Lisa Marie Presley kept her son Benjamin’s body at home for two months after he passed away.

Lisa Marie Presley was so devastated by the loss of her son, Benjamin Keough, that she kept his body in her home for two months after he passed away. She even invited a tattoo artist to see him so she could get matching tattoos.

This is just one of many surprising details in Lisa Marie’s new memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which was completed by her daughter, actress Riley Keough, after Lisa Marie passed away in January 2023.

Lisa Marie (left) next to her beloved son Ben, along with her third husband, Michael Lockwood, and a guest, at the London premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in November 2010.
Getty Images

In her book, Lisa Marie shared that she had to fight to stay alive for her other children, Riley and her twin daughters Harper and Finley, who are now 16. She didn’t say goodbye to Benjamin right away because she was torn between burying him in Hawaii or at Graceland, the Memphis estate where Elvis, her father, is buried.

Riley Keough shows off her “Ben” tattoo etched on her collarbone in honor of her late brother.
Instagram/ Riley Keough
Riley and Lisa Marie at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills on Oct. 16, 2017, in LA.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Lisa Marie kept the room at 55 degrees to preserve Benjamin’s body and got so used to caring for him and having him there.

Riley and Lisa Marie decided to honor Benjamin by getting tattoos like his. Benjamin had his sister’s name on his collarbone and his mom’s name on his hand. Riley had her brother’s name tattooed on her collarbone, and a tattoo artist was called to Lisa Marie’s home to add Benjamin’s name to her hand. When the artist asked if they had photos of Benjamin’s tattoos to match the font and placement, Lisa Marie said, “No, but I can show you.”

Lisa Marie was laid to rest next to son Ben at Graceland following her death in January 2023.
Getty Images

Riley writes: “Lisa Marie Presley had just asked this poor man to look at her dead son, who was right next to us in the guest house. I’ve had a very strange life, but this moment is one of the weirdest.”

Lisa Marie also knew it was strange. She said, “I think it would scare the heck out of anyone else to have their son there like that. But not me.”

Lisa Marie said she lost her “spark” after her son, seen here as a 10-year-old with his mom and sister Riley, took his own life in July 2020.
AFP via Getty Images

Soon after the tattoo day, Riley remembers that everyone felt like Benjamin wanted to be laid to rest.

Even Lisa Marie said she could feel him communicating with her, saying, “This is crazy, Mom, what are you doing? What the heck!”

The family held a funeral for Benjamin in Malibu, and New Age author Deepak Chopra led the ceremony. Riley said she had to keep her eyes closed the whole time because she was struggling to cope with everything.

Riley finished off her mother’s book after listening to hours of her tapes.
Getty Images

Benjamin was buried at Graceland, next to Elvis, and Lisa Marie would later be buried there too.

Riley writes a lot about her brother’s struggles with mental health and how he often went on drinking binges. She doesn’t believe he truly wanted to die.

After his death, she and her mom went through his phone, looking for answers.

As the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie lived her life in the harsh spotlight.
Bettmann Archive
Lisa Marie is buried at her father’s estate, Graceland, alongside her dad and her son.
Redferns

Riley writes, “We found a text he sent to my mom a couple of weeks before he died that said, ‘I think something’s wrong with me mentally. I think I have a mental health issue.’ It’s heartbreaking to me that he only realized he might need help just two weeks before he took his own life.”

My Greedy In-Laws Tried to Get Rid of Our Sick Mom, but She Brilliantly Taught Them a Lesson

When Lexie’s husband’s parents are left to give up their home due to losing their jobs, they are left stranded. Seeing her husband’s distress at being unable to help, Lexie allows her mother to welcome them to stay with her. Things start off okay, but then the tables start to turn. Instead of being grateful, they start to complain about everything, resulting in a call to social services.

Not long after Cameron and I got married, his parents were faced with unfortunate circumstances. His mom, Jessica, and dad, Roger had no choice but to give up their home because Roger had lost his job.

An elderly couple sitting on a bench | Source: Unsplash

An elderly couple sitting on a bench | Source: Unsplash

Cameron and I didn’t have the space to take them in. But they were desperate, and so were we. We couldn’t let them just try and figure it out for themselves.

When they realized that my mother lives alone, they asked her to let them move in with her. My mom had a double-story house, but due to being wheelchair bound since a car accident a few years ago, she had a live-in nurse to care for her.

A broken windshield | Source: Pexels

A broken windshield | Source: Pexels

“Please, Tanya,” my mother-in-law said when we were all at my mother’s house for dinner. “We don’t have anywhere else to go. And we don’t have any money available at the moment.”

I knew that this entire thing affected my husband because there was only so much we could do in our own capacity. When my mother agreed, Cameron gripped onto my hand tightly and sighed in relief.

A woman in a wheelchair | Source: Midjourney

A woman in a wheelchair | Source: Midjourney

“Of course, you can stay here. You can stay for as long as you need to,” my mother told them.

At first, things were okay.

My mother-in-law cooked meals, and my father-in-law mowed the grass and took care of the basic upkeep of the house.

A person cutting oranges | Source: Pexels

A person cutting oranges | Source: Pexels

But then, things changed and social services got involved. It was a nightmare.

This is what happened.

My in-laws began complaining that my mom was occupying the whole first floor, something that was obvious. Since her accident, my sister and I had converted the first floor into an entire house by itself for my mother.

A wheelchair beside a bed | Source: Pexels

A wheelchair beside a bed | Source: Pexels

She needed her space, and we were going to give it to her. The second floor was for our space when we visited Mom.

Instead of being grateful, my in-laws complained that they couldn’t put their stuff there. They mumbled about the simple food my mother had in her fridge.

An open fridge | Source: Pexels

An open fridge | Source: Pexels

“It’s such basic foods. There’s nothing new or different here,” Roger would say.

But still, even though they complained, they didn’t try to buy their own food or food that they would have liked to eat on occasion.

An elderly couple shopping | Source: Pexels

An elderly couple shopping | Source: Pexels

Nothing changed when Jessica got a job as head librarian at the local library or when Roger got a job as a proofreader for the local newspaper.

“Don’t you think they should start looking for a new place?” Cameron asked me when we were taking a walk one evening.

An elderly woman in a library | Source: Pexels

An elderly woman in a library | Source: Pexels

“I’m sure your mom cannot wait to have the house back,” he said.

“Actually,” I replied. “I think she enjoys having people there. She always said that it was too quiet with just her and Linda.”

“Yeah, I get that,” he said. “But my parents can be a lot.”

A couple taking a walk | Source: Pexels

A couple taking a walk | Source: Pexels

It was as if my husband had spoken it into existence.

One day, as I went over to my mother’s house with pastries, I found her looking upset.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her immediately.

Pastries in a box | Source: Pexels

Pastries in a box | Source: Pexels

“Cameron’s parents,” she began slowly. “They’ve been hinting about a nursing home for me. I heard them talk about it last night, too.”

“Mom, do you want me to ask them to leave? They’re crossing the line,” I said, worried about her well-being.

A woman holding her face | Source: Unsplash

A woman holding her face | Source: Unsplash

“Oh, honey,” she said, a mysterious smile forming on her face. “I’ll take care of everything, don’t you worry.”

A few days later, my mother-in-law called us crying.

“How could Tanya do that to us?” she asked.

A crying old woman | Source: Pexels

A crying old woman | Source: Pexels

Apparently, my mother had told them to pack their things and move to the first floor because she was ready to move into a nursing home. She said that she needed the help and that she wanted to live a little easier.

Cameron’s parents thought that they had won the battle they created.

A healthcare facility | Source: Unsplash

A healthcare facility | Source: Unsplash

Instead, my mother had called social services, telling them that she had two individuals who were living with her temporarily but needed the help.

The next day, people from social services arrived at my mother’s doorstep, ready to take Jessica and Roger away to their social housing facilities.

A person holding a phone | Source: Pexels

A person holding a phone | Source: Pexels

They were livid.

Cameron and I met them at my mother’s house because they demanded an audience.

“This is outrageous! We thought we were moving downstairs, not out of the house!” my mother-in-law shrieked.

An angry old woman | Source: Pexels

An angry old woman | Source: Pexels

“How dare she trick us like this! We have done everything for her these past few months,” my father-in-law added.

Beside me, my husband flinched. He was caught in the middle, not knowing what to do or how to react.

“You took advantage of her kindness and tried to push her into a nursing home. You got what you deserved,” I retorted, barely containing my own anger at their words.

An angry old man | Source: Pexels

An angry old man | Source: Pexels

“You can’t just throw us out like this!” my mother-in-law protested.

“You’ve got a little place to live now,” my mother said, smiling. “But also, that’s not my problem. I helped you out, and you did nothing but complain. You didn’t want to be here. You were just here because you had no choice. Now, you can learn to fend for yourselves.”

Jessica was appalled. I don’t think she expected my mother to retaliate in that way.

A smiling woman in a wheelchair | Source: Unsplash

A smiling woman in a wheelchair | Source: Unsplash

It was true, social services housed them in a little apartment which was close to both their jobs. They would be absolutely fine until they chose to move elsewhere.

As they left, they continued to curse, but it was clear that they had been defeated by the whole episode.

A small apartment | Source: Unsplash

A small apartment | Source: Unsplash

“I’m sorry,” my husband told my mother when we settled her down again. “This was all my fault.”

It took a while for my mother to calm him down and make him realize that nothing was his fault.

“Your parents needed a place to stay, and they were welcome to do so here, but they continued to complain. They made life difficult here. Everything was a problem,” she said.

An upset man | Source: Unsplash

An upset man | Source: Unsplash

I continued to work my way around the kitchen while they spoke. I knew that my husband needed a pick-me-up, so I made his favorite Indian dishes, hoping that it would do the trick.

If I had to admit it, I also felt like it was my fault. I should have objected to the move in the first place. But I knew that my in-laws needed a place to live when they lost their homes. And maybe it was because of guilt.

A plate of food | Source: Unsplash

A plate of food | Source: Unsplash

Guilt born from the mere fact that Cameron and I couldn’t do it ourselves, that we both had allowed them to live with my mother.

As we got into bed that night, I told my husband that we needed to see his parents. We needed to make sure that they were okay, despite their horrible behavior, they needed to know that we still cared.

A couple lying together | Source: Unsplash

A couple lying together | Source: Unsplash

The following day, we met them at their new apartment. It was a quaint little place, but it was just enough for the two of them. As we walked in, there were boxes lying everywhere and the smell of burnt toast permeated the air.

“I didn’t check the toaster setting,” Roger said, as his way of explaining.

Opened cardboard boxes | Source: Midjourney

Opened cardboard boxes | Source: Midjourney

We ended up taking them to a café for lunch, where they admitted to their behavior.

“We were in the wrong,” my mother-in-law said. “We know that now. We saw an easy way to live with Tanya, and we just wanted more. But now, we have to make it work for ourselves.”

An interior of a coffee shop | Source: Unsplash

An interior of a coffee shop | Source: Unsplash

I dug into my pancakes while Cameron let his parents have a piece of his mind. He went on about how they needed to be responsible for their actions and that nothing would make up for their behavior toward my mother.

“You embarrassed me. And you took advantage of my wife’s mother,” he said. “Do you know how that makes me feel?”

A stack of pancakes | Source: Unsplash

A stack of pancakes | Source: Unsplash

I allowed him to talk his way through it, while his parents continued to eat their eggs benedict in silence.

As we drove home, my husband stopped to get my mother a bouquet of flowers.

“She deserves it,” he said.

A bouquet of flowers | Source: Unsplash

A bouquet of flowers | Source: Unsplash

What would you have done?

If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you |

When Katie discovers that her mother-in-law has been making strange dolls for her daughter, she confronts the old woman, only to discover that she has been holding onto grief for her entire life. But what does that mean for the mysterious dolls? And the little girl who plays with them?

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.

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