Daveigh Chase's "devastated" mom has broken her silence after her daughter's shocking death at 35.
Cathy Chase admitted she was in disbelief to learn of her "sunshine" daughter's passing after having no contact with her since 2019.
The former child star, best known for her horrifying portrayal of Samara Morgan in 2002's The Ring, had battled addiction and reportedly lived near Los Angeles' infamous Skid Row.
Her death was announced on Wednesday, June 17, by her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, who revealed Daveigh died following a battle with meningitis and "several serious blood infections" that led to sepsis.
"I was devastated. 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," Cathy told the Daily Mail.
"I let out this guttural scream and I just was running," she recalled. "And these weird sounds were coming out of me, these kind of, like, primeval sounds.
"And I went out into the backyard, and I was screaming, 'No, no, no, no!' I am in so much pain, but I hope her soul heard me," she added.
© Getty ImagesDespite their estrangement, Cathy said she searched online forums every night, hoping for clues to where her daughter might be, while also checking the LA County Medical Examiner's system for Daveigh's name.
"I would look at their list of unidentified bodies," Cathy confessed. "It was very difficult, but you do everything you can as a mother."
Despite her nightly searches, Cathy wasn't prepared when she saw news of Daveigh's death.
© WireImage"I actually thought it was fake news, that first time I saw it, and then, 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 recalled.
Cathy identified Daveigh's remains on Thursday morning at a Los Angeles hospital, where she and a chaplain prayed over her daughter's body.
"We were able to lay hands and pray. Technically, we were touching the glass, but it's as close as we could get, so we were able to lay hands and pray for her," she said.
© Dreamworks"It was a beautiful experience, and, and I feel very blessed, too, have been able to share that with my daughter," she added.
Cathy also revealed that Daveigh's path to addiction began in 2016 after she injured her back in a motorcycle accident and was prescribed strong painkillers, including oxycodone.
After that, Cathy said the Lilo & Stitch actress "was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people," and despite the reports, she "never kicked my daughter out."
© WireImage"She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs. That was the beginning," she explained.
Cathy's last encounter with Daveigh was in October 2019, when she visited her in jail while she faced two counts of alleged burglary, and she wasn't prepared for the change in her daughter.
"She was completely gone, like, out of her mind. I honestly thought there was something wrong with her," she said. "My daughter was never diagnosed with mental health other than PTSD. But the drugs took hold of her."
© FilmMagicCathy said Daveigh had agreed to come home, but when she went to pick her up from jail, she "never waited. She went back to the streets and I couldn't find her," she said.
Cathy admitted it "upsets" her that "people are saying I must've been a bad mother, but I never gave up on her." She added: "As a mother, you don't give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home."
