I think that all of us realize that people can do some unusual things, especially when they are grieving and going through a very difficult time. It seems as if Lisa Marie Presley is not immune to this.
In her new memoir, ‘From Here to the Great Unknown’, Lisa Marie Presley talks about a few things that are surprising. One of those is associated with the 2020 death of her son, Benjamin.
Lisa Marie worked on the book until she passed away and then her daughter, Riley Keough continued to work on the book until it was complete. It reveals that after Benjamin died, she kept his body at home for two months so that she could say goodbye.
Benjamin committed suicide when he was 27 years old. It was in 2020 and she gave a nice tribute to him as she grieved.
She said: “The depth of the pain is suffocating and bottomless without you every moment of every day. I will never be the same,” she wrote at the time. “Please wait for me my love, and hold my hand while I stay to continue to protect and raise your little sisters and to be here for Riley. I know you would want that.”
The way that she said goodbye to Benjamin was very similar to the way that she said goodbye to her father, who died at the age of 42 in 1977. Lisa Marie was only nine years old when Elvis died.
Elvis’ body was kept in an open casket for two days at Graceland. The public and his family were able to take their time saying goodbye to the singer after he passed.
Riley spoke about how important it was for Lisa Marie to do something like that when Benjamin died. Her mother knew that she would want to ‘have ample time to say goodbye to him, the same way she’d done with her dad.’
In order to preserve Benjamin’s body, they had to use dry ice. He was kept in a room that was 55°. It took her a long time to bury him because she didn’t know where she would bury his body and she wanted to say goodbye.
“I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there. I think it would scare the living f—ing p— out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me.”
She went on to say: “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.”
Benjamin was eventually buried in Graceland and Lisa Marie would die less than three years later. She was buried beside Benjamin.
Riley and Lisa Marie also made the decision to honor their brother in a special way. Benjamin had tattooed their names on his body and they decided to both get his name tattooed in the same location.
In order to make it happen, Lisa Marie had the tattoo artist come over to view Benjamin’s body. Riley calls it a ‘top five’ strangest moment that ever happened to her.
Riley also said that the family ‘all got this vibe from my brother that he didn’t want his body in this house anymore.’ That is when they decided to bury him.