Daveigh Chase's father, John Schwallier, spoke about the profound impact of his daughter's death from AIDS and polysubstance use disorder, marking what would have been her 36th birthday. Schwallier told the Daily Mail that he thinks about his late daughter constantly and expressed a desire for her death to raise awareness about the disease.
"Every day I am thinking about her constantly," Schwallier said, noting that Chase would have turned 36 on Friday, July 24. He recounted the difficulty of obtaining photos of his daughter, claiming his ex-wife, Cathy Chase, prevented him from having access to them during her life. "The sad part is the only pictures I have of [Daveigh] is what I’ve printed on the internet, since her mother kept me away from her," he stated.
Schwallier also expressed his ongoing grief over not yet receiving any of Chase's remains following her cremation. "She was taken from this life way too early," he somberly added. "I just want to wish her a happy birthday today and [tell her] that she is on my mind every day."
While grieving, Schwallier found a small measure of solace in the hope that the circumstances of Chase's death could contribute to greater awareness of HIV/AIDS. He noted a recent rise in HIV infections and AIDS deaths in several countries, including multiple African nations and parts of South America and Europe, despite global decreases from earlier peaks.
Schwallier shared details of his daughter's final days, recalling a phone call he received on June 16 from a man claiming to be Chase's boyfriend, Roy Hernandez. He spoke to his daughter via speakerphone, telling her he loved her and had a place for her if she recovered. Schwallier traveled to the Los Angeles hospital but arrived after Chase had died.
He described seeing his daughter's body at the hospital, noting her emaciated state and difficulty recognizing her. "I didn’t think it was my daughter," he said. "She must’ve weighed 65 pounds and looked even worse than that video going around. I touched her thigh above her knee, and it was just bone."
Schwallier also spoke of a strained relationship with his ex-wife, Cathy Chase, and his intention to fight for a portion of their daughter's remains in Probate Court, emphasizing it was not about money but about his connection to his daughter. He claimed he had been searching for his daughter for 13 years and that she had been emancipated from her mother at 16.
Daveigh Chase, best known for her role as Samara in "The Ring," had a promising early career, voicing Lilo in Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" and appearing in "Donnie Darko" and HBO's "Big Love." Her career began to decline after a motorcycle accident around 2016 led to a back injury and a prescription for painkillers, which Schwallier believes contributed to her addiction. Chase had reportedly been living on the streets with Hernandez prior to her death.
Cathy Chase also shared her devastation, describing her frantic search for her daughter and shock upon learning of her death. She recounted visiting the hospital to identify her daughter's body and praying over her. Cathy Chase stated that her daughter's struggles began after the motorcycle accident and subsequent prescription for painkillers, leading to drug use and a party lifestyle. Daveigh Chase had been in and out of jail on drug and other charges from 2018, and Cathy Chase expressed her pain and guilt over not being able to legally force her daughter to accept help.