Finland’s first openly gay ice hockey player has been found dead in a suspected murder.
Janne Puhakka, 29, died at the home she shared with her Norwegian veterinary partner, Rolf Nordmo, 65, in Henttaa, Espoo, on Sunday night.
Puhakka, who played for Espoo Blues and Espoo United before ending his career at the end of the 2017-2018 season, met Rolf in 2014 and quickly fell in love after chatting online for a week.
finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat has reported that the Puhakka case is being treated as a murder, with a suspect detained at the scene on suspicion of shooting Puhakka dead.
Sanna Marin, former Finnish prime minister, is among those who have paid tribute to Puhakka. She took to Instagram to share an image of the former ice hockey player with a broken love heart emoji.
A 65-year-old man suspected of shooting Puhakka to death has been detained by police, according to Finnish media.
Detective Inspector Matti Högman told the STT news agency that there were “reasons to believe that the suspect’s actions were deliberate and cruel” and that “the suspect and the victim knew each other.”
Finland’s first openly gay ice hockey player, Janne Puhakka (pictured left), was found dead in his home on Sunday. Janne is pictured with her partner Rolf Nordmo (pictured right)
On Sunday night, a passerby called police to the couple’s apartment after suspecting a violent crime.
Police are investigating the weapon and exploring whether it is licensed.
The 29-year-old was the first Finnish ice hockey player to openly speak about his homosexuality.
Early in his career, he hid his sexual identity from his friends for fear of being stigmatized.
Janne and Rolf opened up about their relationship to the Mirror in 2022, with the sports professional saying he kept their relationship private because he was “afraid of the way I would be perceived in the world of ultra-masculine sport.”
After chatting online in June 2014, Rolf flew three times from his home in Oslo to Helsinki, Finland, to see Janne.
At the time, Rolf told himself that the relationship wouldn’t work because of the age difference and that it was “just a summer fling.”
But the pair grew closer and Rolf visited Janne while she was working in Canada.
The couple met in an online chat room in June 2014 and quickly fell in love after a week of chatting virtually.
Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is among those paying tribute to Janne online (pictured)
Despite falling in love with Rolf, Janne was still “in the closet” because she was “afraid of the way I would be perceived in the ultra-masculine sports world.”
Veterinarian Rolf, 66, who was married to a woman for 17 years, came out as gay at 40.
Janne stayed with a host family and told them that Rolf was her uncle so she could see him at their hotel.
‘It felt so strange to hide our relationship; I just wanted to say he was my boyfriend,” Rolf said.
When they met publicly, the couple would pretend to be just friends or that Rolf was Janne’s uncle.
Rolf said viewers often thought they were “a sugar daddy and a baby or a father and a son.”
Janne previously said: ‘We both had to fight with ourselves to get to the point we are at now. We love each other and that’s all that matters.’
Police are currently investigating the murder weapon and are exploring whether it is licensed.
Janne initially kept his sexual orientation private because he feared what his teammates would think.
After playing ice hockey, Janne studied international business at Haaga-Helia.
He added that friends and family learned to understand that their relationship “was not strange” and that “they complement each other.”
Rolf, who came out as gay at the age of 40, was previously married to a woman for 17 years, with whom he has three children.
He told them about his relationship with Janne in February 2015, and they initially had mixed reactions.
Janne started playing hockey at age six, before earning a spot on the Finnish national youth team at age 16, according to OutSports.
He hoped that by speaking publicly about his sexual orientation it would help other players in the future.
After playing ice hockey, Janne studied international business at Haaga-Helia and worked in sportswear sales at an Amer Sport store.
He told Frenn: “When my sporting career came to an end, I had to think about what I would like to do next. “Aside from sports, fashion and clothing have always interested me.
“So it was quite natural to combine these two elements. The sportswear business is a perfect place to use my past experience and develop my future career goals.’
He added: ‘The physical and mental well-being of my family is the cornerstone of my life. I have always valued a healthy lifestyle and that is what I work for today too.’