Spanish porn star Nacho Vidal charged after photographer dies from toad poison

A Spanish porn star has been arrested after a photographer died inhaling the venom of an endangered North American toad in a "mystic ritual".

Nacho Vidal, 46, and two others were detained last Friday over the death, with Mr Vidal charged over the suspicion of manslaughter following an 11-month investigation.

The ritual allegedly took place at the porn actor's home near the city of Valencia last July.

The photographer, referred to as Jose Luis Abad by local media, used a pipe to inhale the toxic fumes from the toad.

The toad uses the toxin to defend itself against predators in Mexico and south-western US states.

A lawyer for Mr Vidal said his client "considers himself to be innocent".

Investigators discovered toad rituals were being carried out due to their alleged medicinal benefits.

However a police statement read the "apparently harmless ancestral ritual" posed a "serious health risk".

Mr Vidal's lawyer, Daniel Salvador, said the photographer had previously tried the substance and wanted to try it again in a "comfortable" environment.

Mr Salvador said his client was "very upset by the death of this person".

"With all due respect to the dead man and his family, Nacho maintains that the consumption [of the venom] was completely voluntary," the lawyer told La Vanguardia newspaper.