Update: digging up dirt in finger case worked -- and fast!

NEWS FLASH: Aggressive defense tactics (see this post of mine) paid off rapidly in the case of the mysterious severed finger allegedly served up in Wendy's chili.

Here's the scoop:

LAS VEGAS - A woman who claimed that she scooped up a human finger in her chili at a Wendy's restaurant has decided not to sue the fast-food chain.

Anna Ayala is dropping her claim because the police investigations, DNA tests, a search of her home and intense publicity have "been very difficult for her emotionally," her attorney, Jeffrey Janoff, said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, police in San Jose, Calif., said they were investigating a potential connection to Sandy Allman, the owner of several exotic animals who lost a finger in a leopard attack Feb. 23 in Pahrump, 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

AP (via St. Louis Post Dispatch): "Wendy's is spared suit over finger"

Look, no doubt the heat that was put on her was tough "emotionally," but if she really chomped on a finger that she didn't put in the chili herself in order to create a lawsuit, wouldn't the emotional distress of that -- and potential recovery in the lawsuit -- far outweigh the distress of the investigatory tactics?

Obviously I can't publicly call her a liar based on a couple of AP stories. I don't know what really happened. If it's a fabrication, it's sure an oddly creative one that required a lot of leg work looking for body parts.

But the investigation into where the finger came from could have cut (pun unintended, but acknowledged) both ways.

Meaning that she might have been able to tie the finger to someone connected with the Wendy's supply chain, and giving up at this stage might mean she knew that wasn't going to happen.

Most people that lose a finger wind up in an ER somewhere, so that was a viable source of investigation, potentially useful to both sides. If the finger came from a dead body, it might be tougher!

Yucky case all around.

Just as unfortunate if a legitimate claim was squelched by the aggressive defense as if the claim was pure fabrication.