ENGUERA, Spain — Nacho Vidal has been arrested by Spanish police over a drug-related death at his country house last year, according to local reports.
The confusing incident involves a gathering last July, where the semi-retired adult performer and others allegedly partook of a "sapo bufo psychedelic ritual." Sapo bufo is a frog said to secrete consciousness-altering substance DMT.
A fashion photographer present at the gathering died at the time, and Vidal is just now being charged after an almost yearlong investigation.
The participation of Vidal in the ritual that ended up with the death of the photographer had been known for months, and the performer had given media interviews about his mind-altering experiences with the sapo bufo ritual and the "accident" that resulted in the photographer's death.
The 46-year-old Spanish performer — once one of the most high-profile European porn stars — has been in the news over the past few years concerning his HIV+ status. There has been contradictory information about his status or ability to work in adult sets, which Vidal has further complicated through rambling talk show appearances in Spanish-language media.
Vidal was arrested Friday alongside a man and a woman, one an unnamed relative and the other a household employee, according to Spanish news site El Español.
Spanish authorities allege that José Luis Abad died during a ritual hosted by Vidal to cure the Toledo fashion photographer from drug addiction.
The botched detox ritual was allegedly performed in Vidal’s country home in Enguera, near Valencia.
The charge is “homicidio imprudente” (“homicide by neglect”). The death had been initially ruled “accidental” in 2019.
Vidal is out on bail, awaiting trial.
