Daveigh Chase’s Family Doesn’t Recognize the Alleged Boyfriend Behind Her GoFundMe, Former Manager Claims

A man none of Daveigh Chase’s friends or family had ever heard of just confirmed her death to TMZ, and now her own former manager is publicly asking who he even is.

Chase, the actress who voiced Lilo in Disney’s Lilo and Stitch and terrified an entire generation as Samara in The Ring, died this week at 35 after a battle with meningitis that spiraled into sepsis. Her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, broke the news himself, but within hours, her longtime manager was telling reporters that the people who actually knew Daveigh had never met him.

And in true internet fashion, a GoFundMe popped up before most fans even processed she was gone. Here’s where it gets messy. Daveigh was hospitalized earlier this month for malnutrition, and doctors reportedly discovered meningitis and a serious blood infection during that stay.

Things moved fast from there, and not in a good way. Within days, her condition turned critical, and on June 16, she passed away in a Los Angeles hospital.

That alone would be heartbreaking enough for fans who grew up with her voice. But this story has another layer, and it involves money, trust, and a guy almost nobody in Daveigh’s circle claims to recognize.

Her Manager Is Not Buying the GoFundMe Story

Roy set up a fundraiser called Help Daveigh Chase Find Comfort and Peace, and in the description, he wrote that he met Daveigh after she had gone through a painful falling-out with her family. He said his goal was to give her a sense of home and peace in her final days. Sweet sentiment, sure, but Daveigh’s former manager was not having it.

Speaking to TMZ, the manager did not hold back. He said that a man claiming to be Daveigh’s boyfriend launched a GoFundMe supposedly on her and her family’s behalf, and that neither her family nor her close friends know who this person is. Then came the detail that really changed the tone of this whole situation.

He revealed that Daveigh actually has a SAG trust account with more than enough money to cover all medical and related expenses. So if there is already a trust fund sitting there, why does the internet need to chip in for a memorial?

Roy did respond, telling the manager that the funds raised would go toward providing Daveigh with a proper memorial. Whether that satisfies the skeptics remains to be seen, since as of now the page has only pulled in a few thousand dollars toward its goal, according to TMZ.

There are Apparently Millions Sitting Untouched

This is the part that makes the whole thing sting a little more. According to her manager, who spoke separately to The California Post, Daveigh had millions of dollars in unclaimed SAG residuals built up over the years.

He said the deal she signed as an eight-year-old, voicing Lilo, gave her a cut of merchandise, theme park money, and other earnings rather than a flat payday, and residual notices kept arriving at his office for years.

The catch is that Daveigh reportedly was not in a position to collect any of it herself. Her manager said she had been struggling with addiction and was, in his words, “too far gone” to claim the money. He also noted that next of kin typically inherit unclaimed residuals after someone passes, which could put her father in line to receive funds tied to a role she booked as a kid.

So picture that for a second. A trust account with real money attached, millions more potentially waiting in residuals, and still a stranger online asking the public to pay for her memorial. That contrast is exactly why people are raising eyebrows.

Who Daveigh Chase Was To Millions Of Fans

Long before any of this, Daveigh was the kind of actress whose voice you knew instantly, even if you never saw her face.

She played Lilo in the original Lilo and Stitch, brought Chihiro to life in the English dub of Spirited Away, and made an entire generation afraid of staticky televisions as Samara Morgan in The Ring. Those three roles alone span horror, animation, and a piece of Studio Ghibli history, which is a wide range for one career.

What Happens Now

TMZ reports that Daveigh’s father is currently in contact with the hospital to claim her body, which suggests the family is taking the lead on the next steps despite the confusion swirling around Roy. There is still no clarity on how the GoFundMe situation will be resolved or whether Roy and the family will end up on the same page about funeral plans.

What this moment really exposes is something that happens far too often when a former child star dies out of the public eye. The internet wants closure and a way to help, but nobody fact-checks who is actually collecting the money until it is already circulating.

Daveigh deserves a memorial built on clarity, not confusion, and hopefully her family and friends get the chance to give her one without a stranger’s fundraiser complicating the picture.