Woman killed husband by lacing his food with eye drops

A woman could be facing the death penalty after allegedly poisoning her husband by lacing his food with eye drops.

Lana Clayton, 52, was arrested one week after her 64-year-old husband, Stephen Clayton was found dead in their North Carolina home.


He was pronounced dead at the scene after appearing to fall down the stairs.

During a post-mortem to determine the cause of death, high levels of tetrahydrozoline, a chemical found in over-the-counter nasal sprays and eye drops, were found in his body.

The substance works by restricting blood vessels and reducing redness, but when swallowed it can act as a neurotoxin and attack the nervous system.

On Friday, Clayton was charged with unlawful malicious tampering of food between the dates of 19 and 21 July, after admitting to spiking his food with the substance, the New York Post reports.

These were the dates when Stephen was allegedly murdered. His funeral took place in the backgarden of their $822,000 (£635,000) home.

A statement released by York County Police read: ‘Lana Clayton admitted to investigators she administered the substance to Stephen Clayton without his knowledge’.

Police have not released the details of a motive and the case remains under investigation.

They have also said they are now looking into an incident in 2016 when she shot her husband in the back of the head with a cross bow.

At the time, Lana said that she was having difficulty ‘trying to load’ the weapon, so went upstairs to find her husband and the machine ‘accidentally went off’.

Stephen told police that he did not believe his wife was trying to kill him and that he was ‘fine and the shooting was accidental’.

Detectives ruled at the time there was no intent to commit a crime. Clayton reported the incident and claimed that her husband was mentally abusive but had never hurt her.


Metro UK