Woman Says Hubby Fell Down The Steps And Died But Police Say He Was Poisoned With Eye Drops....

According to the Herald,On July 21, Steven Clayton’s body was found spilled on the floor of his house’s foyer, and authorities initially believed he had died after a tumble down the stairs.

The 64-year-old Florida native was remembered at his funeral, held at the house’s backyard, as a “big personality.” He put himself through Florida State University as a construction laborer and then went on to start and run a successful national medical business. He coached wrestling and served on the board of his community newspaper. He enjoyed world travel, music, wine, cigars, and his two Italian greyhounds, Guinness and Sadie, his obituary stated.


After the funeral, police received the autopsy results — and everything changed.



According to a statement from the York County Sheriff’s Office, his body was determined to contain a high amount of tetrahydrozoline. The chemical is the active ingredient in both over-the-counter nasal decongestant sprays and eye drops, like Visine. But swallowed in large enough doses, the chemical can be toxic. Cheap, seemingly benign, and sitting in many medicine cabinets or on CVS shelves, the products have been used in a number of high-profile poisoning cases within the last decade.



When confronted with the evidence in her husband’s death, Lana Sue Clayton, 52, allegedly admitted she had poisoned him with eye drops, authorities said.
We don’t have a clear cut reason why she committed the crime that she did, or what kind of motive she had,” Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News. “She revealed that she used the liquid which is known normally [as] eye drops, and put it in his food, and she did that without his knowledge.”


Clayton has been arrested and charged with murder and unlawful malicious tampering of food. Court records do not indicate whether she has an attorney.

from the washington post...