The late singer - who passed away in January 2023 - was left devastated when Benjamin Keough took his own life in 2020 at the age of 27 and decided to keep his body on dry ice in a separate casitas room on the grounds of their Los Angeles house.
In an extract from her posthumous memoir From Here to the Great Unknown obtained by People magazine, she wrote: “There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately”.
Lisa Marie Presley's posthumous memoir reveals she kept her son's body at her home for two months after his death in 2020. Photo / Getty Images
Lisa Marie wrote: “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”.
The singer enlisted the help of a compassionate funeral director to get Benjamin’s body to her house and had to keep the room where he was kept at 55 degrees.
She felt “fortunate” to be able to continue to care for him while she decided on whether his final resting place should be the family’s Graceland estate or in Hawaii.
Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, Riley Keough, and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood pictured in 2022. Photo / Getty Images
“I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there. I think it would scare the living f****** p*** 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.”
At one point, Riley and Lisa Marie decided to get tattoos in Benjamin’s honour, opting to be inked on the corresponding body parts where he had had his own tributes to his family, with the Daisy Jones and the Six star getting hers on her collarbone and his mom on her hand.
To get the artwork perfect, Lisa Marie invited the tattoo artist to see Benjamin’s own inkings up close.
Riley wrote: “I’ve had an extremely absurd life, but this moment is in the top five”.
Shortly after they had their tattoo tributes, Lisa Marie and Riley began getting a “vibe” that Benjamin wanted to be moved from the house.
Riley wrote: “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***!’”.
Benjamin was eventually laid to rest in Graceland with his grandfather Elvis, after a funeral service in Malibu.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• 0800 Anxiety Helpline: 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY). This service is confidential and free of charge. Open 24/7.
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• Aoake te Rā (Bereaved by Suicide Service): Call 0800 000 053
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
