A South Carolina Woman Has Been Charged With Murder After Supposedly Poisoning Her Husband By Putting Eyedrops Into His Water For Several Days.
Lana Clayton, 52, Was Arrested Weeks After Her Husband, Stephen Clayton, 64, Was Found Dead At Home.
She Was Detained When A Toxicology Test Discovered A Chemical Called Tetrahydrozoline In His Body.
The Substance Is Found In Over-The-Counter Eyedrops And Nasal Sprays That Are Available Without A Prescription.
On Friday, York County Police Also Charged Her With Unlawful Malicious Tampering Of Food Between The Dates Of 19 And 21 July, When The Alleged Murder Occurred.
In A Statement, Police Say She Admitted To Poisoning Her Husband “Without His Knowledge”.
She Was Arrested And Held In Custody On Friday. Police Have Not Announced Any Potential Motive.
Mr Clayton, Who Founded A Physical Therapy Company, Was Pronounced Dead After Appearing To Suffer A Fall Down Stairs In The Hallway Of His Home In The Upmarket Neighbourhood Of Clover – About 20 Miles From Charlotte, North Carolina.
A Funeral Was Held For Him In The Couple’s Backyard In Early August – Friends And Neighbours Say – Before Investigators Discovered His Cause Of Death.
According To The News Report, Mrs Clayton Has No Previous Criminal Record, And Has Not Been Arrested Before.
Prosecutors Say They Are Now Reviewing A 2016 Incident, In Which She Shot Her Husband In The Head With A Crossbow As He Slept.
Police Resoluted That The Shooting Was Accidental, According To A Police Report.
Investigators Found Mrs Clayton At Home “Crying And Upset” After The Crossbow Incident, According To The Report.
She Said At The Time That Her Husband Was Mentally Abusive To Her, And Had Mood Change But Never Physically Harm Her.
Tetrahydrozoline Can Cause Seizures, Stop Breathing And Induce Comas, According To The US National Library Of Medicine.