Porn star who makes penis candles arrested for murder after psychedelic toad venom ritual

Spanish police arrested Nacho Vidal - a porn star with a side hustle making penis candles - for suspected manslaughter following a "mystic ritual" in which participants smoked the psychedelic venom of the Colorado River Toad. According to Vidal's attorney Daniel Salvador, the fellow who died, photographer Jose Luis Abad, had "previously tried that substance and wanted to try it again" in a "comfortable" setting. Vidal "considers himself to be innocent" and insists the death was accidental. From the BBC News:

The actor, who has featured in hundreds of pornographic movies, had been under investigation for 11 months over the death of the photographer, Spanish police said.

Mr Vidal and the two other suspects were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and violating public health laws. All three were released provisionally.

Investigators said they had discovered toad rituals were being carried out regularly on grounds they offered medicinal benefits.

But the "apparently harmless ancestral ritual" posed a "serious health risk", attracting people who were "easily influenced, vulnerable or who were seeking help for illnesses or addictions using alternative methods", a police statement said.

(Thanks, Gil Kaufman!)

image: "Colorado River Toad" by I, Wildfeuer (CC BY-SA 3.0)