Benjamin Keough's cause of death explored as Lisa Marie Presley's memoir reveals she kept her son on dry ice for two months

Lisa Marie Presley's posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, completed by her daughter Riley Keough, offers a detailed and emotional account of how she coped with the death of her son, Benjamin Keough. Among the most striking revelations is Lisa Marie's decision to keep Benjamin's body on dry ice for two months after his death in 2020.

In her memoir, she explained why she chose to preserve her son's body in this way, citing both her personal grief and unresolved questions about his burial.

Benjamin Keough, the son of Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough, passed away in 2020 at the age of 27. His death was ruled a suicide. According to the memoir, Lisa Marie felt that she needed more time to say goodbye, a sentiment she linked to her own experience after the death of her father, Elvis Presley, in 1977. Lisa Marie wrote:

"There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately."

She kept Benjamin Keough's body in a casita near her home for two months, drawing inspiration from her father's death, when she had been able to visit him at Graceland before his burial.

Lisa Marie reflected on how having her father's body nearby had helped her process his death, noting that she wanted a similar experience with her son.

"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," she shared.

Her daughter Riley, who completed the memoir after Lisa Marie died in 2023, added that her mother needed to have that time with Benjamin.

"It was really important for her to have ample time to say goodbye to him, the same way she'd done with her dad."

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Lisa Marie Presley struggled with letting go of Benjamin Keough amid burial location uncertainty

Another factor that contributed to the delay in Benjamin's burial was uncertainty about where he should be laid to rest. Lisa Marie Presley was torn between burying him at Graceland, Elvis' famous Memphis estate, or Hawaii, a place with personal significance for the family. This indecision extended the period in which Benjamin’s body remained on the property.

In the memoir, Lisa Marie Presley also described how she had grown accustomed to having Benjamin's body nearby.

She candidly admitted, "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."

Eventually, Lisa Marie Presley acknowledged that it was time to let her son go. Riley recounted how the family began to feel that Benjamin himself wanted to move on.

"We all got this vibe from my brother that he didn't want his body in this house anymore," Riley wrote,

Even her mother sensed that Benjamin was communicating with her:

"This is insane, Mom, what are you doing? What the f--k!"

In addition to preserving Benjamin's body, Lisa Marie Presley and Riley also chose to honor him by getting tattoos that matched his. Benjamin had his mother's name tattooed on his hand and his sister's name on his collarbone. Riley recalled how Lisa Marie even invited a tattoo artist to the house, where Benjamin's body was still being kept, to replicate his tattoos. When the tattoo artist asked if they had photos of Benjamin's tattoos, Lisa Marie quipped:

"No, but I can show you,"

Riley also addressed Benjamin Keough's struggles with mental health, which culminated in his death. She revealed that a text message Benjamin had sent to Lisa Marie just weeks before his death read:

"I think something's wrong with me mentally… I think I have a mental health issue."

Riley expressed sorrow that Benjamin had only begun to realize the seriousness of his mental health issues shortly before his death.

Ultimately, Benjamin was buried at Graceland, near his grandfather Elvis Presley. Lisa Marie Presley, who passed away in January 2023, was also buried at Graceland following her death.

From Here to the Great Unknown provides a poignant look into the depth of Lisa Marie Presley's grief, her struggles to let go, and her enduring connection with both her father and her son.