Why Lisa Marie Presley kept son's dead body on dry ice for two months at home
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.
Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Priscilla and Elvis Presley, held on to the body of her dead son for two months at home, she wrote in her upcoming posthumous memoir.
In From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa said that when Benjamin Keough, or Ben Ben as he was fondly called, died by suicide in 2020 at 27 years old, she decided to keep his body on dry ice for two months in a separate casitas bedroom in their home in Los Angeles.
"There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately," she said, as quoted by PEOPLE Magazine.
Riley, Benjamin's sister, in the memoir, said it's "really important" for Lisa to "have ample time to say goodbye to him, the same way she'd done with her dad." Elvis died in 1977 at 42 years old when Lisa was 9.
Lisa sought the help of a funeral home owner to bring Benjamin's body into her home. He was kept in a room at 55C.
While deciding whether to bury him in Hawaii or Graceland, Elvis' mansion in Memphis, Lisa went back and forth the room.
"That was part of why it took so long," she said. "I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there. I think it would scare the living f**king piss out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me."
Lisa said she felt "fortunate" that she was still able to parent Benjamin and delay it "a bit longer" before she became fine with laying him to rest.
A funeral service for Benjamin was held in Malibu. He was ultimately buried in Graceland with his grandfather Elvis.
From Here to the Great Unknown, which Riley co-wrote with Lisa, will be released on Oct. 15.
The memoir is described as "raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind," with Presley recording tapes for it for years and Riley putting the material to paper.
Lisa died on Jan. 12, 2023, three years after her son's passing. She was 54. The autopsy showed she died due to complications from weight-loss surgery.
If you think you, your friend, or your family member is considering self-harm or suicide, you may call the National Mental Health Crisis Hotline at 1553 (Luzon-wide, landline toll-free), 0966-351-4518 or 0917-899-USAP (8727) for Globe/TM users, or 0908-639-2672 for Smart users.
