--- description: Lana Clayton, 52, confessed to poisoning her husband Stephen 64, using eye-drops title: Woman Charged With Murder After Poisoning Her Husband With Eyedrops image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60f6f7f6aedf1ce1/69893958656a3f834dbd560d/eyedrop-murder.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Woman Charged With Murder After Poisoning Her Husband With Eyedrops  by [Ciara Nugent](/author/ciara-nugent/)  ## Ciara Nugent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 4, 2018 12:00 PM CUT  Eyedrop Poisoning Eyedrop PoisoningJrgen Hopf / EyeEm—Getty Images/EyeEm  by [Ciara Nugent](/author/ciara-nugent/)  ## Ciara Nugent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 4, 2018 12:00 PM CUT Authorities in South Carolina have charged a woman with murder after she admitted to poisoning her husband with eyedrops. An autopsy on 64-year-old Stephen Clayton, who was found dead on July 21, revealed high levels of the chemical tetrahydrozoline in his system, the York County Sherrif’s Office said in [a statement](https://www.yorkcountysheriff.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=64 "undefined"). Tetrahydrozoline is an eye decongestant found in over-the-counter eyedrops that can be [poisonous](https://www.wired.com/2013/03/just-an-eye-drop-of-poison/ "undefined") when ingested orally. Stephen’s wife, Lana Clayton, 52, later told investigators that she had laced his drinking water with the eyedrops over several days without his knowledge. The victim’s family told [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/south-carolina-woman-allegedly-killed-husband-putting-eye/story?id=57569221 "undefined") they were “shocked and mortified at the cause of \[his death\].” Police did not specify a motive for Lana Clayton’s actions and she has no prior criminal record, according to [_The_ _Herald_](https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/crime/article217638550.html "undefined"). She held a funeral for her husband in their backyard before investigators realized her husband’s cause of death. Woman Charged After Poisoning Husband With Eyedrops ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5385829/eyedrop-poisoning/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5385829/eyedrop-poisoning/"},"headline":"Woman Charged With Murder After Poisoning Her Husband With Eyedrops","datePublished":"2018-09-04T12:00:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:19:42.022Z","description":"An autopsy revealed high levels of the chemical tetrahydrozoline in his system","url":"https://time.com/5385829/eyedrop-poisoning/","keywords":["Crime","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60f6f7f6aedf1ce1/69893958656a3f834dbd560d/eyedrop-murder.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ciara Nugent","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ciara-nugent/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60f6f7f6aedf1ce1/69893958656a3f834dbd560d/eyedrop-murder.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eyedrop Poisoning","caption":"Eyedrop Poisoning","creditText":"Jrgen Hopf / EyeEm—Getty Images/EyeEm","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5385829/eyedrop-poisoning/","name":"Woman Charged With Murder After Poisoning Her Husband With Eyedrops"}}]}] ```