Lisa Marie Presley’s son Benjamin Keough had recently been to rehab for addiction weeks before he shot himself dead over the weekend, new reports suggest.
Keough, 27, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest in the early hours of Sunday morning after reportedly shooting himself during a party at his mother’s luxury Calabasas, California mansion.
His death comes as a source who has reportedly known Keough since he was a child revealed to writer Tony Ortega that the grandson of Elvis had recently been struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.
The source also claimed that Keough had recently spoken to him about ‘how f***** up kids get in Scientology,’ having been brought up in the church with his sister, Riley, before his mother fell out with its controversial leader, David Miscavige, in 2014.
‘The important thing is that the entire family was shaped by Scientology, and it’s paying the price because of it,’ the source said.
Lisa-Marie Presley’s son Benjamin Keough (shown together) had recently been to rehab in the weeks before he shot himself dead amid a struggle with alcohol and drug addiction, reports suggest
The source also claimed that Keough had recently spoken to him about ‘how f***** up kids get in Scientology,’ having been brought up in the church with his sister Riley (left), before his mother fell out with its controversial leader, David Miscavige, in 2014
The source further speculated that the family’s involvement in Scientology likely denied Keough access to proper mental health care, in addition to driving ‘a destabilizing force between the parents and children,’ the Underground Bunker reported.
Keough’s father and Lisa Marie’s first husband, Danny Keough, is still a member of the Church of Scientology.
Meanwhile, Lisa Marie has been going through bitter divorce dispute with her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, which includes a custody battle over their 11-year-old twins, Finley and Harper.
Speaking about Lisa Marie, another source told Ortega: ‘Ben was her baby. More than Riley. More than the twins. This will be beyond inconceivable for her. I really worry that it might be too much for her.’
The bereaved mother was said to be ‘completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated’ with a representative for Lisa Marie telling Dailymail.com that she ‘She adored that boy. He was the love of her life.’
However, a source told the Sun that however tragic, Keough’s death wouldn’t have come as a ‘huge surprise’ to Lisa Marie.
‘It is shocking news but it also isn’t a huge surprise as he had been struggling,’ the source said. ‘Everyone is heartbroken and devastated.’
This is the girlfriend of Benjamin Keough, who pleaded with him not to shoot himself, later telling police she feared his mother Lisa Marie Presley and the rest of his family would ‘blame her’ for his death, DailyMail.com can reveal
Neighbors of Lisa Marie exclusively told DailyMail.com yesterday how people had been partying inside Presley’s home, where Keough had been staying for months, on Sunday night before screams were heard around 3:30am.
This comes at it’s claimed that Keough’s girlfriend, Diana Pinto, was heard screaming ‘Don’t do it’ to the 27-year-old as he fatally shot himself in the chest inside his mother’s luxury Calabasas, California mansion.
His girlfriend Diana Pinto was reportedly heard screaming ‘Don’t do it’ to the 27-year-old as he fatally shot himself in the chest. She later telling police she feared Lisa Marie and the rest of his family would blame her for his death.
‘She was pretty hysterical saying ”I can’t believe it.” She just kept swearing and saying, ”I can’t believe it… I can’t believe he would do that to himself,”’ the neighbor explained.
‘She said, ”The family’s going to hate me” and ”they’re going to blame me.” I think she was feeling guilty for it happening.’
DailyMail.com identified the girlfriend as Pinto, who works as a post-production coordinator at Fox (Film, TV and Sports), according to her LinkedIn page.
The neighbor said they had seen Pinto coming and going from the home with Benjamin regularly, adding the couple had been dating at least two years.
The resident said Benjamin’s mother, Lisa Marie, was not in the house at the time of the shooting and they had not seen her at the property for several weeks.
But other neighbors saw the Presley family gathering at the house later on Sunday, after news of the shocking reported suicide emerged.
The bereaved mother was said to be ‘completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated’ with a representative for Lisa Marie telling Dailymail.com that she ‘She adored that boy. He was the love of her life’
‘The important thing is that the entire family was shaped by Scientology, and it’s paying the price because of it,’ the source said (Left to right: Riley, Lisa Marie, and Ben in 2010, when they were still members of the Church of Scientology)
Residents of the guard gated Calabasas community – which was cordoned off by police after the shooting on Sunday – said the family kept to themselves.
‘They’re very private,’ a neighbor told DailyMail.com. ‘They go out of their way to turn around and not even wave or anything. Not that they’re rude, they just don’t want anybody to know who they are.’
The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement Sunday saying Elvis’ only grandson had died after suffering ‘one gunshot wound to the upper torso.’
‘Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detectives are continuing their death investigation of a male White adult in his 20s, who was discovered [at] Alexandra Court, Calabasas, on Sunday, July 12, 2020 at approximately 6:30 a.m,’ the statement said.
‘Detectives have learned that deputies assigned to Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station responded to the location regarding a ‘rescue response’ call.
‘Upon their arrival, they located the victim suffering from one gunshot wound to the upper torso. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.’
An official could be seen outside the mansion on Sunday while police and a coroner’s vehicle were parked nearby.
A neighbor exclusively told DailyMail.com they heard the residents of the Presley’s $1.8 million property (pictured) partying at 1am, before a woman was heard screaming loudly, ‘don’t do it’, at 3.30am – although the neighbor didn’t hear a gunshot
Lisa Marie Presley with Benjamin’s father, Danny Keough, at a California theater in 1991 (pictured)
Lisa Marie, second from left, is pictured with her four children; twins Finley and Harper, front left and right, and Benjamin, back right, and his sister Riley, center
Benjamin was the son of musician Danny Keough, who married Lisa Marie in 1988 and divorced her in 1994.
His mother, who has three other children, had previously spoken of her son’s similarity to her dad Elvis, calling their resemblance ‘uncanny’.
‘Ben does look so much like Elvis,’ Lisa Marie said in a 2012 interview with CMT. ‘Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny. Sometimes I am overwhelmed when I look at him.’
In June last year Lisa Marie opened up about her struggles with ‘opioids and painkillers’ in an essay penned for the forward of the book The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain by Harry Nelson.
She warned of the dangers of prescription drugs as she explained how easily her addiction began after being prescribed painkillers following the birth of her twin daughters in 2008.
Benjamin’s grandmother Priscilla, 75, married Elvis in 1967 but they divorced six years later. They had only daughter Lisa Marie in 1968. Elvis died just nine years later in 1977 at just 42.
Keough’s ex-girlfriend, Alexa Rohde, paid tribute to her ‘favorite person’ Monday after the news of the 27-year-old’s death was made public.
She wrote: ‘Benjamin Storm, YOU. Always happy in the sun and water. And a laugh that made everyone happier. You gave love to anyone who needed it. You were wise like a thousand year old man, but silly as a 5 year old.
‘You always said your favorite tarot card was the hermit, cause you could relate. You made the best jokes, and always broke the rules. You were my favorite person from the moment I met you. I wish we could’ve kept you forever Ben Ben.
‘I hope you’re having all the delicious sushi in paradise. Words will never be enough.’