The tragic death of former child star Daveigh Chase continues to leave fans stunned, and now her mother is opening up about the painful reality she says she had been living with for years.
According to an interview published late on Friday, Cathy Chase revealed that when she first learned reports of her daughter’s death had surfaced days ago, she struggled to believe what she was seeing… at first.
The actress, known for voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and for her memorable role as Samara in The Ring, died earlier this week at the age of 35. Family members have since revealed that she apparently died from meningitis after years of personal struggles that reportedly included drug addiction and homelessness.
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Speaking to DailyMail.com about the moment she realized those initial death reports were real, Cathy said:
“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.”
The heartbreaking revelation did not end there. Cathy told the DM that she had spent years fearing she might eventually receive that devastating news about her daughter.
She explained that after losing contact with Daveigh a while back, she developed a painful routine of searching for information about 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. I would look at their list of unidentified bodies. It was very difficult, but you do everything you can as a mother.”
By Cathy’s account, Daveigh’s struggles intensified after a motorcycle accident around 2016. Cathy believes the pain medication prescribed following the injury may have contributed to the addiction issues that followed:
“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.”
Cathy also pushed back against criticism she says she has faced in the wake of her daughter’s death. She insisted she never stopped trying to help and never abandoned her child, even as circumstances became increasingly difficult.
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Recalling the last time she saw Daveigh in 2019 after one of her releases from jail, Cathy said:
“She was completely gone, like, out of her mind. I honestly thought there was something wrong with her.”
She continued:
“My daughter was never diagnosed with mental health other than PTSD. But the drugs took hold of her. It upsets me because people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother, but I never gave up on her. As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home.”
The emotional interview comes after footage showed Chase appearing severely unwell while living in a tent on Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Cathy described that video as deeply upsetting to watch:
“In the video, she was in a really bad shape. She was very frail. She was fragile. She was saying no, and trying to push the camera away, and they were shoving it in her face. It was gross. She was obviously drugged out of her mind. She was nothing but skin and bones and I didn’t want to think that was my daughter.”
So, so sad…
This entire situation is heartbreaking from every angle. We don’t even really know what else to say.
Our thoughts remain with everyone who loved Daveigh.
If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org.
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
