Saga of Severed Finger Found In Wendy's Chili Continues...

[fishweewee]

Cops Raid Home of Fast-Food Finger Finder

Friday, April 08, 2005

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Investigators searched the Las Vegas home of a woman who claimed she scooped up a mouthful of finger along with her chili at a Wendy's restaurant last month.

City police, working with their counterparts in Las Vegas, served the warrant Wednesday as they investigated how a finger ended up in Anna Ayala's (search) bowl of chili.

"We are looking into every aspect in this case," San Jose police spokeswoman Gina Tepoorten said. "We are talking to people she knows as well as the finder of the finger. ... We want to determine who this finger belongs to and how it ended up in a bowl of chili."

Police would not say what was listed in the warrant.

Ayala, 39, was at the San Jose restaurant March 22 when she claimed she scooped up the 1½-long fingertip. She later filed a claim with the franchise owner, Fresno, Calif.-based JEM Management Corp. (search)

"Just knowing that there was a human remain in my mouth ... it is disgusting. It is tearing me apart inside," Ayala told ABC's "Good Morning America" on March 28.

Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini would not comment on the police investigation.

There was no answer at a home phone number listed for an Anna Ayala in Las Vegas. However, she told the San Jose Mercury News she would like to know what police were looking for in her home.

"I've been dragged through the mud," she said. "We've been treated like animals. I've been through too much."

On Thursday, Wendy's announced it would give a $50,000 reward to the first person providing verifiable information leading to the positive identification of the origin of the finger.

"It's very important to our company to find out the truth in this incident," said Tom Mueller, Wendy's president and chief operating officer.

Wendy's maintains the finger did not enter the food chain in its ingredients. All the employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients have reported any hand or finger injuries, the company said.

The Santa Clara County (search) coroner's office, using a partial fingerprint to attempt to find a match in an electronic database, came up empty. DNA testing is still being conducted.

[Nebe]

durrrr.. she threw it in there to make a quick million...

[redlite]

Yeah, but where is the rest of the person who "donated" part of their finger for a cut of the payoff?
Things some people would do for money.

[tynan19]

Probably buried.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by redlite

Yeah, but where is the rest of the person who "donated" part of their finger for a cut of the payoff?
Things some people would do for money.

I heard on the radio that she has an aunt that was recently deceased and could be the source...........

[redlite]

Guess it brings reality to the old sayin'
(kid)---"But Mommy, Mommy, I don't like Auntie"................
(mommy)----"Shut up and keep eatin'"

[ThrowingTimber]

theres someone outside the country who chopped off a finger.... Waiting to be paid.... Thats why they cant ID the finger... They should check any deliveries TO her...

[Gloucester2]

This has the same ring to it as the poor unfortunate woman that was raped at a Walt Disney World hotel in Orlando . . . was on the brink of a multi-million dollar settlemtent for failure to properly secure the facility when a relative of the girl ratted her out (because her cut of the settlement was too low) - turns out the whole thing was staged - the "rapist" was actually a relative (brother-in-law I think) . . . needed to make it look "authentic"

[Uncle Matt]

But Mommy, my Auntie hotdog has a bone in it.

[fishweewee]

New twist on finger found in Wendy's chili



LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- A woman who lost part of her finger in a leopard attack believes it was her body part that allegedly showed up a month later in a bowl of fast-food chili in California.

A lawyer for Sandy Allman, 59, said she wants to participate in any DNA testing of the finger, which she said she last saw packed in ice in a Las Vegas emergency room. Doctors told her it could not be reattached, and she does not know what happened to it after that, lawyer Philip Sheldon said.

The hospital said it cannot account for the 3/4-inch fingertip, which Allman lost February 23 in the attack at an exotic animal compound at her home in rural Pahrump, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas resident Anna Ayala claimed she found a 11/2-inch fingertip on March 22 while eating at a Wendy's in San Jose, California.

The two women have "absolutely no connection," Sheldon said.

He said Allman realizes her lost fingertip is only half as long as the one that Ayala claims to have found.

San Jose police said DNA tests would be taken to determine the finger's rightful owner.

Ayala, 39, was not considered a suspect, San Jose police spokeswoman Gina Tepoorten said.

Ayala was visiting relatives in San Jose on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. Her son, Guadalupe Reyes, 18, told The Associated Press that Ayala doesn't know Allman.

Ayala had filed a claim with the Wendy's franchise owner over her alleged discovery, but her attorney Jeffrey Janoff said Wednesday that she had decided not to pursue a lawsuit because the scrutiny by police and reporters had been "very difficult for her emotionally."

Court records show Ayala has a history of making claims against corporations, including a former employer, General Motors and a fast-food restaurant.

Wendy's maintains the finger did not enter the food in its ingredients. It has offered a $50,000 reward in the case and was keeping open a hot line for tips, spokesman Denny Lynch said.

Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center confirmed Allman's treatment after the leopard attack, but said there was no record of the fingertip in the Pathology Department, where it normally would have been taken.

There was also no record of Ayala as a patient or employee, spokeswoman Glenda McCartney said.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.