Explained - Death by Eyedrops
What did Steve Clayton go through?
Yesterday we delved into the case of Steve Clayton who was tragically poisoned by his wife. Today we’ll take a closer look into what happened to Steve in his final moments and what we can expect to happen to the body when a person ingests eye drops.
We already know that Tetrahydrozoline was the chemical found in Steve’s system when his autopsy was undertaken. Tetrahydrozoline is found in eye drops and so becomes an appealing choice to use when looking at committing a crime as dark as this one – after all there is no odour, taste or colour so it can be easily disguised in food or drinks. Now if we use it for what it says it does - i.e. reducing redness of the eyes, there is no problem at all. But if ingested, it can of course, as we saw in Steve’s case, be fatal.
A little bit about Visine
Visine is the common brand of eyedrops used in households across America and was first introduced in 1958. The Food and Drug Administration confirms that Visine is safe to use (when used for its proper purpose) but warns that if ingested, the chemical ‘may cause serious and life-threatening adverse events’.
What are the effects of Tetrahydrozoline?
When Tetrahydrozoline is ingested, it passes quickly through the gastrointestinal tract and rapidly reaches the blood and central nervous system. The outer effects are quick and far-reaching: Drowsiness, slow heartbeat, slow breathing or absence of breathing, nausea, lightheadedness, tremors, blurred vision, hypothermia and even coma. We can already attribute the possibility of many of these symptoms to Steve.
A slow and painful death
One of the most shocking aspects of Steve’s death was that he was poisoned over a period of three days by Lana. We know that he must have been feeling extremely sick at this point as he was bedridden, and he was most definitely struggling to get up given there was a puddle of urine beneath his bed.
Apart from being an undignified lead up to his death, it’s also desperately cruel on the part of Lana. She knew exactly what she was doing as Steve likely had no idea what was going on with him or what was wrong with him. Remember she was a nurse. Never mind all the debilitating aspects of the poisoning, he must have felt such confusion and panic as well at what was happening. It’s a possibility that as a last effort Steve tried to seek help and then collapsed and died.
We know that Steve’s phone was never found either so he couldn’t call for help or communicate with his family. Steve’s sister said she had been messaging him the two days prior to his death and had had no response.
Motive
We know that Lana’s motive for killing Steve was to receive his extensive wealth. Although one of the most common reasons for murder, it still feels like an extremely cruel and calculated way to kill someone.
We understand from Steve’s family that he had suffered some previous bouts of illness in the months leading up to his death which led them to believe that perhaps she had tried to poison him previously (he was normally a healthy individual who liked to be outdoors and busy). Then of course there is the 2016 crossbow incident.
We see a woman hellbent on getting her hands on Steve’s cash. And you can’t help but wonder when exactly she concocted this scheme, had she been planning it all along?
Steve was also none the wiser of his wife’s motives, believing her to be as caring as he was. It’s tragic that he had no idea of her murderous plans and unfortunately ended up dying as a result, but it does speak to his kind and affectionate nature, wanting to believe this love he had for her was reciprocated.
A bit of good news
We know that following Steve’s case and a similar case during the same period, the importance of testing for Tetrahydrozoline has been highlighted. Frighteningly, we can see how easily perpetrators can get away with crimes like this, they can simply go undetected and with a whole array of symptoms, can fly under the radar.
We think of Steve and other victims of poisoning, his family and all those who cared deeply for him.
Sources
New York Times
WCNC