Los Angeles (E! Online) - Turns out Miss Puerto Rico was right all along.
Weeks after initial tests suggested she might have made up her pepper-spray story, Ingrid Marie Rivera was vindicated Wednesday when police in the territory reversed themselves and announced she was indeed targeted during the tiara contest.
San Juan police said investigators even have a suspect--a pageant volunteer whose identity is not being released until charges are filed. Detectives plan to present evidence collected over the past three weeks to the district attorney, who will decide whether to pursue the case.
Last month, Rivera and pageant organizers held a press conference to announce that her clothes and makeup were doused in noxious chemicals, believed to be pepper spray, in a failed bid to derail her shot at the title.
During the Nov. 23 competition, the 24-year-olds face and body broke out in hives. The pain was purportedly so intense that she needed to be iced down backstage before the finale. Still, she managed to work up a smile and beat out 29 rivals for the crown, making her Puerto Ricos official representative in next Julys Miss Universe Pageant.
Pageant officials called the sabotage a vile act and suggested it was an inside job. Adding to the drama, organizers said they received a bomb threat on the first day of the competition, and one of Riveras bags, containing clothes and credit cards, was stolen.
Authorities vowed to look into the matter. But the first battery of tests failed to turn up any traces of capsicum, the active chemical ingredient in pepper spray, on Riveras evening gown and makeup brush, and a skeptical police spokesman suggested the whole thing was a hoax.
Rivera went on the defensive, making stops on the talk-show circuit. During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she adamantly denied her rashes were self-inflicted and said she had noticed a pungent odor and something with a Jello-ish consistency on her outfit.
The police conducted a second round of tests, which did reveal that Riveras gown and bathing suit had been doused with pepper spray.
Miss Puerto Rico Universe was speaking the truth. She was being sincere about the allegations, said Lieutenant Eddie Hernandez, a spokesman for the San Juan Police.
Detectives homed in on the volunteer, one of five who worked backstage during the event, after conducting in-depth interviews with more than dozen people.
While police declined to discuss a motive, Hernandez speculated the perp did the dirty work after contestants and their stylists left the dressing room.
The pageants director, Magali Febles, promised to improve screening for volunteers in the future, noting they often get some people who are very fanatical about the ladies.
We generate a lot of passion, he said.
