Grieving Lisa Marie Presley kept son’s body at home for two months after his death
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Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir, which was released after her passing, seemingly exposes the depth of her sorrow regarding the loss of her son, Benjamin Keough.
The late musician, the sole offspring of Elvis Presley, the renowned singer, and Priscilla Presley, an actress and singer, passed away in January of last year at the age of 54.
Following her passing, her daughter, actress and musician Riley Keough, finished writing the book called From Here to the Great Unknown.
In one part of the book, it's mentioned that Presley revealed her deep sorrow over Benjamin's passing. She was so devastated that she kept his body at her house for two months while trying to figure out where to lay him to rest.
Benjamin, Riley's younger brother, was the son of Presley and her first husband, musician Danny Keough, before they separated in 1994. Tragically, he died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27.
According to Page Six, she shared that she had to push herself to "battle" to stay alive for the sake of her living children, Riley, who is 35, and her 16-year-old twin daughters, Harper and Finley Lockwood.
"According to Presley, California law does not require that a person be buried right away. She shared that she had her son resting in the bedroom of a small separate building on her property."
"I came across a funeral home owner who was really understanding and caring. She reassured me by saying, 'We will take Ben Ben to you.'"
Riley and her mom chose to pay tribute to Benjamin by getting matching tattoos like his. He had his sister's name tattooed on his collarbone and their mother's name on his hand. They contacted a tattoo artist to examine Benjamin's tattoos so they could replicate the same style and layout.
In her memoir, Riley allegedly shares that Lisa Marie Presley had just requested this unfortunate man to view her deceased son, whose body was situated nearby in the casitas.
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“I’ve experienced some truly unbelievable things in my life, but this moment ranks among the top five.”
Shortly after they got their tattoos, Riley remembered that everyone started to feel that Benjamin wished to be laid to rest.
"My mom even mentioned that she could sense him speaking to her, expressing disbelief with words like, 'This is crazy, mom, what are you thinking? What the heck!'" she wrote.
Benamin's funeral took place in Malibu, featuring a ceremony conducted by Indian-American writer Deepak Chopra. He was laid to rest at Graceland beside his grandfather, and later, Lisa Marie was also buried next to him.
In a conversation with People, Riley mentioned that her mother passed away from a "broken heart" following Benjamin's death. Although she died of natural causes, a medical examiner found that a small bowel obstruction led to her cardiac arrest.
"My mom did everything she could to be strong for my younger sisters and me after Ben's passing, but we could see the heartache she was enduring," Riley shared. "While her body succumbed to the complications from her surgery, we all understood that her spirit faded due to the grief she felt."
From Here to the Great Unknown has just been released.
If you have experienced any of the problems discussed in this article, you can reach out to these organizations for help: mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk, and samaritans.org.
