Lisa Marie Presley kept her dead son's body for two months for a heartbreaking reason: "He was the..."
From a complicated love life to struggles with addiction, Lisa Marie Presley certainly had an eventful life. The beloved daughter of Elvis Presley passed away on January 12, 2023, due to complications from bariatric surgery she had several years ago, as per NPR. However, the tragic passing of her beloved son, Benjamin Keough, was one of the biggest blows for Presley. As per reports, the singer was so shattered with Benjamin's demise that she held onto his body for weeks after his death, and the reason is truly heartbreaking.
The 27-year-old son of Presley and grandson of Elvis Presley was found dead on 12 July 2020 in Calabasas, California, as per BBC. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Benjamin's cause of death as a self-inflicted shotgun wound. At the time, Presley’s manager, Roger Widynowski, shared her grief, stating she was "heartbroken, inconsolable, and beyond devastated." He added, "She adored that boy. He was the love of her life," while noting she was "trying to stay strong" for her three daughters.
Following Presley's demise, her memoir, 'From Here to the Great Unknown,' was completed by her daughter Riley Keough. In this memoir, Riley revealed that her mother kept Benjamin's body at home for two months before burying him as she struggled to cope with the grief, as reported by Indy100. "My mom had my brother in the house with us instead of keeping him at the morgue," Riley wrote, explaining her mother's deep sorrow after his passing. "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," Riley wrote. She continued, "It was really important for my mom to have ample time to say goodbye to him, the same way she'd done with her dad. And I would go and sit in there with him."
Presley herself explained her decision in the book, writing, "My house has a separate casita bedroom, and I kept Ben in there for two months. There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately." She added, "I found a very empathetic funeral home owner. I told her that having my dad in the house after he died was incredibly helpful because I could go and spend time with him and talk to him." Presley further admitted, "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 memoir also detailed how the room where Benjamin's body was kept was maintained at 55°F (around 12.7°C), and Presley noted that she "got used to caring for him and keeping him there."
Soon after the shocking revelation, critics hit back at Presley for keeping Benjamin's body; however, Riley defended her late mother. "The truth is that it was COVID, and the plans to bury him were really unclear," Riley told People magazine. "We needed to get to Graceland, and it was really hard because it was COVID, and we didn't know who was going to come, so there was a lot of planning that needed to happen."
In Presley's memoir, she further revealed uncertainty over whether to bury Benjamin in Graceland or Hawaii, which prolonged the situation. "She didn't want his body to be somewhere where people could mess with it," Riley explained. "We come from a family that's pretty high profile, so I think she ultimately just felt like she wanted to be in control of the situation." Riley added, "If my mom were here, she'd be like, 'Yeah, whatever. I don't care. If people think that's crazy, they can go f*****g themselves.'"