Police track down owner of digit in Wendy's finger case
Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 9:27 am
Police track down owner of digit in Wendy's finger case
Last Updated Fri, 13 May 2005
CBC News
SAN JOSE, CALIF - Police say a finger that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili belonged to an associate of the woman's husband, who lost it in an industrial accident.
"The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place," said Rob Davis, chief of police in San Jose, Calif.
Davis said the man's identity was traced through a tip made to Wendy's hotline and that authorities have "positively confirmed that this subject was in fact the source of the fingertip."
Anna Ayala, the woman who claimed to have found the finger, has been accused of making up the story. She has been charged with attempted grand larceny and grand larceny.
On March 22, she said she was sickened when she bit down on the finger fragment while dining with her family at a Wendy's outlet in San Jose, Calif.
Nobody had reported losing any digits at the restaurant or any of the food suppliers used by the chain.
Ayala threatened legal action against Wendy's after producing the 3.8-centimetre chili-covered fingertip, but later said she would not sue the corporation because the media coverage was too stressful.
Reports soon emerged that Ayala had launched a string of lawsuits against major corporations in the past.
In the wake of her claim, Wendy's said sales dropped at its northern California branches, leading the chain to reduce its workers' hours and even lay off some staff.
Wendy's had offered a $100,000 US reward to anyone helping the chain track down the owner of the missing finger.
Last Updated Fri, 13 May 2005
CBC News
SAN JOSE, CALIF - Police say a finger that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili belonged to an associate of the woman's husband, who lost it in an industrial accident.
"The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place," said Rob Davis, chief of police in San Jose, Calif.
Davis said the man's identity was traced through a tip made to Wendy's hotline and that authorities have "positively confirmed that this subject was in fact the source of the fingertip."
Anna Ayala, the woman who claimed to have found the finger, has been accused of making up the story. She has been charged with attempted grand larceny and grand larceny.
On March 22, she said she was sickened when she bit down on the finger fragment while dining with her family at a Wendy's outlet in San Jose, Calif.
Nobody had reported losing any digits at the restaurant or any of the food suppliers used by the chain.
Ayala threatened legal action against Wendy's after producing the 3.8-centimetre chili-covered fingertip, but later said she would not sue the corporation because the media coverage was too stressful.
Reports soon emerged that Ayala had launched a string of lawsuits against major corporations in the past.
In the wake of her claim, Wendy's said sales dropped at its northern California branches, leading the chain to reduce its workers' hours and even lay off some staff.
Wendy's had offered a $100,000 US reward to anyone helping the chain track down the owner of the missing finger.