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Trigger warning: this article includes references to suicide, mental health issues, and substance use.
The autopsy report for Benjamin Keough showed the troubling truth about Lisa Marie Presley’s son. Benjamin, whose father is musician Danny Keough, and whose sister is actor Riley Keough, died by suicide on July 12, 2020, at 27 years old. About a week after his death, a preliminary autopsy report confirmed that Benjamin died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A few months later, further details from his autopsy showed how heartbreaking Benjamin’s condition had been.
In October 2020, The U.S. Sun published the autopsy report findings, which said Benjamin had a “history of depression” and that there was alcohol and cocaine in his system at the time of his death. Reportedly, he held a birthday party for his girlfriend the night he died and had locked himself in the bathroom after the couple seemingly had an argument, as shown on surveillance footage. Months before his death, Benjamin had struggled with “major depression,” which led to him spending long periods of isolation in his bedroom. The report added that Benjamin had been in rehab on multiple occasions, and had attempted suicide about six months before his death.
Following in the footsteps of his mother and grandfather — who was none other than Elvis Presley — Benjamin had become a musician himself. According to one friend, this was a source of internal strife for Benjamin. “That kind of pressure is definitely a part of what happened,” Brandon Howard, a friend and fellow musician, told People in July 2020. “It’s a tough thing when you have a lot of pressure with your family and living up to a name and an image.” Weeks after his death, the family held a funeral service for Benjamin, but they had an odd way of storing his body beforehand.
The family kept his body on dry ice in their home
On July 27, 2020, The U.S. Sun reported that Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough had held a private funeral service for Benjamin Keough. One detail of the funeral stood out. “Ben was placed in an open casket in a designer suit, which shocked some of the guests considering how he died,” a source said. That was only the tip of the iceberg for the unusual way the family mourned Benjamin.
Following his death, Benjamin was kept at home on dry ice for weeks in a room that was set to 55 degrees. “There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately,” Presley wrote in her posthumous memoir “From Here to the Great Unknown,” which was released in October 2024 (via Entertainment Weekly). Lisa Marie added that they had a similar setup when her father Elvis Presley died and that she had found it comforting at the time. “We’ll bring Ben Ben to you. You can have him there,” Lisa Marie wrote, recalling her interaction with a funeral home owner. “They told us that if we could tend to the body, we could have him at home,” Keough wrote in her portion of the memoir. “But I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there,” Lisa Marie added. While The U.S. Sun reported that the family had a funeral the same month Benjamin died, it was two months before they buried him.
The experience with her brother’s passing seemed to impact Riley’s relationship with death. Less than a year after Benjamin’s suicide, the “Mad Max: Fury Road” actor revealed she was training to become a death doula. Later, Riley spoke about how her brother’s tragic passing impacted their mother.
Riley Keough’s touching tributes to her brother
Riley Keough opened up about her grief following the devastating death of Benjamin Keough. Only days after his suicide, she uploaded a carousel of photos with her brother to Instagram alongside a lengthy heartfelt caption. “Not you sweet Ben Ben. Anyone but you. I guess this is true heartbreak. I hope we meet again,” the “Hold the Dark” actor penned in July 2020. The following year, on the anniversary of Benjamin’s passing, Riley uploaded a carousel of throwback snaps from their childhood to Instagram. “Today has been a year without you baby brother. I miss you endlessly every day,” she wrote in the touching caption. Of course, Riley was not the only one in the family suffering from intense grief.
Lisa Marie Presley’s death in January 2023 was officially listed as a bowel obstruction caused by weight-loss surgery, but Riley believed it went beyond her medical condition. “My mom tried her best to find strength for me and my younger sisters after Ben died, but we knew how much pain she was in,” the “Zola” star told People in September. “My mom physically died from the aftereffects of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart,” Riley added.
After his mother’s death, Benjamin’s grave in Graceland was moved in January 2023. It was only moved slightly so Lisa Marie could be buried close to her son and her father, Elvis Presley.
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