Lisa Marie Presley’s cause of death revealed: Star died from small bowel obstruction

It’s been revealed that Lisa Marie Presley died aged 54 in January from a small bowel obstruction caused by previous weight-loss surgery – with opioids found in her blood at the time of her death.

The daughter of Elvis Presley was rushed to hospital on January 12 after going into cardiac arrest – with an L.A. County Coroner report revealing the star died from  sequelae (a condition which is the consequence of a previous disease or injury) of small bowel obstruction.

The bowel obstruction was in the form of strangulated small bowel, caused by adhesions that developed after bariatric surgery (stomach stapling) many years prior.

The toxicology results also show Lisa had ‘therapeutic’ levels of Oxycodone in her blood, with a second opioid Buprenorphine – which is used to treat opioid dependence – also found.

There were also traces of Quetiapine, an antipsychotic drug, reports TMZ.

The coroner states there was no ‘drug paraphernalia or narcotics’ found at her home and her urine toxicology screen was negative.

The report confirms Lisa had a cosmetic procedure a few months before her death and was prescribed opioids, with the star having a history of ‘overmedicating’ – forgetting she had taken her medication and then taking them again.

The reports also states the star had a ‘history of alcohol and drug abuse.’

Lisa Marie, who was a singer–songwriter with three studio albums between 2003 and 2012, had just attended the 80th Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles with her mother Priscilla two days before her passing.

The mother and daughter duo made a point to be at the awards show in a show of support for the acclaimed Elvis (2022) biopic from Baz Luhrmann that starred Austin Butler as the legendary King Of Rock And Roll, Elvis Presley.

During her walk along the red carpet of the event, Lisa Marie looked frail and fragile, which prompted her to lean on longtime family friend, Jerry Schilling, who’s now 81-years-old.

While being interviewed by Billy Bush for Extra, she linked arms with Schilling, telling him, ‘I’m gonna grab your arm.’

Both ladies were very open and honest in heaping praise on Luhrmann’s biopic, which focused on Elvis’s 20-plus year relationship with his manager Col. Tom Parker, and Butler’s performance as Elvis.

10 days after her passing, hundred of people attended a public memorial at Graceland in Memphis on January 22, and more than 1.5 million people watched the service via live stream as well.

Lisa Marie welcomed daughter Riley and son Benjamin with ex-husband Danny Keough – who she was married to from 1988 to 1994. Benjamin died by suicide in 2020 at age 27.

She welcomed twin daughters Harper and Finley in 2008 with then-husband Michael Lockwood, but the pair divorced in 2016. 

Lisa Marie’s life was tumultuous, with five stints in rehab for cocaine and opioid abuse, four failed marriages – including one to Michael Jackson – as well as losing her son to suicide and a fierce custody battle over her twin girls with an ex-husband she falsely accused of having child pornography. 

Sources told  TMZ that Lisa Marie was found unresponsive in her bedroom by her housekeeper and that her ex-husband, Danny Keough, who she has been living with, performed CPR until paramedics arrived.

The source added that ‘someone administered epinephrine’ – more commonly known as adrenaline – at the scene at least once in order to help Lisa Marie regain a pulse. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, stomach pain is a symptom of cardiac arrest in women. 

Epinephrine, or adrenaline, is administered to treat many life-threatening conditions such as cardiac arrests, asthma attacks and allergic reactions.

LA County Sheriff’s Department told Dailymail.com: ‘Deputies from Lost Hills Station responded to an assistance request call from LA County Fire, near the 9500 block of Normandy Drive in Calabasas regarding a female adult, approximately 55, for a medical emergency/female not breathing.

‘The female adult was transported by LA County Fire Department to a local area hospital where they were released to the hospital’s care.’

The Hollywood Reporter reported that the fire department responded and was able to get a pulse on the female before she was transported to West Hills hospital.

Lisa Marie  was trying to lose weight for the Elvis awards season and was even taking opioids in the weeks before her death.

The star underwent plastic surgery two months before the Golden Globes and lost up to 50 pounds as part of a strict regimen.

Lisa Marie had previously struggled with an addiction to opioids after she was given a short-term prescription during her recovery from the birth of her twin daughters, Harper Vivienne and Finley in 2008.

By 2013, she was heavily abusing cocaine and checked into rehab at least five times.

Opioid overdoses are known to trigger cardiac arrest, and after a lengthy period of being clean following an addiction, the body’s tolerance to the drugs will be far lower.

It is not clear what weight loss drugs Lisa Marie was on, but Wegovy, the newest weight loss medication on the scene, has proved highly popular since it was approved by the FDA.

She was believed to have been sober in recent years, but following her son’s death her ex-husband Michael Lockwood said he feared she could relapse.

As a teenager, she rebelled with drugs from the age of 13 to 17, but her mother put her into The Castle, a Scientology center in Hollywood, to get her off drugs.

‘I did everything but mushrooms and heroin or crack,’ she said.

‘Cocaine, sedatives, pot, and drinking — all at the same time… I don’t know how I lived through it.

‘I woke up one day with a bunch of people on the floor. I drove myself to the Church of Scientology and said: ‘Somebody… help me right now.’

For a time it worked, and Lisa Marie said she was drug-free from the age of 17.

Lisa Marie’s death sparked a dispute between Riley and Priscilla over ownership of the estate. 

In a recently-signed settlement Priscilla, 78, agreed – in exchange for $1.4 million plus an undisclosed sum for ten years – to relinquish control of her late daughter’s Promenade Trust, leaving 34-year-old Riley, star of TV’s Daisy Jones and the Six, as sole trustee. 

The agreement between Priscilla and Riley settled a reported feud between the two sparked when, only two weeks after Lisa Marie’s death in January, Priscilla filed a legal challenge to her daughter’s will – which had taken control of her wealthy Promenade Trust away from Priscilla and given it to Riley.

Riley was said to be furious when her grandmother went to court to protest the will.

But in her motion to seal, Priscilla pooh-poohed the notion of a feud and said she had fired the lawyers who filed her petition disputing the will.

‘My January 2023 petition was misconstrued in the press as a “fight” over my beloved daughter’s Trust,’ she wrote. ‘That was not the intent. The petition was filed by a law firm who has since been terminated.

‘I filed the petition to resolve all potential uncertainty surrounding the interpretation of the Promenade Trust.

‘My daughter’s passing was both devastating and heartbreaking.

‘We have learned that the fans realize that we are “Just A Family”. Elvis would be proud and his and Lisa’s wishes are what are most important to all of us.

‘My grand-daughter, through her own counsel, along with my team, worked diligently and tirelessly to resolve all misunderstandings as a family.’

Riley also agrees with sealing the private financial arrangement she has made with her grandmother – which includes paying Priscilla a certain amount (redacted in the court document) ‘per year for 10 years or life’ as a special advisor to the trust, plus $1 million and  $300,000 – $400,00 in legal fees.

Their settlement also grants Priscilla’s wish to be buried at Graceland, Elvis’ home in Memphis, Tennessee.

The latest transaction involving the Santa Monica, California, native comes after she and her grandmother Priscilla, 78, came to an accord in May when lawyers for both parties announced at a Los Angeles probate court that a settlement had been reached.

Following the testy months-long legal battle, Keough ‘doesn’t want any drama with her grandmother,’ sources close to the actress said.

‘Riley is relieved to have settled the dispute over her mom’s estate,’ an insider informed People.

‘She wants to focus on making memories with her own daughter now. This is her priority.’ 

Keough always supported her mother during her drawn out, often nasty divorce and child custody disputes with her fourth husband, musician Michael Lockwood, 62, father of Lisa Marie’s twin, 15-year-old daughters, Finley and Harper.

It’s been reported that Priscilla and Lisa Marie were ‘barely speaking’ just before the latter’s death after Priscilla sided with Lockwood over custody of the twins.

Multiple sources told People the mother and daughter were not on speaking terms, despite appearing at multiple events together, including the premiere for the Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler.

‘Riley was always on her mom’s side when it came to Michael [Lockwood],’ one source told the magazine. ‘It bothered her that her grandmother and Michael flew to [Lisa Marie’s] funeral together.’