Killed by nails, perhaps (5)
I believe the answer is:
slain
'killed' is the definition.
(slaying is a kind of killing)
'nails perhaps' is the wordplay.
'perhaps' indicates an anagram.
'nails' is an anagram of 'SLAIN'.
'by' is the link.
(Other definitions for slain that I've seen before include "Violently killed" , "Put to the sword" , "Slaughtered" , "Killed, murdered" .)