Daveigh Chase Left $400,000 Estate After Death at 35 Despite Homelessness

Daveigh Chase’s $400,000 Estate Discovered After Death at 35

Probate Filings and Estate Details

Cathy Chase Initiates Probate Proceedings in Los Angeles County Superior Court

Following the death of Daveigh Chase, whose legal name was Daveigh Elizabeth Schwallier, her mother, Cathy Chase, initiated probate proceedings in Los Angeles County Superior Court. On July 8, filings submitted by her mother requested that the court appoint her as the administrator of the estate. According to documents obtained by NBC News, the court filings confirm that Chase died without a will.

The estate is estimated to be worth $400,000 in personal property. To manage the probate process, Cathy Chase has requested that the court approve a $400,000 bond. A hearing to address the administration of these assets is scheduled for Aug. 12. The filings also identify the late actor’s father, John David Schwallier, as a potential estate descendant. The documents note that he keeps properties in Las Vegas and that he currently resides in the Philippines with an unknown address. Court filings further confirm that Chase was unmarried and had no children at the time of her death.

Medical Examiner Findings and Cause of Death

Los Angeles Medical Examiner Reports AIDS as Primary Cause of Death

While initial reports from her father and her boyfriend suggested the actor died from complications related to bacterial meningitis and a blood infection, the official medical examiner’s report provided a different conclusion. According to the Los Angeles medical examiner’s report, the primary cause of death was acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by HIV. The report also listed chronic polysubstance use—defined as using more than one drug or substance at the same time or within a short period—as a significant condition that served as a contributing factor in her passing.

For more on this story, see Daveigh Chase Cause of Death Ruled Natural Following AIDS Diagnosis.

At the time of her death, Chase was living in Los Angeles. Reports indicate she had been experiencing homelessness in her final years, with sources stating she apparently spent her final years living in an RV on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Her father told reporters that she had been living on the streets before her death, not far from the medical facility where she spent her final moments. Her last known address appeared to be a home in Chatsworth.

Career Highlights and Final Credits

Daveigh Chase Voices Chihiro in Spirited Away and Samara Morgan in The Ring

Chase started her acting career in the late 1990s, securing guest roles on popular television series, including Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, and ER. She gained widespread recognition in 2001 for her role as Samantha, the younger sister of Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, in the cult classic Donnie Darko. She later reprised the role eight years later for the sequel, “S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale.”

Her work in animation and horror defined her profile in the early 2000s. In 2001, she lent her voice to the American dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, voicing the protagonist Chihiro. The film went on to win the animated feature prize at the 2003 Academy Awards. In 2002, she demonstrated versatility by appearing as the ghost girl Samara Morgan in The Ring while simultaneously providing the voice for Lilo & Stitch.

Throughout the 2000s, her television work included appearing in more than 20 episodes of the Fox sitcom Oliver Beene and over 30 episodes of HBO’s Emmy-nominated Mormon family drama Big Love, where she portrayed the cunning teenager Rhonda Volmer. Following her time on the hit series, her career slowed and she appeared in lower-profile projects. Her final professional credit was a voice-acting role in the 2016 video game Let It Die.

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