The tragic death of the 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 Friday, Cathy Chase revealed that when she first heard reports of her daughter’s death had surfaced days ago, she struggled to believe what she was seeing… at first.
The actress, known for her voice 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 of meningitis after years of personal struggles that reportedly included drug addiction and homelessness.
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speaks to DailyMail.com about the moment she realized the first death reports were true, Cathy said:
“I actually thought it was fake news the first time I saw it and then all of a sudden it was all these different legitimate websites that had her name and I realized it wasn’t fake.”
The heartbreaking revelation did not end there. Cathy told DM that she had spent years fearing that she might eventually get it 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 (search system) and see if her name came up and if anyone had her somewhere. I would look on their list of unidentified bodies. It was very difficult, but you do everything you can as a mother.”
According to Cathy’s account, Daveigh’s struggle intensified after a motorcycle accident around 2016. Cathy believes the pain medication prescribed after the injury may have contributed to the addiction problems that followed:
“She was looking for drugs and 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 confronted in the wake of his daughter’s death. She insisted that she never stopped trying to help and never abandoned her child, even as circumstances became increasingly difficult.
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I remember the last time she saw Daveigh in 2019 after one of her releases from prisonCathy said:
“She was completely, 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 got to her. It upsets me because people say I must have 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 gravely ill while living in a tent on Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Cathy described the video as deeply upsetting to watch:
“In the video she was in really bad shape. She was very frail. She was frail. She said no and tried to push the camera away and they shoved it in her face. It was ugly. She was clearly drugged out. She was nothing but skin and bones and I didn’t want to believe that was my daughter.”
So sad…
This whole situation is heartbreaking from every angle. We don’t even really know what else to say.
Our thoughts remain with all who loved Daveigh.
If you or someone you know is experiencing drug addiction, there is help available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA offers https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org.
(Image via MEGA/WHEN)
