Former McDonald's employee charged after she contaminated ex-girlfriend's French fries

A former McDonald's employee in Massachusetts has been charged after police allege she deliberately contaminated French fries before serving them to her ex-girlfriend through the restaurant's drive-thru window.

Kaylie M. Santos, 22, of Southbridge, has been charged with distributing food with a harmful substance. She is scheduled to be arraigned on 5 June at Dudley District Court, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.

The viral video sparked the investigation

The investigation was launched on 7 May after Officer Hector Melendez became aware of a video posted to the Southbridge First Facebook page, which allegedly showed a McDonald's manager tampering with food before handing it to a customer.

The video, which police said was originally recorded on a Snapchat account, allegedly showed Santos inside the Southbridge McDonald's kitchen saying, "When your girlfriend wants french fries today right... she wants french fries today right," before placing fries into her mouth and then dropping them into a fry carton.

At the end of the footage, another voice can allegedly be heard saying, "dirty bitch."

Officers who had previously encountered Santos identified her from the footage.

More than 220 hours of surveillance reviewed

Detective Sergeant Evan Genkos subsequently reviewed surveillance footage from inside the restaurant alongside McDonald's ownership and management.

Investigators noted that the restaurant's team spent more than 220 hours locating the relevant incident within the surveillance records.

Footage dated 9 April 2026 allegedly showed Santos — who police said worked as a night manager — preparing a drive-thru order alongside another employee. Police allege Santos first appeared to spit into an empty fry carton before wiping her lips with her hand, with both employees reportedly laughing.

Santos then allegedly recorded a selfie video whilst placing fries into her mouth and then into the same carton, before handing the bag to a customer through the drive-thru window.

Drive-thru surveillance footage allegedly captured a grey Ford Fusion at the window at approximately 10:21 pm. Investigators traced the vehicle's registration to Haily Coburn, who subsequently confirmed she was the customer in question.

Ex-girlfriend was unaware until Snapchat video emerged

According to the police report, Coburn told investigators she and Santos had dated for approximately two years before breaking up in October 2024. She alleged that Santos had been harassing her and her new partner after learning she was in a new relationship.

Coburn told police she had only ordered two Dr Pepper soft drinks that evening but was unexpectedly handed fries as well, which she ate without suspecting anything was amiss.

"Haily stated it wasn't until she saw the Snapchat video online of what Santos did to the fries she had handed to her," Genkos wrote in the report. Coburn told investigators she wished to pursue criminal charges.

Police also noted in the report that the alleged incident appeared to have specifically targeted Coburn and that they do not believe any other customers were affected. A no-trespass order was issued against Santos and served on 12 May.

Police and restaurant issue statements

In a statement to PEOPLE, the Southbridge Police Department confirmed that the investigation into the alleged food contamination incident at the Southbridge McDonald's had concluded.

"As a result of the investigation, a 22-year-old female employee from Southbridge, MA, will be charged with one felony count of selling or distributing food with a foreign substance," the department said.

The department also commended the restaurant's ownership and management for their cooperation throughout the process.

"The Southbridge Police Department would also like to acknowledge the exceptional cooperation provided by the ownership and management of the Southbridge McDonald's throughout the course of this investigation," the statement read.

"Their assistance and professionalism were instrumental in bringing this matter to a conclusion."

The Sellia Group, which owns the Southbridge McDonald's, confirmed that the employees involved were suspended immediately upon the company becoming aware of the incident and were subsequently dismissed following an internal review.

"The actions of these individuals are unacceptable and do not reflect our organization's food safety standards or values," said the Spadea & Balducci Family, the Southbridge owners and operators, in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

"We conducted an internal review, and they are no longer employed by our organization. We are proactively working with local authorities and the local health department, who found no public health concerns or violations."

"The wellbeing and safety of our Southbridge community remains our top priority," the statement added.