Overview
- The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s report, released in late June, lists acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as the principal cause of death and records chronic use of multiple substances as a contributing condition, classifying the death as natural.
- Chase was hospitalized earlier in June for severe malnutrition and, according to her boyfriend, developed bloodstream infections that progressed to sepsis and multi-organ failure before she died on June 16 at age 35.
- Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, set up an online fundraiser for medical and funeral costs, but the campaign’s legitimacy was questioned by Chase’s former manager who said family and close friends did not know Hernandez and noted that SAG-linked relief funds might have been available.
- Family accounts reported to the press say Chase struggled with substance use and homelessness from her teens and had been estranged from relatives, details that the medical report and coverage say help explain the severity of her final illness.
- Chase rose to fame as a child actor for roles including the voice of Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and Samara in The Ring, and the new findings are likely to prompt scrutiny of how health, addiction and support systems intersect for former child performers.