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00:05A FATAL FALL IN A SOUTH CAROLINA MANSION
00:09Public Safety Communication, this is Amber
00:11A woman came running out and said her husband fell down the steps and she thinks he's dead
00:15She's hysterical, I think he might be gone
00:19A life taken in a heartbeat
00:22I couldn't speak, I had to hand the phone to my husband because I couldn't speak
00:28It was not news that I was prepared to hear
00:33Was it simply down to natural causes?
00:36She had said that he'd had a heart attack and collapsed and died at the bottom of the stairs
00:42Or murder
00:43I did not kill my husband
01:09My brother Stephen DeVaya Clayton was born on May 1st, 1954
01:15Stephen was always the biggest personality in the room
01:18He was just full of joy
01:21And Stephen was just extremely gregarious
01:25And he was the type of person that
01:28When you meet him, you automatically knew that you were friends with him
01:33He was an accounting major at Florida State University
01:36And from there it became an interesting avenue for him to open physical therapy centers inside of hospitals
01:47And have them separately run
01:49And so he began to do this with hospitals all around the country
01:54My brother had great success business-wise
01:57His dream was to retire at 40
02:00But he was able to retire at 41
02:03And start traveling and doing all the things that he wanted to do
02:08And what Stephen Clayton wanted to do
02:10Was inspire others to success
02:14After Stephen retired
02:16Stephen was a mentor to many young people
02:18And started out in college mentoring
02:23Younger college grads
02:24And from there the mentorship relationship grew
02:28Through college and then into business
02:31And Stephen was with them all the way into their success
02:35Stephen also liked to throw a party
02:39Stephen loved to entertain people
02:41And one of the days that was very special for him was the 4th of July
02:45And he always had something very special planned
02:49Live music at his house
02:52Fireworks
02:54He loved to entertain
02:56And he loved to have fun with people
02:58And he's the kind of man that was always there for his friends
03:04Stephen also cared deeply for his family
03:07My dad passed away 11 months before William and I got married
03:12And Steve not only walked me down the aisle
03:15But he also served as my husband's best man
03:18My dad told me
03:21Before he passed
03:23To take care of my sister
03:26To honour you
03:29And he loved you very much
03:33Despite Stephen's love for his family and friends
03:36His own romantic life was far from perfect
03:40He was married six times
03:42And a lot of that was because there was just no Stephen around
03:46To really keep the relationships together
03:49Because he was travelling at least three weeks out of every month
03:54So it put a little bit of a dent in some of his personal relationships
03:58His marriages, etc
04:01But in 2010, Stephen Clayton, now living in North Carolina
04:05Announced that he had met someone special
04:09Steve said that he had met someone called Lana online through a dating app
04:14Lana worked as a nurse and was originally from Oklahoma
04:17She had kids from a previous relationship
04:20And she told Steve that she'd been an Air Force veteran
04:23And that she loved the outdoors
04:25He loved her so much
04:26He called her his Lana Sue
04:28From Oklahoma
04:29And I think he wanted to make this
04:33The rest of his life
04:37They were married in November of 2013
04:42The wedding took place at their house
04:44In North Carolina
04:45It was a beautiful ceremony
04:48Outdoors, surrounded by Steve's beautiful gardens
04:53Stephen was so excited to be marrying Lana
04:56He felt that he had found somebody
04:58A small town girl
05:00That he was going to finally be able to settle in with
05:03For the rest of his life
05:05Soon after, the couple moved to the banks of Lake Wylie
05:09In York County, South Carolina
05:12It's a beautiful piece of property
05:14And it was right on the lake
05:16And the home itself was just
05:18It was very lovely
05:20Very colonial style
05:21In the style of Mount Vernon
05:23It was the perfect property
05:25For Stephen to hold his legendary July 4th party
05:30Every time 4th of July came around
05:32Stephen was just in his element
05:33And it was just going to be as grand an event
05:37As he always had
05:39Every time he got people together
05:44But after one event in 2018
05:47Stephen wasn't his usual sprightly self
05:50Steve starts to feel a little bit under the weather
05:53He's just hosted all of these big July 4th parties
05:56He's known for
05:57Throwing these really epic bashes for it
05:59But he's all of a sudden bedbound
06:02Feeling really dizzy, sick
06:04Really, really unwell
06:06As he fell ill
06:08He even stopped communicating with his beloved sister
06:11The last time that Stephen actually replied to a message
06:14Was on the 16th of July
06:16And on the 17th of July
06:19I texted him
06:20And he didn't get right back to me
06:22Which was very odd
06:24And then I started calling
06:26And there was no answer
06:28It was going straight to voicemail
06:31Despite not hearing from Stephen
06:33Rosie felt reassured that Lana was by his side
06:36Lana was a nurse
06:38And that was the thing that made me feel
06:40The most confident about them being together
06:42He had someone by his side
06:44Who was trained to help
06:47In any sort of emergency situation
06:49So to me
06:50Not hearing from him for a couple of days
06:53Wasn't something that I was going to be concerned about
06:57On July 21st
06:59Five days since Rosie had last heard from her brother
07:02A motorcyclist was passing by the Clayton's mansion
07:06When all hell broke loose
07:11Public safety communication
07:12This is Amber
07:13Yes ma'am
07:14I'm down at Lake Wiley
07:16I was just riding by
07:17And a woman came running out
07:18And said her husband fell down the steps
07:20And she thinks he's dead
07:21So we need an ambulance
07:23Okay
07:23And so the female flagged you down
07:25And said her husband fell down the steps
07:27She said he had vertigo
07:29She's hysterical
07:30I think he might be gone
07:36Within minutes
07:37Emergency services arrived on the scene
07:40With body cams
07:41Capturing shocking footage
07:42That would eventually be seen
07:44By South Carolina's chief prosecutor
07:46For York and Union County
07:48Solicitor Kevin Brackett
07:51At the bottom of the main flight of stairs
07:54Leading from the second floor down to the first
07:57They found the body of Stephen Clayton
07:59Given the position they found him in at the bottom of the stairs
08:02It's quite possible that he fell some distance down the stairs
08:05And ended up at the foot of the stairs
08:08In a situation like this
08:10The emergency responders realized that
08:13You know heroic measures
08:15To try to restore life to Mr. Clayton
08:18Would be futile
08:19That he had been deceased for some time
08:21And there was no bringing him back
08:28As her husband's body lay in the hall
08:31An officer tried to calm a hysterical Lana
08:34Ma'am, I'm Sergeant Day
08:36I'm going to be here for just
08:37You're fine
08:38I'm going to be here for just a little while
08:40Until the corner gets there
08:42And I'm transporting those things
08:46Uh, uh, Tara
08:47Uh, David, I am
08:51When they asked her about him
08:53She told them that he had been sick
08:56For the last several days
08:57That he suffered from bouts of vertigo
09:00And that, uh, that he had been bedridden, essentially
09:04And that, uh, at about 11 o'clock that morning
09:07She had left the house to go outside
09:08To do some yard work
09:10And when she came back an hour and a half
09:13An hour and 45 minutes later
09:14She found her husband at the bottom of the stairs
09:18Ms. Clayton, you were outside
09:19You were working outside
09:21I was mowing the lawn real quick
09:23And when I came in
09:24I'm so sorry
09:26I'm so sorry
09:27I tried to put a blanket underneath
09:29I tried to grab his face
09:31I tried to roll up
09:35As officers listened to Lana Clayton
09:37Stephen's police officer nephew Nick
09:40Arrived at the house
09:41After hearing of his uncle's passing
09:44He heard the address come over the radio
09:47And immediately recognized it
09:50And so when he arrived there
09:53My brother had passed away
09:56He was dead on the floor in front of the stairs
10:00The scene pointed to a tragic accident
10:04The deputy coroner arrived
10:06To figure out exactly how Stephen had died
10:23Initial signs suggested a fatal fall down the stairs
10:27But the deputy coroner also noticed that Stephen's face
10:31Had a grayish pallor
10:32And concluded his probable cause of death
10:36Apparently the coroner had seen a discoloration of his skin
10:39And immediately thought that it was a heart attack
10:42A simple matter of him having a heart attack
10:46And falling down the stairs
10:49When the deputy coroner offered to take Stephen Clayton's body
10:52To the morgue to run some tests
10:54Lana made a snap decision
10:57She indicated that she did not want an autopsy performed
11:00She wanted to have him cremated
11:02So she asked that he be taken to a local funeral home
11:05She gave them the name of the funeral home
11:07And the body was removed at that point
11:10Although Stephen's body was already on its way
11:13To the funeral home
11:14There was still one close family member
11:17Who had not even been informed of his death
11:19Nick suggested and said
11:22Why hasn't Chris got here yet?
11:24And he came to learn
11:25Chris, who was the nephew of Stephen
11:27And very, very close, like a son to Stephen
11:30Had not even been called
11:33So he told Lana, we need to call Chris
11:35He needs to know
11:37And when he said that to Lana
11:39She went berserk
11:42She did not want Christopher to be there
11:44She did not want to notify Christopher
11:47That was an outrage to Nick
11:50Because he knew of their closeness
11:52Even though Lana was very insistent
11:54That Christopher not be called
11:56Nick did the right thing
11:58And he called Christopher immediately
11:59When Christopher learned of Stephen's death
12:03He relayed the sad news to Rosie
12:05The first thing I heard
12:07My nephew crying
12:08Like a baby
12:10Saying
12:13Uncle Steve is gone
12:14Uncle Steve is gone
12:16And I couldn't speak
12:17I had to hand the phone to my husband
12:20Because I couldn't speak
12:24It was not news that I was prepared to hear
12:28He was a very good person
12:31And he was my best friend
12:35And every single day I miss him
12:47After informing Rosie
12:48And the rest of Stephen Clayton's
12:50Extended family in Florida
12:51About his sudden death from a heart attack
12:54Which may have led to a fatal fall
12:56Down the stairs
12:57Stephen's nephew Chris
12:58Went to the family South Carolina home
13:01To be with his grieving family
13:04Christopher arrived at the house
13:06His wife met him there
13:07And so he was coming to comfort Lana
13:10And Chris continued to try to reassure her
13:13By saying
13:14You don't have to worry about anything
13:17Lana
13:18Uncle Steve has everything written down in his will
13:23And she immediately told him
13:24There is no will
13:28And this could not have been further from the truth
13:32Not only did Christopher know about the will
13:34Christopher had seen the will
13:36It was so large
13:38It was practically the size of a ream of paper
13:41Lana continued to insist that there was no will
13:45To the point that she became infuriated with Christopher
13:50It was clear to them at that point
13:53Something was off
13:54This wasn't right
13:55And this needed to be looked at further
13:57You would imagine that having been married
14:00For five years
14:01That Lana would be aware of the existence of a will
14:04Especially, you know, when her husband is financially very successful
14:08It does suggest a real disconnect between the family unit and Lana
14:13And that kind of suggests either that they're both receiving different information
14:17Or that there's something else going on there
14:19That's kind of hidden beneath the surface
14:21Thrown by Lana Clayton's denial of the existence of a will
14:25Stephen's nephews went upstairs to check out his bedroom
14:29Where they found a shocking scene
14:31In the bedroom they see the bed is in disarray
14:35The bed is filthy
14:36There's vomit on the bed
14:37The mattress is soaked with urine
14:40So soaked that the urine has actually started to puddle
14:45Beneath the mattress underneath the bed
14:48The thing you have to know about Stephen is
14:51Is that he was an extremely fastidious individual
14:53He was very clean
14:55He would sometimes shower twice a day
14:57To be lying in a pool of his own bodily fluids
15:01Is not only an undignified situation for any human being
15:05But it is absolutely not one that my brother would find himself in
15:11The second thing was they couldn't find his phone anywhere
15:14It wasn't in the bedroom
15:16Which also struck them as odd
15:18Because he was glued to his phone
15:20And if he was bedridden for several days
15:22His phone should have been right there next to him
15:24But it wasn't
15:25So things were really jumping out to Nick at this point
15:28Why hadn't Lana called 911 herself?
15:31There were two phones in the house at the time
15:33Why'd she have to run out onto the street
15:35Asking someone else to call 911?
15:37It was also really strange that Lana didn't give Steve CPR herself
15:43She was a nurse
15:43She was medically trained to know how to do that
15:46This was really unusual
15:49Despite Nick's misgivings
15:51The official verdict was that Stephen's fatal fall
15:54Was caused by a heart attack
15:56And no foul play was involved
15:58This was not a suspicious enough situation
16:01They felt that they could rely upon the coroner
16:06And the coroner's perspective
16:08That because of his discoloration in his face
16:11That this was clearly a heart attack
16:14And that he had fallen down the stairs
16:18So they had no reason to look further into it
16:24Later that evening
16:26Stephen's sister Rosie called Lana
16:28To ask how Stephen had gotten so ill
16:30And why she hadn't heard from him
16:33In the days leading up to his death
16:35I finally got a return call from Lana
16:37After having called her numerous times
16:40And it was approximately 3 o'clock in the morning
16:43And she was inebriated
16:46She was angry
16:48And she had no empathy
16:51For the fact that I had just lost my brother
16:54She was livid
16:56That Steve's family members
16:59Were letting her know
17:01That there was a will
17:02When she claimed
17:03That she knew for a fact
17:04That there wasn't
17:08I asked her
17:09What was going on
17:10Prior to this
17:12And she told me
17:13That he had been feeling ill
17:14And I asked her
17:15Where were you?
17:17And she said
17:18I was out mowing the lawn
17:20And I said
17:21But aren't you telling me
17:22That he was violently ill?
17:24If he was violently ill
17:25Why were you outside mowing the lawn?
17:27And just as a knee-jerk reaction
17:30She said
17:30Because he was being so needy
17:35When I asked her
17:36Why it was that
17:37I wasn't able to hear from him
17:38When I texted him
17:39Or called him
17:40She said somewhat nonchalantly
17:43I'm not sure
17:44Maybe it's at the bottom of the lake
17:47That almost made my heart stop
17:48Because I knew
17:50That my brother
17:50Wouldn't be without a phone
17:52That was a moment
17:54When I felt
17:55Something was terribly wrong
17:58As the call progressed
18:00Rosie became even more shocked
18:02By what Lana Clayton was saying
18:04Lana tried to tell me
18:07That Steve was a hardcore drug user
18:10I know my brother
18:12And he was not a hardcore drug user
18:15The reason why
18:16She started to say
18:17What she said about the drug use
18:18Is as an excuse
18:20To have him cremated right away
18:21So it wouldn't be embarrassing
18:23To his family
18:24That they would find
18:25Hardcore drugs in his system
18:27There's now this accumulation
18:29Of kind of unusual behaviors
18:31Coming from Lana
18:32Around the circumstances
18:34Of this death
18:34And it is driving
18:36This kind of wedge
18:37Between her and the family
18:39Later that day
18:40After Rosie's early hours phone call
18:43Lana also spoke to
18:45Steven's nephew Chris
18:46Banning him and others
18:48From coming to the family house
18:51She said only her children
18:53Were allowed in the house
18:54She didn't want family members there
18:56And she said that there was going
18:58To be a memorial service
18:59At some point
19:00And that's when I could come
19:03Aside from keeping everybody
19:04In the family away
19:06She immediately gave away
19:08All of his clothes
19:09My brother had a really lovely
19:11Collection of watches
19:12None of that was found
19:14My brother was a collector
19:15Of art and sculpture
19:17These things were also missing
19:20Imagine my brother
19:22Hadn't even been dead
19:23For 24 hours
19:24And she's already getting rid
19:26Of all the clothes
19:28This doesn't make sense to me
19:29This doesn't make any sense at all
19:33Steve's sister Rosie
19:34Was well within her right
19:35To be upset and confused
19:37By Lana selling off
19:38All of his property so fast
19:39It is very unusual
19:41It's very fast
19:42And especially when he has
19:43Other family members
19:44Who might want to be involved
19:45In that process
19:46On the other hand
19:48You could say that actually
19:49This behaviour is that
19:50Of a traumatised woman
19:51Trying to rid herself
19:53Of the reminders of her husband
19:54That are surrounding her
19:56So there are explanations
19:58But it is still unusual behaviour
20:01Suspicious of Lana's behaviour
20:03And the state of Stephen Clayton's bedroom
20:05His nephews Nick and Chris
20:07Decided to take action
20:09To find out if it was just
20:10A tragic accident
20:11Or something more sinister
20:13Could he even have been pushed
20:16They wanted to get to the truth
20:19They did not believe
20:21That Steve had died
20:22Of natural causes
20:23And they wanted to get
20:24A secret autopsy done
20:26Before Lana got Steve cremated
20:28Nick of his own volition
20:30Went to the York County Sheriff's Office
20:31And laid out his concerns
20:33Told them why he felt
20:35Something was wrong
20:36And asked for their assistance
20:38In getting an autopsy
20:40The coroner listened
20:41To their concerns
20:42And agreed that
20:43This was a case
20:44That merited further inquiry
20:45So she directed
20:47That the body be retrieved
20:48From the funeral home
20:49Taken to the morgue
20:50And ordered an autopsy
20:52To be performed on it
20:53But Nick had one more request
20:55And that was to run
20:57Toxicology tests
20:58On Steve's blood
20:59A toxicologist
21:01Is a specific type of scientist
21:03Who examines bodily fluids
21:05To determine the presence
21:07Of foreign chemicals
21:09Or foreign agents
21:10That may have also impacted
21:12Or caused
21:13Brought about the death
21:14Of someone
21:15So a toxicology
21:17Was ordered in this case
21:18And blood was sent off
21:19To a toxicologist
21:22While they waited
21:23For Stephen's body
21:24To be collected
21:25From the funeral home
21:26For the autopsy
21:27His police officer
21:29Nephew Nick
21:29Decided to dig deeper
21:31Into the circumstances
21:32Surrounding his uncle's death
21:34My nephew felt
21:36That it was imperative
21:37That we have
21:39As much information
21:40As possible
21:41And as quickly as possible
21:44Nick called some contacts
21:45In the police department
21:47To try and get them
21:48To investigate
21:48What had happened
21:49But he hit a brick wall
21:51He then decided
21:52To hire a private investigator
21:54To look around
21:55Into some of the circumstances
21:56Surrounding Steve's death
21:58The investigator found
21:59That Lana was trying
22:01To liquidate Steve's asset
22:04They also found
22:05That she had a fire pit
22:07In her garden
22:07And she had been
22:08Burning various documents
22:10That belonged to Steve
22:12Everything that was
22:13In my brother's
22:14Filing cabinets
22:15And there were
22:15Two large filing cabinets
22:17Was all dumped
22:19Into the fire pit
22:22As the investigation
22:24Continued
22:25Stephen Clayton's
22:26Autopsy results
22:27Were released to police
22:28Including his nephew Nick
22:31Steve's autopsy results
22:33Came back
22:33And showed that
22:34He had had heart disease
22:35Which supported
22:36The initial theory
22:37That he had died
22:38Of natural causes
22:39But Steve's family
22:40Would have to wait
22:41A lot longer
22:42For the toxicology report
22:43Which takes a lot longer
22:44To come back
22:46Meanwhile
22:46Stephen's body
22:48Was returned
22:48To the funeral home
22:49For cremation
22:50And on August 4th
22:51Two weeks
22:52After Stephen died
22:53Lana held
22:54A private memorial service
22:56At the family home
22:57There were a lot
22:58Of Steve's mentees
23:00There
23:01And Steve's closest
23:02Friends were there
23:03But there was
23:04Just an air
23:05Of something bizarre
23:06Lana's behavior
23:08At the memorial
23:09Was very out
23:11Of the ordinary
23:11She wore a red
23:14And white dress
23:15Sun dress
23:16She didn't act like
23:19A person who
23:20Had just lost somebody
23:22That was dear to them
23:24She didn't interact much
23:26With many of the guests
23:27She only interacted
23:28With the neighbors
23:28There were many of us
23:30That had a tremendous
23:31Amount of suspicion
23:32But there was absolutely
23:34Nothing that we could do
23:35Until the toxicology
23:36Reports came back
23:39About two weeks
23:40After Stephen's memorial
23:41The report
23:43Was finally released
23:44To Stephen's nephews
23:45Nick and Chris
23:46It revealed
23:48That he had
23:50The presence
23:51Of a large amount
23:52Of tetrahydrosaline
23:54Which is the active
23:55Ingredient in visine
23:57In his system
23:5868 nanograms
23:59Per milliliter
24:00Which was a lethal
24:02Load of tetrahydrosaline
24:06Vizine is an eyedrop
24:08But there are many
24:09Different products
24:10That serve this purpose
24:11That have tetrahydrosaline
24:13In them
24:13When you use eyedrops
24:15To get the red
24:16Out of your eyes
24:16That's the thing
24:18In the eyedrop
24:19That actually does the job
24:21It's a vasoconstrictor
24:22It takes blood vessels
24:24That are expanded
24:25And narrows them down
24:27It does the same thing
24:29When you ingest it
24:30And your blood vessels
24:31Will constrict
24:32It can make you sick
24:33By nauseating you
24:35It can make you dizzy
24:36It can make you pass out
24:38And ultimately
24:39It can kill you
24:40Because your blood vessels
24:42Are too narrow
24:43And your heart
24:44Is working too hard
24:45To try to pump blood
24:46Through tubes
24:47That have been narrowed
24:48By this drug
24:50Using eyedrops
24:51Appropriately
24:53You would expect
24:53To find 0.38 nanograms
24:56Per milliliter
24:57In the body
24:59Steven had
25:0068 nanograms
25:02Per milliliter
25:03Which is a thousand
25:04Times more
25:04Than what you
25:05Would normally find
25:06Now the question arises
25:09How did that tetrahydrosaline
25:11Get into mr. Clayton's body
25:12And that is not something
25:15That would naturally occur
25:16So somebody must have put it into him
25:19The morning that the toxicology report
25:22Became available
25:23The phone rang
25:24And it was my nephew Christopher
25:26And through fighting back tears
25:30And anger
25:32He screamed
25:33She did it
25:35She did it
25:35She killed him
25:36She did it
25:37She killed him
25:38The report really said
25:40That my brother
25:40Had been murdered
25:42That he had been
25:43Intentionally poisoned
25:45I could barely speak
25:46With anyone
25:48Because there was no way
25:49That anyone would want
25:51To cause that kind of harm
25:52To someone as kind
25:54And generous
25:55And loving
25:56As Steven
26:04It was initially believed
26:06That Steven Clayton
26:08Had a heart attack
26:08And potentially fell
26:10To his death
26:11At his South Carolina home
26:13But a toxicology test
26:15On his blood
26:16Shockingly revealed
26:18That he was actually killed
26:19By a lethal overdose
26:20Of a chemical
26:21Called tetrahydrosaline
26:23Also known as THZ
26:26Commonly found in eye drops
26:28THZ constricts blood vessels
26:31Causing severe nausea
26:33Extremely low blood pressure
26:34And in Steven's case
26:36Death
26:39When that toxicology report
26:42Came back
26:42The police had
26:43Something definitive
26:45Up until that point
26:46They didn't have much
26:47But this report
26:48Now showed
26:49That Steve had been poisoned
26:52Police were now dealing
26:54With a potential murder
26:55But did the poison alone
26:58Kill Steven
26:59Or was he even poisoned
27:01And then pushed
27:02To his death
27:03Investigators were determined
27:05To find out
27:08On August 17th 2018
27:10The York County Sheriff's Office
27:12Launched an investigation
27:13Into Steve's death
27:1512 days later
27:17On August 29th 2018
27:20Just over one month
27:22After Steven died
27:23His wife Lana Clayton
27:25Was called
27:26To the York County
27:27Coroner's Office
27:29The coroner and the sheriff's office
27:31Agreed that the best way
27:32To conduct the interview
27:33Would be just to bring her in
27:34For the purpose of discussing
27:37With the coroner
27:37The results of the autopsy
27:39And toxicology
27:44The coroner and the sheriff's office
27:45Did not want her to know
27:46That the sheriff's office
27:47Was involved at that point
27:49They didn't want to
27:50Arouse her suspicions
27:51So the police would not be
27:53In the room where
27:54The initial interview
27:55Was conducted
27:56They would be in an adjacent room
27:58Monitoring and listening
28:00To what was going on
28:02One of the most interesting
28:03Features of the interview
28:05With the coroner
28:07Was the fact that
28:09Completely unsolicited
28:11Lana volunteered
28:13That her husband
28:14Used to put a couple of drops
28:16Of Visine in his morning coffee
28:18To help keep regular
28:20That he used that
28:20To sort of help him
28:21Move his bowels each morning
28:29This was not responsive
28:31To anything in particular
28:32At this point in time
28:34She didn't even know
28:35That the toxicology report
28:37Revealed what it did
28:39In terms of human behavior
28:41If you're volunteering information
28:43Before being asked about it
28:45It's often because
28:46You're implying your innocence
28:48Because you don't believe
28:49This is information
28:50That can implicate you
28:51So in this case
28:53Where Lana
28:54Is volunteering information
28:55About the eye drops
28:56That implies
28:57That she's trying to
28:59Reassert her innocence
29:01And the innocence
29:01Of this chemical
29:02Being in Steve's system
29:04Not long after Lana's admission
29:06Detectives entered the room
29:17When the investigators
29:19Entered the room
29:20Lana barely flinched
29:22It was as though
29:22She had been expecting
29:24Them to come
29:25Somehow or other
29:26There was a large amount
29:27Of vising
29:28In his system
29:29So that's what we're
29:30Trying to get to
29:31The bottom of
29:32I know he put the vising
29:34In his top
29:35He puts it in there
29:36Every day
29:38What do you know about it?
29:40What do I know about it?
29:42I know
29:44I know it makes you have diarrhea
29:47Detectives began to pick holes
29:49In Lana's story
29:50How could Steve
29:51Have been putting
29:52These drops of vising
29:54Into his coffee
29:55When she alleged
29:56That he was so sick
29:58And bedridden
29:59It was at this point
30:00That Lana's tact
30:01Totally changed
30:02She then started
30:03To blame Steve
30:05And to attack his character
30:06He can be really nasty
30:09You know
30:09Okay
30:10What is nasty Steve like?
30:12He's really verbally
30:13Abusive
30:14You know
30:15Calling names
30:17Calling
30:17Like what were you calling him?
30:19I don't know
30:21Stupid
30:23I don't know
30:24Just all kinds of things
30:26I could see it escalating
30:28To not make me nervous
30:30But
30:30I can just
30:31You know
30:33Try and stay on his way
30:37In criminology
30:39There's a theory
30:40Called ideal victim theory
30:41That basically says
30:43That the more tarnished
30:44Someone's character is
30:45The less readily
30:46They're given status
30:48As a legitimate victim
30:49Basically meaning that
30:51If someone has performed
30:53Negative acts
30:54The general population
30:55Have less sympathy
30:56For them as a victim
30:58And so I think
30:59This is Lana's attempt
31:00To basically reduce
31:02Public sympathy
31:03For Steve
31:04So people stop
31:05Looking into it so much
31:06And stop asking
31:07As many questions
31:10The information she's providing
31:12About his character
31:12Doesn't really move the needle
31:14On whether or not
31:16He was murdered
31:16Or how he was murdered
31:17All of that is irrelevant
31:19To the central question
31:20Of how did that visine
31:22How did that THZ
31:24Get into his system
31:25Right now
31:25Right now
31:26The dead is suspicious
31:27To know you
31:27There's only two people
31:29In the house
31:29It was you and him
31:31I know
31:31Did you make his coffee for him?
31:33No
31:33He made his coffee
31:35Everybody keeps asking me
31:36You know
31:38About the coffee
31:40And I know they're wanting
31:40To know about the visine
31:41I feel like you guys are
31:43You know
31:44Doing your job
31:45And you're
31:45You know
31:46Wondering if I killed
31:47My husband
31:47And I did not
31:48Kill my husband
31:51As the interview progressed
31:53Lana became more
31:54And more aware
31:56That she was the focus
31:58Of the interview
31:58And she was an object
32:00Of suspicion
32:01And the interview
32:02There at the coroner's office
32:03Terminated when she
32:04Invoked her right to counsel
32:06And said she did not
32:07Wish to answer
32:07Any further questions
32:08Without an attorney present
32:13Later that day
32:15Investigators searched
32:16The Clayton's home
32:17Looking for eyedrops
32:19Containing THZ
32:21They would be looking
32:23For anything that had
32:24Any visine residue in it
32:26Glasses, cups
32:27Anything like that
32:29That would help
32:30Inform the investigation
32:32On the circumstances
32:33Of this man's death
32:34The police were able
32:37To find some visine
32:38In the house
32:39Not unusual amounts
32:41But the bulk
32:42Of the item seized
32:44Revolved around
32:45Digital evidence
32:46That would help
32:47Give a better understanding
32:48Of what had taken place
32:52At about 6.15
32:54Detective Motes
32:55Who had been
32:55At the coroner's office
32:56Arrived at the house
32:57And the search
32:58Was concluding
32:59At about that time
33:00Shortly thereafter
33:01While he was at the house
33:03He was approached
33:04By Lana
33:05Who asked him
33:07If she could speak
33:08To him
33:09He started a recorder
33:11And recorded the conversation
33:13That took place
33:16I told him
33:17I wanted a divorce
33:19And so we've been
33:21You know
33:22Just been cold in here
33:24And arguing
33:24And everything
33:25And after he had
33:27That incident
33:29Which he said
33:30It was vertigo
33:32And I was taking care of him
33:33And everything
33:34But I was still so angry
33:36Angry with him
33:38And my girlfriend
33:39At work
33:39Told me
33:40You want to get
33:40Even with somebody
33:41You know
33:42Put visine in
33:43A drink
33:43It'll cause diarrhea
33:44And when I saw
33:45That visine
33:46On the table
33:47It just came back
33:48To me
33:48And I just
33:49Took and squirted it
33:50And what did you
33:51Squirt it into?
33:52His water
33:52Into his water?
33:54I did it
33:59Lana admitted
34:00That she had
34:01In fact
34:01Administered the visine
34:02To her husband
34:03Steven
34:04That she had been
34:05The one who gave it to him
34:08It was very helpful
34:09That she admitted this
34:10First because
34:11It resolved the issue
34:13Of who gave him
34:14The THZ
34:15But secondly
34:15Because it did so
34:17In a recorded fashion
34:18That would be
34:20Incontrovertible in court
34:24At that point
34:25We had enough information
34:27And evidence
34:27To file murder charges
34:29Against her
34:32The police
34:33Police were set
34:33To arrest Lana
34:34For Steve's murder
34:35But then they receive
34:36A call
34:37From one of her neighbours
34:38Saying that Lana
34:39Had been found unconscious
34:41When the police go there
34:43The gas has been left on
34:44And Lana is surrounded
34:46By sleeping tablets
34:58After going to Lana
34:59Clayton's home
35:00To arrest her
35:01For the murder
35:01Of her husband
35:02Steven
35:03And finding her
35:04Unconscious
35:05After an apparent
35:06Suicide attempt
35:07Police
35:08Rushed
35:09To save her
35:11When they arrived
35:12At the house
35:13They found her
35:13Upstairs
35:14In the bed
35:15Unresponsive
35:16They found suicide notes
35:18Apologising for her behaviour
35:20They were able
35:21To get her
35:21To the hospital
35:22She was treated there
35:23She was not
35:24In serious condition
35:25After a few hours
35:26They were able
35:27To take her
35:27To the jail
35:28And book her in
35:29Lana's attempt
35:30At taking her own life
35:31Really implies
35:32Different things
35:33Based on whether
35:34She's guilty or not
35:35If she's innocent
35:36Then this is a woman
35:37Who has experienced
35:38Significant trauma
35:40But if she's guilty
35:41Then this is someone
35:43Perhaps trying to escape
35:44From the mess
35:46That they've created
35:47And don't seem
35:48That they can get out of
35:49On August 31st
35:51Lana was taken
35:52To York County
35:53Detention Centre
35:54Where she was then
35:55Charged with murder
35:56And tampering
35:57With a food or drug
36:00News of Lana's arrest
36:02Spread to Stephen Clayton's
36:04Family and friends
36:06If you ask me
36:07How I felt
36:08At that moment
36:09For me all the questions
36:11Just kept getting
36:12Bigger and bigger
36:13Because at that moment
36:14She became
36:15A real live monster
36:18A monster capable
36:19Of taking away
36:21A person who
36:22Had represented
36:23So much good
36:24In my life
36:25And so much good
36:25In the lives
36:26Of so many people
36:29After her arrest
36:30Lana continued
36:31To disparage Stephen
36:33She continued
36:34To paint a picture
36:35Of an abusive person
36:37And make herself
36:39Out to be the victim
36:40Of his abuse
36:41She claimed
36:42That Steve
36:43Had been emotionally
36:44And physically abusive
36:46To her
36:46That he was a heavy
36:47Drug user
36:48And that he had
36:49Viewed child abuse
36:50Images
36:52But the toxicology
36:53Report only showed
36:54That he had
36:55A small amount
36:56Of marijuana
36:57And prescription
36:57Tamazepam
36:58In his system
36:59And when investigators
37:01Checked his computer
37:02There was no evidence
37:03To support Lana's
37:04Allegations
37:05That he had
37:05Child abuse images
37:08She started accusing him
37:09Of being an abusive
37:10Husband
37:11So one of the things
37:13We wanted to find out
37:14Was what the other women
37:16He had been married to
37:16Had experienced
37:17None of the wives
37:19That he had previously
37:20Been married to
37:21Ever indicated
37:22That he was abusive
37:23They characterized him
37:24As a loving
37:25Caring husband
37:26And they said
37:26Their time with him
37:27Was some of the best
37:28In their lives
37:28She said that he was abusive
37:30But at the same time
37:32She would send me
37:32Text messages
37:33Saying how very much
37:34In love they were
37:36So I think she was
37:38Grasping at any sympathy
37:40That she could get
37:41From any person
37:44And none of it
37:45Made sense
37:50With Lana in custody
37:52Awaiting trial
37:53Police check through
37:54Their records
37:55For any previously
37:56Reported incidents
37:57At the Clayton home
37:59There was only one
38:00When we did that
38:01One incident
38:03That the police
38:04Had been called out
38:05To the Clayton household
38:06And when we researched
38:08That incident report
38:09And read through it
38:10The already bizarre case
38:12Became even more unusual
38:16What we came to learn
38:17After reading this incident
38:18Report was that Lana
38:20Shot Stephen
38:21In the back of the head
38:22With a crossbow
38:23In 2016
38:24At about 3 o'clock
38:25In the morning
38:25While he lay in bed
38:27Asleep
38:30Luckily it only grazed him
38:32When she was probed
38:33About this
38:34Officers said
38:35Had you had an argument
38:36She said no
38:36Everything was fine
38:37Steve was just asleep
38:38He corroborated that
38:40Said it was just an accident
38:41So the case was closed
38:42Steve's reaction
38:43To the crossbow incident
38:45Throws into question
38:46Lana's account
38:47Of him being violent
38:48Towards her
38:49The fact that he was
38:50So readily
38:51Happy to let that slide
38:53A really serious
38:54And significant incident
38:56But then on the other hand
38:57You do have to wonder
38:59If it was kind of
39:00Representative
39:00Of an extreme level
39:02Of violence
39:03That was becoming
39:03Quite normalized
39:04In their relationship
39:05We were very shocked
39:07To find out
39:08That this had occurred
39:09A couple of years prior
39:10The fact that we now knew
39:13That she had been doing this
39:15Well prior to what she did
39:17To take his life
39:18Was just another reason
39:21To feel sick
39:22In the middle of our gut
39:24Because there were just
39:25Too many situations
39:26Where I would get a phone call
39:28From my brother
39:29After having tried
39:30To reach him for a day or two
39:32And he'd call me and say
39:33You're not going to believe this
39:34I was asleep for two days
39:36I had the worst sunstroke
39:38But now looking back
39:40She was checking to see
39:41What was the dose
39:42That was going to take his life
39:46The prosecution now
39:47Had a very strong case
39:49Against Lana Clayton
39:50They had the toxicology report
39:52That showed those fatal
39:54Amounts of vicine
39:55In Steve's bloodstream
39:56They had been administered
39:58To him against his will
39:59They then also had the fact
40:01That Steve had been bedridden
40:02For so long
40:03And his mobile phone
40:05Had just gone missing
40:06So the question becomes
40:07Why did she do this?
40:09Well every woman
40:10That he'd ever been married to
40:12He had a prenuptial agreement
40:13With he was a very wealthy man
40:15So we believe one existed
40:18With Lana as well
40:19But that it was destroyed
40:21By Lana after he died
40:23Along with the will
40:24If there's no will
40:25In South Carolina
40:26And you die without a will
40:28Everything you have
40:29Goes to your spouse
40:33She's the one
40:34Who stood to benefit
40:35Because she was going to be
40:37The sole beneficiary
40:38Of his estate
40:39And that's why she did
40:41What she did
40:42Our options at this point
40:44Was proceed on a murder charge
40:45Which if that was going to happen
40:48She would go to trial
40:50And then the only other option
40:52Was try to come to some sort
40:53Of agreement with the defense
40:54That would expose her
40:56To what was the equivalent of life
40:58Without having to go to trial
41:00And we would spare the victim's family
41:02The rigors of trial
41:04The trauma of going through
41:05This detailed description
41:06Of what their loved one went through
41:09We were not going to let this monster
41:11Go free
41:14And there was a great chance
41:16That she could have
41:16We took the wise counsel
41:19Of the people
41:20In the solicitor's office
41:22And decided that we would go ahead
41:25And accept a plea
41:26For voluntary manslaughter
41:30By accepting a guilty plea
41:31Even of a lower level offense
41:33That means the family have secured
41:34That there will be some form of justice
41:37Whereas going to trial
41:38On a no guilty plea
41:40On a circumstantial evidence case
41:42Means that they'd run the risk
41:43Of there not being any justice served
41:48On January 16th, 2020
41:50Lana Clayton pleaded guilty
41:53To voluntary manslaughter
41:55And tampering with a food or drug
41:57Our objective was to secure a sentence
42:00That was tantamount to life
42:02And ultimately the judge concluded
42:05That a 25-year no-parole sentence
42:06Was appropriate
42:07So she will remain in jail
42:09Until she's 73 years old
42:13We'll never know for sure
42:14What took place in that house
42:16But I believe that Stephen Clayton
42:19Was poisoned over several days
42:22It was clear that she had basically
42:25Held him hostage
42:28Captive using this chemical
42:30Before he finally succumbed
42:33To the poison that was in his system
42:34And collapsed
42:35Perhaps falling down the last few stairs
42:38Landing at the foot of the stairs
42:40Where he was found
42:42This was a prolonged
42:44Torturous experience
42:45For Stephen Clayton
42:46And a horrible one
42:48That she was the mastermind and architect
42:52For and wholly responsible
42:57At court, Rosie and other members
43:00Of Stephen's family
43:01Were given the chance to read out
43:03Their victim impact statements
43:04In front of the now convicted murderer
43:07Lana Clayton
43:08There was a lot of pain
43:10And at the same time
43:12There was a feeling of
43:15Such betrayal
43:16That I could have trusted somebody
43:19With the life of someone so dear to me
43:23It was a ruse
43:25The fact that she was a person trained
43:29In life savings
43:30She used her training
43:32To cause another person harm
43:35She stole him from me
43:38And my heart pities
43:42The agony that she must have to face
43:44Not just in this world
43:45But in whatever world is to come
43:50But from my own brother
43:51I learned
43:53To forgive
43:56And I think that that's
43:57The only place that I've been able
43:59To find peace
44:07Steve is going to be remembered
44:08By everyone who loved him
44:10For his joy
44:11And his laughter
44:13Steve wasn't happy
44:14Unless he was making
44:15Someone else happy
44:17And that joy
44:18Is my brother's greatest legacy
44:20The joy that he brought
44:22To so many people
44:23And all of them
44:24Think about him
44:25And pay that forward
44:27And they think about him
44:28And that joy
44:34That joy
44:34And that joy
45:01Gracias por ver el video.
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