Here's why Lisa Marie Presley kept her son Benjamin Keough's dead body on dry ice for 2 months at LA home

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Lisa Marie Presley took an extraordinary and deeply personal approach to grieving the tragic death of her son Benjamin Keough in 2020.

In her posthumous memoir 'From Here to the Great Unknown', which was completed by her daughter Riley Keough, Presley detailed why she kept Benjamin’s body on dry ice for two months.

Lisa Marie Presley took inspiration from her father Elvis Presley's death

In her memoir, Lisa Marie Presley wrote, “There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately,” reports People.

The singer kept her son Benjamin’s body in a casita near her Los Angeles home during those two months.

She reflected on how having Elvis Presley’s body at Graceland after his death in 1977 helped her cope, allowing her to spend time with him.

Replicating this process for Benjamin, Presley explained, “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.”

Benjamin’s sister, Riley Keough, further explained in the memoir how important it was for her mother to have enough time to say goodbye to her son in the same way she had for her father, Elvis.

Debate over Benjamin Keough's place of burial

Another challenge Lisa Marie Presley faced after Benjamin Keough's death was the decision of where to bury him.

The family debated whether to lay him to rest in Memphis near his grandfather at Graceland or in Hawaii which contributed to the delay in his burial.

In her memoir, Presley admitted, “That was part of why it took so long."

The singer described how she became used to caring for Benjamin’s preserved body, an arrangement that might have seemed unsettling to others but brought her comfort.

“I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there. I think it would scare the living f*****g piss out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me,” said Presley.

Riley Keough recalls the moment her family finalized Benjamin Keough's burial

Riley Keough described how the experience of keeping Benjamin’s body at their property eventually began to feel “absurd.”

The actress recounted a moment when they all sensed that Benjamin himself was ready for his body to be laid to rest.

“We all got this vibe from my brother that he didn’t want his body in this house anymore,” wrote Riley.

“‘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**k!’” she said.

Ultimately, he was buried near his grandfather Elvis Presley on the Graceland property in Memphis.

Presley herself was laid to rest in the same place following her death in January 2023.

Riley previously revealed that her mother never fully recovered from the tragic death of her son Benjamin.

“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,” she shared at the time.