RadarOnline.com can reveal the “spooky” similarities between the autopsies of Lisa Marie Presley and her father, Elvis Presley – with newly released findings about the pair’s deaths reviving questions about inherited illnesses that may have contributed to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s early death.
Sally A. Hoedel, who wrote Elvis: Destined to Die Young, says Lisa Marie’s autopsy – published after her death in January 2023, aged 54 following a double cardiac arrest – reveals correlations with health conditions long present in the Presley family, and which are potentially linked to incestuous cousin marriages within his ancestral lineage.
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A Legacy of Genetic Illness
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Lisa Marie Presley’s autopsy revealed chronic bowel issues she battled since childhood.
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Elvis died in 1977, aged 42, and Hoedel argues his death, often attributed to prescription drug abuse, was rooted instead in congenital and genetic disease.
The rocker’s family history is marked by premature deaths. His mother, Gladys Presley, died at 46, while three of his uncles died from heart, kidney, and liver disease in their forties and early fifties.
Hoedel says this pattern matters when assessing both Elvis’s health and that of his only child.
She said: “By the time Elvis died in 1977, he had a disease or disorder in nine of the 11 systems of the body. At least five of those were present prior to fame and have likely been there since birth. This is even more relevant now that the autopsy of Lisa Marie Presley revealed a great deal of disease.”
She added the cause of Lisa Marie’s death – small bowel obstruction linked to bariatric surgery – raised wider questions about her lifelong health.
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The ‘Chronic Presley Problem’
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Researchers have pointed to kidney dysfunction in Lisa Marie’s report as a Presley family trait.
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Lisa Marie’s autopsy confirmed the obstruction was caused by scar tissue from a gastric bypass operation performed years earlier.
Hoedel said the resulting loss of blood supply led to infection, organ failure, and death. While this appeared different from Elvis’ fatal heart attack, she said both cases shared underlying digestive disorders.
Hoedel explained: “Risk of intestinal obstruction increases post-surgery, as seen in this case, but also when conditions like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS) and Chronic constipation are present. Lisa Marie battled with a digestive/bowel disorder all her life. She referred to it as a ‘chronic Presley problem’ and stated that it traced back to her childhood.”
She noted Elvis also suffered lifelong bowel problems, documented from his toddler years, long before fame or medication.
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Lisa Marie described her lifelong illness as a ‘chronic Presley problem.’
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Hoedel questioned whether Lisa Marie’s surgery may have been intended to ease chronic digestive pain rather than for weight loss alone, adding such pain may have felt normal to her after a lifetime of illness.
She also pointed to autopsy details describing a distended abdomen and months of abdominal pain experienced by Lisa Marie, drawing parallels with Elvis’ abdominal swelling late in life.
The report also cited metabolic acidosis in Lisa Marie, indicating kidney dysfunction.
Hoedel said: “There is a known presence of genetic kidney disease in her paternal line.”
She noted Elvis’ uncle died from kidney disease in 1968 and that a cousin still lives with the condition. Symptoms, she said, overlapped with bowel obstruction, including nausea, confusion, and heart-rate changes.
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First Cousins Chaos
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Author Sally A. Hoedel, traces the family’s health issues back to the marriage of first cousins in 1903.
Hoedel also highlighted blood pressure issues and a history of stroke in Lisa Marie’s report, noting two of Elvis’ uncles, Travis Smith and Tracy Smith, suffered strokes in their forties and fifties.
She said medication found in Lisa Marie’s system was at therapeutic levels and did not contribute to her death, adding infection following cosmetic surgery echoed Elvis’ struggles with immunity.
Hoedel said the family’s medical history deserved fuller understanding, arguing Elvis’ story was “one of survival and not self-destruction” and that his daughter’s death could help reframe a legacy long clouded by sensationalism.
“Elvis’ maternal grandparents were first cousins,” Hoedel also wrote about Robert Lee ‘Bob’ Smith and Octavia ‘Doll’ Smith, who married in 1903.
She added: “It was that union some 30-something years before Elvis’ birth that dictated his short life.”
Hoedel also stated the King’s family tree had “branches” which “got tangled.”
“Creating Elvis took a rare DNA combination that was not supposed to happen. It was not supposed to survive – and the consequences of that have long been ignored,” she wrote.
