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you know those stories that you hear like a blip on the newswire, and then later you really really wanted to know what happened next?
well, now here's your chance to get the latest scoop on most likely the strangest twist of events regarding Wendy's Hamburgers and the world of fast-food chili.
hold your stomachs, it's going to get weird.
(note to kasia: you may not want to read this, but then again, you might)
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No apparent link between finger, leopard attack victim
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Nevada officials said today there does not appear to be a link between a Las Vegas woman who said she found a finger in her chili bowl at a San Jose Wendy's and another Nevada woman who lost a finger tip during a leopard attack.
But authorities said they have not ruled out the possibility the finger from the leopard attack somehow ended up in the chili.
Sandy Allman, 59, of Pahrump, Nev., suspects her finger, which was bitten off by a leopard at her home in February, is the same finger that turned up in the Wendy's chili last month in San Jose.
Tony Demeo, sheriff of Nye County, Nev., said today there does not appear to be any evidence of a relationship between Allman and Anna Ayala, a 39-year-old Las Vegas woman who made the grisly discovery in her chili. He said his investigators are still working to determine if Allman's finger made it into Ayala's chili.
"We can't say this is the same finger one way or another, but the only thing we can truthfully say is there is no connection between (Allman) and the person who found finger in her food," Demeo said.
Allman's attorney, Philip Sheldon, said his client was prepared to submit to DNA testing to determine if the Wendy's finger is hers. He said San Jose police contacted Allman on Wednesday but have yet to obtain a DNA sample from her.
"I want this done as soon as possible so we can put this to bed and we can put away any questions about collusion" between Allman and Ayala, Sheldon said. Sheldon said the finger pulled from the Wendy's chili looked slightly larger than Allman's, but that could be the result of bloating or cooking over time. He said his client still believes the fingers are one and the same.
"It makes sense with the condition of the finger, the type of puncture wounds and the fact it wasn't cleanly severed," Sheldon said. Sheldon said Allman's nail was manicured. San Jose police said the finger found in the chili had a well-manicured nail.
Ayala, meanwhile, has abandoned legal claims against the Wendy's corporation and parted ways with her legal counsel.
San Jose police have also intensified their probe into the incident.
"Our investigators have been in contact with (Allman)," said Sgt. Nick Muyo. "With her cooperation we are working to find if there is a match between (the chili finger) and herself."
Police emphasized that the leopard incident was just one of many promising tips that had been called in since the March 22 discovery of the 1-inch finger.
Wendy's corporation has offered a $50,000 reward for information identifying the original owner. Police also received a tip from a woman who reported losing a finger while breaking up a dogfight, said San Jose police Officer Gina Tepoorten.
San Jose attorney Jeffrey Janoff confirmed Wednesday that he no longer represented Ayala and that a letter sent to the Wendy's corporation seeking compensation for the finger incident would be recalled.
Ayala, who family members say was visiting San Jose on Wednesday, was unavailable for comment. She has repeatedly denied planting the finger.
The investigation took another turn after Carol Asvestas, a director of the Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio, called Wendy's tip hot line Tuesday, saying the finger may have come from Allman, who lives in Pahrump, a small town about an hour's drive west of Las Vegas.
Asvestas said she had been called to the property by Allman, who requested help in rescuing six tigers and three leopards. Allman inherited the large cats from her ex-boyfriend.
During the Feb. 23 visit, Allman put her hand in the cage of a leopard named Anthony, who leaped forward and bit off the tip of Allman's left middle finger, Asvestas said.
"She was saying these are my babies, they would never hurt me, and then less than two seconds later, Anthony reared up and bit her, and the finger dropped inside the cage," Asvestas said.
Allman was taken to Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas and then to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, said Sheldon.
Sheldon said doctors had told Allman they could not reattach the finger because it was not a clean cut and there was a risk of infection. He said she had left the finger at Sunrise and returned home late that evening.
"That's the last place she saw it in a plastic bag in the emergency room," said Sheldon.
Sheldon said his client had never met Ayala and, until Wednesday, never considered that her finger might be involved in the Wendy's case.
Glenda McCartney, spokeswoman for Sunrise in Las Vegas, confirmed Allman had been a patient on Feb. 23 but declined to elaborate on her treatment because of confidentiality rules.
"We have not been approached by any investigative sources or police, but we would absolutely cooperate with the authorities, and we're certainly doing an internal investigation about Sandra Allman," McCartney said.
McCartney said there was no record that Ayala had ever been a patient at Sunrise.
Ayala's son, Guadalupe Reyes, 18, dismissed a possible link between Allman and his mother, whom he said was innocent.
"She doesn't even know how to get to Pahrump - she doesn't know where it is," Reyes said of his mother. "That's a lot of crap. There is no link between my mom and that person (Allman)."
The chili incident is at least the fourth event for which Ayala has unsuccessfully sought compensation in recent years.
Last week, Ayala claimed that she had received a $30,000 settlement from the El Pollo Loco restaurant chain after her 13-year-old daughter fell ill with food poisoning. But El Pollo Loco officials said Wednesday that Ayala had been paid nothing in response to her claim.
In 2000, Ayala sued a San Jose car dealership and Goodyear Tire Corp., and in 1999 she filed a sexual harassment suit against La Oferta Review, a San Jose Spanish-language newspaper.
Stephen Jay, marketing director for JEM Management, which owns the Monterey Road Wendy's, and seven other Bay Area Wendy's restaurants, said business at the San Jose restaurant was down by at least half and was also down sharply at all 50 Bay Area restaurants.
The bizarre twists of the fast-food-finger saga have captivated people nationwide, including even those whose work has led them to believe they have already seen it all.
"My curiosity is killing me," said Sgt. Muyo, a longtime San Jose officer. "I'm dying to find out how this is all going to turn out."
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as are we all good sir, as are we all.
this only begs the question: where's the picture of the finger?
muahahah ahaha
(you read it, didn't you kasia? sorry bout that.)
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more gross information about "the chili finger mystery"
Ayala abandons Wendy's suit
Sales drop a few digits at Wendy's(4/10)
Finger finder has litigious past(4/9)
Police search woman's Las Vegas home(4/8)
No print match yet(4/1)
Woman recounts horror(3/29)
Was finger cooked with chili?(3/26)
Authorities seek hand with finger(3/25)
Two Cents: Your worst restaurant discovery?(3/25)
Woman finds finger in her chili(3/24)
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