ENGUERA, Spain — A Valencia court this week provisionally dropped charges against Nacho Vidal in a case resulting from a confusing episode at his country house, in which a fashion photographer died after participating in a psychedelic healing ritual involving toad venom.
In the Spanish legal system, provisionally dropping charges in this manner is referred to as “filing away” the case.
As XBIZ reported, in May 2021 the investigating judge — a post equivalent to a U.S. district attorney — announced that she would uphold the charges against Vidal.
This week, however, the judge of the Juzgado de Primera Instancia e Instrucción 2 in Xàtiva, Valencia issued three decisions based on a forensic report, essentially dismissing the charges unless an appeal is filed within three days, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported Tuesday.
Vidal’s lawyers asked for a complete dismissal of the charges.
Vidal 'Not a Shaman'
In early June 2020, Vidal was arrested by Spanish police over a drug-related death at his country house the prior summer.
The incident involved a gathering in July 2019, where the semi-retired performer and others allegedly partook of a “sapo bufo psychedelic ritual.” Sapo bufo is a frog that secretes DMT, a substance used as a psychedelic drug and said to be consciousness-altering.
A fashion photographer present at the gathering died at the time. While the death was initially ruled “accidental,” an almost yearlong investigation led to Vidal being charged with “homicidio imprudente,” or “homicide by neglect.”
Vidal’s participation in the ritual that ended with the death of the photographer was public knowledge for months before he was charged, and the performer had given media interviews about his mind-altering experiences with the ritual and the “accident” that resulted in the photographer’s death.
The prosecuting judge argued that Vidal was “in control of the situation” and that he gave instructions during the ritual based on his past experiences with performing similar acts. She ruled that the victim died because of an adverse drug reaction after participating in a “practice, rite, or spiritual or mystical experience.”
In 2021, Vidal’s lawyer called the death lamentable but accidental, and denied that Vidal had performed the duties of a “shaman” during the fateful ritual.
This week, the Xàtiva judge ruled that the victim, José Luis Abad, volunteered for the ceremony and showed up to Vidal’s property having previously consumed cocaine. The forensic report cited by the judge said Vidal’s responsibility was diminished by the likelihood that the combination of the sapo bufo venom and the cocaine had been crucial for Abad’s demise.
Vidal is currently the subject of an authorized biopic series, which is airing in Europe.
