Key points
Daveigh Chase’s mother, Cathy Chase, says that the Ring actress struggled with addiction after being prescribed painkillers in 2016.
Cathy said that her daughter was “partying with the wrong people,” and that she last saw Daveigh in 2019.
“She was completely gone, like, out of her mind,” Cathy said.
Daveigh Chase’s mother is speaking out after the Ring star’s death at 35.
Cathy Chase discussed her relationship with her late daughter in a new interview with Daily Mail, in which she detailed the Lilo & Stitch actress’ struggle with substance abuse.
Cathy believes that Daveigh’s addiction began when she was prescribed oxycodone and other painkillers after injuring her back in a motorcycle accident around 2016. “She was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people,” she said of her daughter’s lifestyle after the accident. “I never kicked my daughter out. She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs. That was the beginning.”
Daveigh’s former manager, John Ryan Jr., previously told Entertainment Weekly that the actress checked into “a couple rehabs,” but indicated that she was struggling more with “drinking than heavy drugs,” and said that she was “sober [for] a while” by the time he lost touch with her in late 2015.
Daveigh Chase in 2011
Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
In her Daily Mail interview, Cathy said that she visited her daughter in jail after several run-ins with law enforcement, and that the last time she saw the actress in person was in October 2019.
“She was completely gone, like, out of her mind,” Cathy told the outlet. “I honestly thought there was something wrong with her. My daughter was never diagnosed with mental health other than PTSD. But the drugs took hold of her.”
Cathy said that Daveigh agreed to a plan to be picked up upon release from jail. “But when I got there, she never waited. She went back to the streets and I couldn’t find her,” the actress’ mother said. “I will live forever feeling I failed her because they told me the wrong time when she was released [from jail] all those years ago.”
She added, “The chaplain at the hospital told me I’m not to blame myself, but I am a mother who loved her daughter so much.”
Cathy hadn’t heard from Daveigh in six years when she saw a video on Reddit that claimed to feature the missing Donnie Darko star. “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 recalled. “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.”
Daveigh Chase in 2012
Credit: Alo Ceballos/FilmMagic
The actress’ mother said that she went to Skid Row in Los Angeles to find Daveigh, but never located her. “It upsets me because people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother, but I never gave up on her,” Cathy said. “As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home.”
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Cathy was horrified when she heard the news that Daveigh had died on Tuesday following complications from meningitis and blood infections. “I was devastated,” she said. “It felt like something inside of me squeezing all of the air out of me, and at the same time, It felt like I was exploding outwardly.”
The actress’ mother said that she didn’t believe the news at first. “I actually thought it was fake news, that first time I saw it … 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 said, noting that she went to the hospital to identify Daveigh’s remains on Thursday and prayed over her body. “It was a beautiful experience, and … I feel very blessed, too, have been able to share that with my daughter.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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