Woman bites off attacker's tongue, keeps it as evidence


A mother bit off an attacker's tongue and carried it in her mouth all the way to her home to ensure his capture.

Adele Barber, 29, was walking in an alleyway near her home when a man brushed past her.

Moments later, he ran back, pushed her against a wall and assaulted her, despite it being broad daylight.

Barber, who had been a victim of rape in the past, had enough clarity to realize she could fight back.

"[I was] more determined this time," she explains, "I thought 'I've got to get evidence and show this is not consensual. No one is going to do this to me again. I'm going to make sure this person gets the treatment they need.'"

"I wanted to get DNA and cause pain to get him off me. I didn't think I would bite off his tongue, I thought I would just get his DNA on my teeth," she continued.

The woman ran a mile home, with the tip of the man’s tongue in her mouth and called her husband, who advised her to put the piece of flesh in a sterile pot.


Two months later, the police were able to gather DNA from the tongue and arrested 28-year-old Ferdinand Manila.

He was found to be mentally ill and was convicted of two offenses against Barber as well as another victim, a 55-year-old woman he attacked minutes after Barber.

Despite the horrific attack, the brave young woman still wishes the best for her attacker, saying, “Hopefully he can get the treatment he needs and then get out and start his life again.”

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