The entire country of Finland is in mourning following the death of Janne Puhakka, the country's first openly gay hockey player. In a tragic bit of news, authorities believe that his partner, Rolf Nordmo, may have killed him.
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Authorities are treating his death as a murder case. Right now, authorities are zeroing in on 65-year-old Nordmo as the prime suspect in the murder. They believe that Nordmo may have shot and killed the hockey player. Of course, at the moment, authorities are investigating the matter. Detective Inspector Matti Högman said there was "reason to believe the suspect's actions were deliberate and cruel" and the "suspect and victim knew each other."
Following his passing, several Finnish officials mourned Puhakka's passing. Finland's former Prime Minister Sanna Marin shared a heartfelt tribute to the hockey player. He took to social media to share a photo of Puhakka and also a broken heart emoji.
Janne Puhakka Dies
Meanwhile, he Les Rapaces de Gap team also paid tribute to Puhakka. They wrote, "We send our sincere condolences to his family, his relatives and all his former teammates. Presenting in the team during the 2017/2018 season, Janne marked the staff and his teammates with his kindness and team spirit."
The hockey player garnered attention as the first openly gay player in the country. It's something that gave him a lot of fear.
"I was frightened, and I didn't want people to know about my sexuality," Puhakka told South West News Service in 2022. "I was scared of the way I would be perceived in the ultra-masculine sporting world."
At the time, he came out to his family and admitted that they took it well. He started dating Nordmo, who was 37 years his senior.
"We find all the comments quite funny, and once people start talking and get to know us they are generally so warm and accepting," Nordmo previously shared. "I often say Janne is an old soul in a young body and I'm a young soul in an old body."
Nordmo also discussed potentially having a family.
"It's important to be happy now, and I don't see the point in dwelling on the future," he said. "Who knows what's around the corner?"
