back after a motorcycle accident around 2016, and Cathy said she would take painkillers, such as oxycodone, which she thinks marked the beginning of her addiction.

“She 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 added.

Cathy said she never abandoned her daughter and continually tried to help her. But after being in and out of jail from 2018, the last time she saw her was during a visit.

“She was completely gone, like, out of her mind. I honestly thought there was something wrong with her.”