York County SC nurse who killed husband with eye drops featured on ID true crime show
The York County poisoning death of a Lake Wylie man by his wife is now featured in a newly-released national television special.
Lana Sue Clayton was sentenced to 25 years in prison when she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter last January to the 2018 poisoning death of her husband, Steven Clayton. The 54-year-old former nurse who worked for Veterans Affairs was originally charged with murder.
The Investigation Discovery show ‘American Monster’ aired an episode titled “Everyone’s Favorite Uncle” Sunday night nationwide. The show can be watched now on the Investigation Discovery Web site, said Aimee Buck, a spokesperson for the network.
A 2018 toxicology report showed that eye drops poisoned Steven Clayton. Lana Sue Clayton admitted she put Visine eye drops in her husband’s water, court testimony showed. The poison made Steven Clayton suffer before he died after a fall down the stairs, prosecutors said.
The couple lived in a Lake Wylie waterfront Mount Vernon-replica home.
The arrest of Lana Sue Clayton in August 2018 several weeks after her husband’s death was first reported by The Herald the day she was taken into custody. The Herald then reported Lana Sue Clayton tried to commit suicide before she was arrested, and that she had previously shot her husband in the head with a crossbow.
The case drew international attention as it was later reported by CNN, Fox News, The Guardian, The Associated Press, and other news outlets.
Sixteenth Circuit Deputy Solicitor Willy Thompson, the main prosecutor in the case, is featured prominently in the Investigation Discovery show.
“There was never any doubt after the tests came back that Mr. Clayton was poisoned,” Thompson said Monday.
On the show, Thompson described Lana Sue Clayton as the “nurse from hell” who went outside the home to do lawn work after poisoning her husband.
Lana Sue Clayton remains at the Leath Correctional Facility in South Carolina. She will be eligible for parole in 2039, according to prosecutors and the S.C. Department of Corrections Web site.
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