Lisa Marie Presley kept her deceased son’s body at home for two months as she dealt with the profound sorrow following his unexpected death, as detailed in a newly released memoir.
This startling detail comes from “From Here to the Great Unknown,” a book that Riley Keough, Presley’s daughter and an actress, completed after her mother’s passing in January of last year.
At the age of 54, Presley was the only daughter of legendary musician Elvis Presley. His grandson, Benjamin Keough, took his own life in 2020, a loss that deeply affected his mother.
Riley Keough shared in the memoir, “My mom had my brother in the house with us instead of keeping him at the morgue. They told us that if we could tend to the body, we could have him at home, so she kept him in our house for a while on dry ice.” She emphasized the importance of having time to say goodbye, similar to the experience Presley had with her own father.
Presley explained that there are no laws in California dictating when a body must be buried or disposed of. She revealed, “My house has a separate casitas bedroom, and I kept Ben Ben in there for two months.” After discussing the experience with a compassionate funeral home director, they agreed to allow the body to remain at home.
In her memoir, Presley noted, “I think it would scare the living f—ing piss out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me.” The space that housed Benjamin’s body was maintained at a chilly 55 degrees, and her mother grew accustomed to caring for him there.
Presley and her daughter even got matching tattoos in honor of Benjamin, arranged by an artist who visited their home. In a surreal moment, Riley Keough recounted that Presley showed the tattoo artist the body of her deceased son while discussing the tattoos, calling it one of the most absurd moments of her life.
Eventually, Riley noted that they all sensed Benjamin’s presence indicating he desired to be taken to a final resting place beyond the home. She described it as a collective realization, stating, “‘Guys,’ he seemed to be saying, ‘this is getting weird.’” Even Lisa Marie reported feeling her son’s spirit communicating to her about the situation.
Both Benjamin Keough and Lisa Marie Presley are now laid to rest at Graceland.