Lisa Marie Presley’s son Benjamin Keough was 'depressed' and struggled to live in his grandad Elvis’s 'shadow'
Family sources have revealed how Lisa Marie Presley's son Benjamin Keough was "lost in life" and "struggled" to live in his legendary grandfather's "shadow" before ending his life. In the early hours of Sunday, the 27-yea-old musician was found by his girlfriend at the family's home in Calabasas, California with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sources said Lisa, Ben, and her twins Harper and Finley, 11, were living in a hotel after having recently moved out of their $1.8million home due to a mold problem, according to a report.
At some point, Ben went back to the property on his own accord. "There was mold in part of the house and the entire family moved into a hotel, but Ben went back and stayed at the house over the weekend," one stunned family insider told The Sun. "He shouldn't have been there, but it seems he wanted to get away. Lisa was at the hotel when she got the call, she's distraught obviously, Ben was her life."
"He was depressed, he didn't really have an education, a job, or a passion, he was lost in life, and he has always been in his grandfather's shadow," the source continued. "There has also been a lot of drama in the family in recent years, I think it was all just too much for him. It's unbelievable. It's heartbreaking. Ben was a force, an amazing kid. As far as people knew he wasn't into drugs, and didn't drink that much, but he was dealing with mental health issues. His girlfriend found him. It must have been shocking for her."
Although an autopsy report is pending, the source said they did not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor in Ben's demise. Meanwhile, the L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office has ruled the cause and manner of death as suicide by shotgun.
Speaking to The Sun, another insider had a different version of events. They said there were other friends, including Lisa's assistant, present at the house, when Ben went to his bedroom and did not return for a number of hours. He was subsequently found dead by girlfriend Diana Pinto, a post-production coordinator at Fox who had been with Ben for two years. "We believe he was alone when he killed himself. It appears he talked himself into this," a source revealed. "He'd never tried to do anything like this before, I think he was struggling with his identity."
The second source said they knew Ben was "very emotional" but didn't realize he was having suicidal thoughts and needed help. "He wore his heart on his sleeve, but this was the last thing I was expecting when I answered the phone," the insider recalled. "There were people there at the house, but he went to his room alone, locked the door and that was it."
"He wasn't really allowed to be himself, he had big shoes to fill, and he looked just like the shadow he was in [of Elvis]," they continued. "Ben had the biggest heart, if someone complimented a piece of jewelry he wore, he'd take it off and give them it. He was the kindest, sweetest soul, and he loved everybody, he had no enemies."
The insider was also asked how Lisa has been coping with her son's tragic death. "She's not really speaking to anyone at the moment, she's not well, but she has spoken to his girlfriend, she wasn't to blame," the source said, adding that Lisa's relationship with her mother Priscilla was "rocky" but they were hoping the shared grief would bring them back together.