Janne Puhakka

Janne Puhakka (24 February 1995 – 13 October 2024) was a Finnish ice hockey player.

Ice hockey career

He played in Canada for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, in Finland for the Espoo Blues, TUTO Hockey, and Espoo United, and in France for Rapaces de Gap. Puhakka was Finland's first openly gay professional ice hockey player, and publicly disclosed his sexuality in 2019.

Reality television

In 2024, he was featured in Petolliset [fi], the Finnish version of the reality game show The Traitors. Following Puhakka's death, the programme's TV network, Nelonen Media, announced that it would not broadcast the show's final episode on October 17th, as had been planned.

Death

Puhakka was murdered at his home in Espoo on 13 October 2024, at the age of 29. 

His partner, Rolf Nordmo, from Trøndelag, Norway, was later arrested as a suspect in the murder. Detective Inspector Matti Högman told that a suspect has admitted to the killing of Puhakka and based on an interview with the suspect, the motive for the crime was the end of the relationship between the victim and the suspect. Puhakka had moved out of the couple's shared home in Espoo after the relationship ended some weeks ago.

Puhakka returned on 13 October to take care of some "practical matters".