PC-GUY
1
The mystery of the finger found in a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's last month deepened Thursday with revelations that police have searched the Las Vegas home of the woman who made the revolting find.
A tearful Anna Ayala, 39, angrily denied planting the finger in a telephone interview with The Chronicle. She accused San Jose and Las Vegas officers of bursting into her home with guns drawn on her and her family Wednesday afternoon.
"They put guns to us and handcuffed us and threw us to the ground in front of all my neighbors,'' Ayala said Thursday. She accused police of terrorizing her family, ransacking her home and injuring the arm of her 13- year-old daughter.
"They treated us like trash, like terrorists. It's the worst nightmare,'' she said.
San Jose police said they and local officers executed a search warrant regarding the wayward finger in Las Vegas, but refused to say whose property had been searched and whether anything was found.
Police would not respond to Ayala's claims of rough treatment or even acknowledge searching her home.
"We're not going to release any information that is going to jeopardize our investigation,'' said San Jose police spokeswoman Officer Gina Tepoorten.
She dismissed press rumors that authorities are investigating whether the finger belonged to Ayala's dead aunt.
"It's just rumor -- we have no information that it belongs to an aunt, '' Tepoorten said.
She added that investigators are interviewing anyone who might explain Ayala's grisly discovery March 22, when she reportedly bit into the finger while eating chili with relatives she was visiting in San Jose. Police are questioning Wendy's employees, its food suppliers, diners present that day and "anyone who knows the finder of the finger," Tepoorten said.
"We want to find out who the finger belongs to, from a criminal aspect. We don't know if this was an industrial accident or something more serious like an unreported homicide,'' she added.
The search was just the latest twist in the tale that has caused Wendy's San Jose sales to plummet and turned the chain's name into a punch line for late-night TV comedians. Ayala even recounted her disgust on "Good Morning America."
Santa Clara County investigators lifted a print from the 1 1/2-inch fingertip, but database searches have not revealed a match. DNA testing is under way, as well as chemical analysis to determine if the finger was preserved or cooked.
Meanwhile, Ayala denies even having a dead aunt. She said her family has become the subject of a bizarre witch hunt.
"Right here, I just heard on the TV news that my son cut off my daughter's finger and I put it in the (chili),'' the woman fumed. "It's just ridiculous.
"They're lying, and they're very, very wrong. They're doing all this damage to me, and they're going to pay for it," said Ayala, who has hired a civil attorney to investigate a possible lawsuit against Wendy's.
Ayala refused to say what police questioned her about and what they were searching for. "They went through everything, my clothes, my drawers. My garage looks like a tornado hit it," she said.
Ayala's attorney, Jeffrey Janoff, did not want to discuss the specifics of the case late Thursday. "It's apparently under police investigation, and we await the results of that investigation."
In what a Wendy's official insisted is a coincidence, the restaurant chain announced Thursday that it is offering a $50,000 reward to the first person who provides "verifiable information" that reveals how the finger got in the chili.
"We believe someone knows exactly what happened," Tom Mueller, Wendy's president and chief operating officer, said in a written statement, "and hopefully the reward will encourage this person to come forward."
But Ayala said a San Jose officer told a 23-year-old man who lives in her home "the Wendy's corporation will pay him so much money'' if he provides information about the finger case.
In a telephone interview Thursday night, Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini said he was unaware that Ayala's home had been searched. "We've had no information on that so far," he said.
Bertini acknowledged that the chain's business had suffered since the finger was found, with sales being "significantly impacted" in the Bay Area.
He said it is premature to discuss what action, if any, Wendy's will take if it turns out that the finger was a hoax.
Wendy's officials have said in earlier statements that they have checked with employees and suppliers and are convinced that the supply chain is clean. Wendy's asks anyone with information to call (800) 821-3348.
A tearful Anna Ayala, 39, angrily denied planting the finger in a telephone interview with The Chronicle. She accused San Jose and Las Vegas officers of bursting into her home with guns drawn on her and her family Wednesday afternoon.
"They put guns to us and handcuffed us and threw us to the ground in front of all my neighbors,'' Ayala said Thursday. She accused police of terrorizing her family, ransacking her home and injuring the arm of her 13- year-old daughter.
"They treated us like trash, like terrorists. It's the worst nightmare,'' she said.
San Jose police said they and local officers executed a search warrant regarding the wayward finger in Las Vegas, but refused to say whose property had been searched and whether anything was found.
Police would not respond to Ayala's claims of rough treatment or even acknowledge searching her home.
"We're not going to release any information that is going to jeopardize our investigation,'' said San Jose police spokeswoman Officer Gina Tepoorten.
She dismissed press rumors that authorities are investigating whether the finger belonged to Ayala's dead aunt.
"It's just rumor -- we have no information that it belongs to an aunt, '' Tepoorten said.
She added that investigators are interviewing anyone who might explain Ayala's grisly discovery March 22, when she reportedly bit into the finger while eating chili with relatives she was visiting in San Jose. Police are questioning Wendy's employees, its food suppliers, diners present that day and "anyone who knows the finder of the finger," Tepoorten said.
"We want to find out who the finger belongs to, from a criminal aspect. We don't know if this was an industrial accident or something more serious like an unreported homicide,'' she added.
The search was just the latest twist in the tale that has caused Wendy's San Jose sales to plummet and turned the chain's name into a punch line for late-night TV comedians. Ayala even recounted her disgust on "Good Morning America."
Santa Clara County investigators lifted a print from the 1 1/2-inch fingertip, but database searches have not revealed a match. DNA testing is under way, as well as chemical analysis to determine if the finger was preserved or cooked.
Meanwhile, Ayala denies even having a dead aunt. She said her family has become the subject of a bizarre witch hunt.
"Right here, I just heard on the TV news that my son cut off my daughter's finger and I put it in the (chili),'' the woman fumed. "It's just ridiculous.
"They're lying, and they're very, very wrong. They're doing all this damage to me, and they're going to pay for it," said Ayala, who has hired a civil attorney to investigate a possible lawsuit against Wendy's.
Ayala refused to say what police questioned her about and what they were searching for. "They went through everything, my clothes, my drawers. My garage looks like a tornado hit it," she said.
Ayala's attorney, Jeffrey Janoff, did not want to discuss the specifics of the case late Thursday. "It's apparently under police investigation, and we await the results of that investigation."
In what a Wendy's official insisted is a coincidence, the restaurant chain announced Thursday that it is offering a $50,000 reward to the first person who provides "verifiable information" that reveals how the finger got in the chili.
"We believe someone knows exactly what happened," Tom Mueller, Wendy's president and chief operating officer, said in a written statement, "and hopefully the reward will encourage this person to come forward."
But Ayala said a San Jose officer told a 23-year-old man who lives in her home "the Wendy's corporation will pay him so much money'' if he provides information about the finger case.
In a telephone interview Thursday night, Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini said he was unaware that Ayala's home had been searched. "We've had no information on that so far," he said.
Bertini acknowledged that the chain's business had suffered since the finger was found, with sales being "significantly impacted" in the Bay Area.
He said it is premature to discuss what action, if any, Wendy's will take if it turns out that the finger was a hoax.
Wendy's officials have said in earlier statements that they have checked with employees and suppliers and are convinced that the supply chain is clean. Wendy's asks anyone with information to call (800) 821-3348.