Porn film star investigated over toad venom death

A SPANISH adult-film star is being investigated on charges of manslaughter after a man died at his house due to the effects of inhaling vapour from the venom of a toad.

Nacho Vidal, a star of more than 600 porn ographic films, was named as a suspect after providing the man with the psychedelic drug procured from the venom of the Colorado River toad.

Mr Vidal, 46, was briefly arrested last week along with two other suspects reported to be a member of his family and an employee.

After an 11-month inquiry into the death of fashion photographer José Luis Abad, Guardia Civil investigators said yesterday that the inhaling of toad venom fumes was a habitual activity at Mr Vidal’s household in Enguera, a village south of Valencia.

The investigators said the activity was “presented as a seemingly harmless ancestral ritual, appealing to people who had been manipulated or were in a special state of vulnerability or wished to heal certain ailments or addictions by using alternative methods”.

Mr Vidal, whose real name is Ignacio Jordà González, also describes himself as a coach “guiding people through a process of change”.

In a Youtube video from 2016, Mr Vidal describes his first experiences with venom from a toad known by its Latin name of bufo alvarius, which shamans from northern Mexico and the southwestern US have used as a mindaltering substance for centuries.

In the video, Mr Vidal says that he took the drug when he was depressed and battling addictions, and the extremely strong effects led him to “reconnect with his soul” and “with the Earth and Mother Nature”. He goes on to say that he became an aggressive advocate of the drug, insisting that his friends also try the experience to “help them clean up their acts”.

Mr Vidal’s lawyer, Daniel Salvador, said the “regrettable death” of Mr Abad had been the result of “an accident”.