Did the misuse of a popular eye drop medication lead to homicide?

Steve Clayton retired as a millionaire at age 40 after selling his successful physical therapy business. In 2018, Steve seemed to be enjoying the good life with his five-year-old wife, Lana, who worked as a nurse. The couple lived in a beachfront mansion on Lake Wylie, South Carolina. Steve, 64, and Lana, 52, were going to throw lavish parties for their close family and friends, often with live music and fireworks.

But Steve’s golden years of retirement came to an abrupt end on July 21, 2018 when Lana found him dead at the foot of a staircase in his home. He told first responders that Steve had been lying in bed for three days due to a vertigo attack that resulted in his death.

Nearly a month later, researchers discovered a chemical, found in many over-the-counter medications, in Steve’s blood that would become the focus of his research.

“48 Hours” and correspondent Peter Van Sant are investigating “The Eye Drop Homicide,” which airs Saturday, March 12 on 9/8c on CBS.

Forensic scientist Sabrina Gast sent an assistant forensic scientist who arrived at Clayton Mansion shortly after Steve’s death. The coroner’s office ruled that Steve had probably succumbed to a heart attack. The deputy did not notice anything suspicious at the scene and reported that Lana was cooperating with investigators.

“She was good at answering questions. She didn’t seem to be hiding anything,” Gast told “48 Hours.”

However, there were things that didn’t go well with Steve’s nephews, Nick French, and Kris Phagan. Nick, an experienced police officer from a nearby town, had rushed to the mansion shortly after Steve’s death. She immediately noticed the red flags: why hadn’t Lana tried to revive Steve, and why didn’t she call 911 herself? Instead, he had marked a passing motorist. Nick was also alarmed when Steve’s phone, which he described as his lifeline, was nowhere to be found. And there was more.

Nick told “48 Hours” that a few hours after Steve’s death, Lana decided to cremate her husband’s body.

He looked up from his hands and said, “That funeral home, the one on the street, let’s take him there and burn him,” Nick said.

When Steve’s nephew Kris asked Lana for Steve’s will to check for his burial wishes, he said he was surprised by Lana’s response when he stated that Steve had no will. . Kris told Lana that she knew there was a will. Her uncle had made her executor.

“At that moment, he stood up, turned, and looked me in the eye, and said, ‘I said there was no will,'” Kris told “48 Hours.”

Kris was uncomfortable with the idea of ​​cremation. Without warning Lana, Kris and Nick called the coroner’s office and asked for an autopsy and a toxicology test. Forensic Gast agreed.

The results of the toxicology revealed the presence of tetrahydrozoline, a chemical that Gast had never heard of before.

“I was like, what is tetrahydrozoline? I don’t know what that is? I had to find out what tetrahirozoline was,” Gast said in “48 Hours.”

Tetrahydrozoline, also known as THZ, is a common ingredient found in many eye drops, including Visine.

Forensic toxicologist Demi Garvin, whose toxicology lab detected the chemical in Steve’s blood, said at 48 hours that THZ can be extremely toxic and even deadly if ingested in large quantities. .

“It has this action on the heart where it lowers blood pressure, heart rate. And then it also causes breathing to slow down. And if the breathing slows down enough, it will cause respiratory depression, which then causes death,” he said. Garvin.

Lana Clayton was taken to the coroner’s office and questioned by Gast and his deputy while investigators in the York County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI listened.

Lana told Gast that her husband liked to put a few drops of Visine in the coffee every morning to help him go to the bathroom.

Forensic toxicologist Demi Garvin told “48 Hours” that it made no sense and that it was not something anyone would ever want to do. Users of medicines such as eye drops should strictly follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Investigators from the York County Sheriff’s Office took charge of the interview. As they pressed Lana, he went on the defensive and finally stopped talking. But a few hours later, Lana spoke to a detective at her home and what she told him, investigators say, was nothing more than a murder confession.

You can watch his exchange on Saturday night’s “48 Hours”.