(CNN) – Spanish porn star Nacho Vidal is charged with reckless murder after a man died during a road poison ceremony.
Vidal, whose real name is Ignacio Jordà González, was arrested in May on charges of manslaughter after an 11-month investigation, according to a statement from the Spanish law enforcement agency Guardia Civil at the time.
According to the investigation, the victim, a photographer, died after attending a “spiritual or mystical” ceremony in July 2019 in the city of Enguera, near Valencia, in eastern Spain, according to a statement from a court in Xàtiva, a city in the province of Valencia.
The ritual, which took place in Vidal’s house, reportedly inhaled toxic fumes from the burning of scales from a road of Bufo alvarius.
Vidal’s lawyer, Daniel Salvador of the firm Vosseler Lawyers, declined to comment on the case when contacted by CNN on Friday. Salvador told CNN in June that the death was a “tragic accident” and that his client was not responsible.
Vidal can appeal against the ruling and the prosecutor’s office now has ten days from Wednesday, when he was charged, to request the opening of an oral hearing or its dismissal.
The court dismissed the proceedings against a cousin of Vidal and another person under investigation, saying they had no criminal responsibility because they had no “control over the situation” and were not involved in the leading the ceremony. None of their names were released and police did not name the man who died.
The amphibian, also known as the Colorado River Road or the Sonoran Desert Road, releases a poison called 5-MeO-DMT, which is known to have hallucinogenic effects, according to the Addiction Center website. It is about four to six times more potent than the more well-known DMT or dimethyltryptamine, which ‘stimulates the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that causes feelings of happiness’, according to the Addiction Center.
According to the court statement, Vidal was ‘the director’ of the ritual and had experience in taking the drug in question. He allegedly supplied the drug and did not properly control the amount the victim inhaled.
If convicted, Vidal could face up to four years in prison under section 142 of the Spanish Penal Code.
According to his website, he turned 47 years old and appeared in at least 10,000 scenes in a 26-year porn career.
He describes himself as ‘one of the most important exponents’ of the porn industry and is the owner of a sex toy store.