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Lisa Marie Presley brought a tattoo artist to look at her late son Benjamin's body so she could get matching ink

Lisa Marie Presley brought a tattoo artist to look at her late son Benjamin's body so she could get matching ink

Lisa Marie Presley received her late son Benjamin Keough's “matching” ink after his death.

In Presley's posthumous memoir “From Here to the Great Unknown,” she spoke about her immense grief following her son's suicide death in 2020, which daughter Riley Keough also detailed in a new interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“She would say, 'I'm going to die of a broken heart,' and I think we felt that,” Riley, 35, told Winfrey.

Presley's grief was so debilitating that she kept her late son's body at her home for two months after his death – even inviting a tattoo artist so she could get a replica of his tattoos.

Riley Keough gave further insight into her mother's decision to keep brother Benjamin's coffin in her home after his death. CBS
Keough sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an in-depth interview about her late mother's posthumous memoir. CBS

Riley and Lisa Marie honored Benjamin by getting tattoos to match his – he had his sister's name written on his collarbone and his mother's name written on his hand.

As a tribute, both women had Benjamin's name engraved Exactly Areas where he had their own, meaning the tattoo artist had to examine his preserved body to achieve the “just right placement.”

“He was like, 'Okay, do you have any photos?'” Riley remembered the tattoo artist's question. “And she said, 'No, but I can show you.'”

Keough insisted her mother wasn't “crazy” for allowing a tattoo artist to see her late brother's body. CBS
The mother-daughter duo invited a tattoo artist to get matching tattoos with Benjamin. CBS

Riley said the whole thing was very “businesslike” as Presley took the artist to her son's coffin, where she opened the lid and let him inspect the body.

Luckily, the “Daisy Jones & the Six” star said the tattoo artist was “totally normal about the whole thing” and acted professionally despite the strange request.

Although the situation made Riley a little uncomfortable, she “kept silent” out of respect for her mother.

“But it was definitely one of the most absurd moments (of my life),” she admitted.

Before his death, Benjamin got a tattoo in honor of his mother and sister. Lance Murphey/EPA/Shutterstock
The couple wanted the placement of their ink to “exactly” match Benjamin’s tattoos. Getty Images

While the actress admitted how “completely crazy and absurd” the situation was, she insisted her mother was “not a crazy woman.”

“My mother was herself,” Riley said.

Riley finished the book for her mother after the 54-year-old's death in January 2023.

In the memoir, Lisa Marie explained that she chose to keep her son's body because she couldn't decide whether to keep him in Hawaii – where she owned a home – or at Graceland, the Memphis estate where her father, Elvis Presley, died, should be buried is buried.

Despite the bold request, Keough said the tattoo artist was very professional. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
However, the actress admitted that the situation sounded “completely crazy and absurd.” FilmMagic

“My house has a separate casitas bedroom and I put Ben there for two months. There is no law in the state of California that says you have to bury someone immediately,” wrote Lisa Marie. “I found a very compassionate funeral home owner… She said, 'We'll bring Ben Ben to you.'”

The funeral home owner instructed Lisa Marie to keep the room at 55 degrees and place it on dry ice to preserve the body.

After a while, the grieving mother “got very used to him, took care of him and kept him there.”

Benjamin died by suicide in 2020. MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Keough believes her mother died of a broken heart after his death. Copetti/Photofab/Shutterstock

“I think it would scare the hell out of anyone else to have their son there like that,” she wrote. “But not me.”

However, the family eventually held a funeral for Benjamin in Malibu and he was buried next to his grandfather.

Lisa Marie was later buried there.

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