Chilli bowl finger identified
The human finger a woman allegedly found buried in a bowl of chilli at a Wendy’s restaurant in the United States has been identfied, police said tonight.
The mystery digit belongs to a friend of the woman’s husband, who lost it in an industrial accident last December.
Anna Ayala was arrested in Las Vegas last month and charged with attempted larceny in what police said was a “hoax” against the fast-food chain.
“The jig is up, the puzzle pieces are beginning to fit together and the truth is being exposed,” said San Jose police chief Rob Davies.
The owner of the finger was identified after a call to Wendy’s reward hotline last week, he said.
Scientific testing “positively confirmed that this subject was in fact the source of the fingertip”.
Ms Ayala, 39, claimed she bit down on the finger as she ate at a San Jose Wendy’s in March. She described it as “kind of hard, crunchy”.
Throughout the investigation, the company remained adamant that the 1.5in finger did not originate in its ingredients. No employees had lost any fingers, and no suppliers had reported any hand or finger injuries, it said.
Ms Ayala dropped her claim against the chain last month, claiming the issue had caused her “great emotional distress”.
The company has lost millions of dollars in business and has been forced to lay off staff as a result of the stunt.
