Lisa Marie Presley has revealed that she kept son Benjamin Keough’s body on dry ice in her home for two months in the wake of his death.
The star, daughter of music icon Elvis, was left devastated after her son – who she shared with ex-husband Danny Keough – died by suicide in July, 2020, at the age of 27,
She opened up about her heartbreaking loss in the pages of her posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown – which was completed by her daughter, Riley Keough.
In the book, the late singer – who died last January at the age of 54 – explained that she ‘kept’ his body preserved in her home as she came to terms with his death, and made plans to bury him.
‘My house has a separate casitas bedroom and I kept Ben Ben in there for two months. There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately,’ she wrote, via PageSix. ‘I found a very empathetic funeral home owner … She said, “We’ll bring Ben Ben to you.”’
People Magazine reports that the temperature of the room remained at 55 degrees to preserve the body, which was kept on dry ice, while she struggled to decide where he should be buried, between Hawaii and Graceland.
‘That was part of why it took so long,’ she reportedly penned. ‘I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there. I think it would scare the living f**king p**s out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me.
‘I felt so fortunate that there was a way that I could still parent him, delay it a bit longer so that I could become okay with laying him to rest.’
Lisa Marie and Riley also got tattoos in Benjamin’s honor, similar to inkings he had of their names on his hand and collarbone respectively – and the grieving mom invited an artist to see his body at their home, in order to get the designs just right.
‘I’ve had an extremely absurd life, but this moment is in the top five,’ her daughter quipped, before detailing the moment they all realized it was time to say a final goodbye.
Riley continued: ‘We all got this vibe from my brother that he didn’t want his body in this house anymore. “Guys,” he seemed to be saying, “This is getting weird.” Even my mom said that she could feel him talking to her, saying, “This is insane, Mom, what are you doing? What the f**k!”’
They held a funeral for Benjamin in Malibu before he was eventually laid to rest in Graceland.
From Here to the Great Unknown was released today and co-written by both Lisa Marie and Riley, after the musician asked her daughter to help her complete it.
The late star died at the beginning of last year after going into cardiac arrest as a result of complications caused by bariatric surgery she had undergone beforehand.
Her mother, Priscilla Presley, previously opened up about their last interaction in an emotional interview, sharing that they last caught up at the 2023 Golden Globes on January 11, the night before she died.
Appearing on Uncensored, she told host Piers Morgan: ‘She didn’t look well that night, and I was concerned. She looked very frail.’
She recalled Lisa Marie leaving early because she said her ‘stomach really hurts’.
‘Then I hugged her, and she went her way, and I went mine,’ she added. ‘And that hug was the last hug I gave her.’