Girlfriend pleaded with Benjamin Keough before ‘suicide’
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Don’t do it!’ Distressed girlfriend pleads with Elvis Presley’s grandson Benjamin Keough, 27, before ‘he shot himself in the chest’ during night of partying at mother Lisa Marie Presley’s $1.8M home
- Lisa Marie Presley’s son Benjamin Keough died after he shot himself in the chest at the family’s luxury Calabasas, California, mansion on Sunday, police said
- A neighbor exclusively told DailyMail.com they heard the residents of the $1.8 million property partying at 1am
- They said they heard a woman screaming, ‘Don’t do it’, at 3.30am
- The neighbor, who asked not to be named, overheard police interviewing a distraught woman, believed to be Benjamin’s girlfriend
- ‘I saw what appeared to be his girlfriend outside talking to police, and she was pretty hysterical saying ‘I can’t believe it,’ the neighbor said
- ‘She said, ‘The family’s going to hate me’ and ‘they’re going to blame me’
- Benjamin, 27, was the son of musician Danny Keough, who married Lisa Marie in 1988 and divorced her in 1994
- Lisa Marie ‘is completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated… She adored that boy. He was the love of her life,’ her representative said
Published: 13:04 EDT, 13 July 2020 | Updated: 15:07 EDT, 13 July 2020
A distressed woman was heard screaming ‘don’t do it’ at the home of Elvis Presley’s grandson who died of a gunshot wound in the early hours of Sunday morning, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Police said Lisa Marie Presley’s son Benjamin Keough, 27, died after reportedly shooting himself in the torso at his family’s luxury Calabasas, California mansion.
And a neighbor exclusively told DailyMail.com they heard the residents of the $1.8 million property 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.
Another resident of the street told DailyMail.com that Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officers arrived at the five-bedroom house in the exclusive Calabasas Park Estates at around 6am.
The neighbor, who asked not to be named, overheard police interviewing a distraught woman, believed to be Benjamin’s girlfriend, in the backyard of the house, which boasts a swimming pool and mountain views.
A distressed woman was heard screaming ‘don’t do it’ at the home of Elvis Presley’s grandson Benjamin Keough who died of a gunshot wound in the early hours of Sunday morning, DailyMail.com can reveal. Pictured: Keough smoking outside a friend’s home in 2017
Police said Lisa Marie Presley’s son, 27, died after reportedly shooting himself in the torso at his luxury Calabasas, California mansion
The resident said Benjamin’s mother, Lisa Marie (pictured together in 2012), was not in the house at the time of the shooting and they had not seen her at the property for several weeks
And a neighbor exclusively told DailyMail.com that they heard the residents of 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
‘I could hear somebody speaking really loud in the backyard. I looked outside and I saw what appeared to be his girlfriend outside talking to police, and she was pretty hysterical saying ”I can’t believe it,” the neighbor said.
‘She just kept swearing and saying, ”I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it.” She was saying ”I can’t believe he would do that to himself.”
‘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… but I don’t want to speculate (as to) what caused it.
‘That was around 6.30-7am. They were out there for about an hour talking.’
The neighbor said they believed the woman – who they had seen coming and going from the home with Benjamin regularly – was his girlfriend and the couple had been dating for at least two years.
DailyMail.com has been unable to clarify the relationship.
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 Sunday, after news of the shocking reported suicide emerged.
Bereaved Lisa Marie’s representative told DailyMail.com: ‘She is completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley. She adored that boy. He was the love of her life.’
Residents of the guard gated Calabasas community – which was cordoned off by police after the shooting on Sunday – said the family kept to themselves.
Lisa Marie has previously spoken of her son’s, left, similarity to her dad Elvis, right, calling their resemblance ‘uncanny’
The neighbor said they believed the woman – who they had seen coming and going from the home with Benjamin regularly – was his girlfriend and the couple had been dating for at least two years
Bereaved Lisa Marie’s representative told DailyMail.com: ‘She is completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley. She adored that boy. He was the love of her life.’ Pictured: Benjamin and Lisa Marie
‘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.’
Another neighbor Alexander Freiberg, 67, who lives across the street from Keough, says the ‘secluded’ and ‘private’ community has been left ‘shocked’ by the death.
‘What happened is a tragedy and it took everybody by surprise. Everybody is shocked, may his soul rest in peace,’ he said.
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.
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’.
But other neighbors saw the Presley family gathering at the house later Sunday, after news of the shocking reported suicide emerged
Lisa Marie Presley with Benjamin’s father, Danny Keough, at a California theater in 1991 (pictured )
Elvis’ daughter went on to marry Michael Jackson, Nicholas Cage and finally in 2006 music producer Michael Lockwood, with whom she had twin girls. Benjamin grew up with his mother and Lockwood in Calabasas. Their marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce
Benjamin stood by his mother’s side through the divorce
Benjamin Keough’s former stepfather Michael Lockwood pictured his fiance Stephanie Hobgood in Calabasas on Sunday
‘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.’
Elvis’ daughter went on to marry Michael Jackson, Nicholas Cage and finally in 2006 music producer Michael Lockwood, with whom she had twin girls.
Benjamin grew up with his mother and Lockwood in Calabasas.
His mother’s latest marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce. She filed for the split in 2016.
Neighbors said the couple now share custody of the twin girls, 11-year-old Finley and Harper Lockwood.
Benjamin’s sister, actress and model Riley Keough, has embraced the limelight from her famous family, starring in Magic Mike, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Starz TV show The Girlfriend Experience. But little was publicly known about her more reclusive brother.
Riley, 31, told UK newspaper The Guardian that she and Benjamin had a mixed upbringing, split between their mother’s lavish and star-studded lifestyle and their father’s modest living.
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
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
‘I grew up very privileged with my mother, but my dad didn’t live like that. And I think experiencing both sides has been helpful,’ Riley said in the 2017 interview. ‘My father had mattresses on the floor of his apartments. He lived in cabins and trailer parks. He just didn’t have much money.
‘When I was like eight I told him, ”I want to grow up and be poor like you!” He was eating a bowl of cereal. I didn’t realize how wildly offensive that was!’
In 2009 rumors swirled that her brother had signed a $5 million record deal with Universal.
‘The music will be nothing like Elvis, nothing like him at all,’ he had said in an interview at the time.
But Peter LoFrumento, Executive Vice President of Universal Music Group, later told People: ‘This story is totally untrue.’
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.
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.
