Janne Puhakka, who was the first Finnish professional hockey player to come out as gay in 2019, was found dead aged 29 on Sunday, October 13. Police have arrested a 65-year-old in connection with the suspected murder.
Janne Puhakka was found dead at his home in the city of Espoo, Finland, where he was fatally shot on Sunday evening. According to the police’s investigation, a 65-year-old man who was “known to the victim” was arrested at the scene and detained on suspicion of murder, but is yet to be charged at the time of writing.
Detective Inspector Matti Högman, who is the lead investigator in the case, told reporters that they suspect a deliberate killing. “The suspect and victim knew each other. That much I can say,” he added.
Moreover, he stated that police “have reason to suspect that the act was carried out with premeditation”. The suspect is said to have come out of the house after a third-party witness called authorities.
Janne Puhakka made history in 2019, when he became Finland’s first pro hockey player to come out as gay. He played professionally for teams in Finland, Canada and France, before retiring in 2018. The following year, he came out in an interview with Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
The player was a well-known personality in Finland, also having appeared in reality game show The Traitors and on television networks. Following the news of his death, TV network Nelonen Media said that it would not broadcast the game show’s final episode on October 17.
“We have come to the decision that now is not the time to show the episode. We will return to the question of possibly presenting the episode later,” the network said in a statement.
Tributes poured in for the player, with Liiga, the top professional ice hockey league in Finland, sharing a post on X where Puhakka was described as “an important role model” whose “courage and openness left an indelible mark on Finnish hockey”.
The post Finland’s first openly gay hockey player Janne Puhakka found dead in suspected murder appeared first on GCN.