Late ice hockey player Janne Puhakka’s ex-boyfriend says he killed him: report

UPDATE: 10/16/24, 11:25 a.m. ET — The ex-boyfriend of the former Finnish ice hockey player Janne Puhakka has reportedly confessed to his murder.

According to Finland YLE, Rolf NordmoThe 66-year-old told police he shot Puhakka, 29, with a hunting shotgun on Sunday, October 13, when Puhakka came to the apartment the couple had previously shared to “take care of practical matters.”

Nordmo said he and Puhakka, the first openly gay Finnish ice hockey player, broke up a few weeks ago.

According to reports, a friend of Puhuakka came to the apartment after being unable to reach him. When the friend discovered the crime scene, he called the police.

Original story below:

Janne PuhakkaFinland’s first openly gay ice hockey player is dead after a suspected murder. He was 29.

Puhakka, who played for Espoo Blues and Espoo United before retiring from his career at the end of the 2017-2018 season, died in the home he shared with his Norwegian vet partner. Rolf NordmoFinnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported on Sunday, October 13th.

According to Finnish media, Puhakka’s case is being treated as a murder, with a 65-year-old suspect arrested at the scene on suspicion of shooting the athlete. Ilta-Sanomat reported that 65-year-old Nordmo was the suspect, but police did not confirm the suspect’s identity.

Detective Inspector Matti Högman told STT news agency that there was “reason to believe that the suspect’s actions were deliberate and cruel” and that “the suspect and the victim knew each other.”

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Shortly after the death of Puhakka, the former Prime Minister of Finland, was confirmed Sanna Marin took to Instagram to share a picture of the former hockey player with a broken love heart emoji.

“We express our sincere condolences to his family, his relatives and all his former teammates,” the Rapaces de Gap ice hockey team said in a statement via Instagram on Monday, October 14th. “Janne was part of the team in the 2017/2018 season and distinguished the employees and his teammates with his friendliness and team spirit.”

In addition to writing a memoir about his life, Pahakka also recently spoke about his relationship with Nordmo in a candid interview.

According to the athlete, he initially decided not to reveal his sexual identity and relationship to his family, friends or teammates.

“I was scared and didn’t want people to know about my sexuality,” Puhakka told South West News Service in 2022. “I was afraid of how I would be perceived in the ultra-masculine sports world.”

Puhakka later came out to his family and said that his friend was 37 years older. He confirmed that his relatives had received the news positively.

“We find all the comments pretty funny, and once people start talking and getting to know each other, they’re generally so warm and accepting,” Nordmo previously shared about people’s initial reactions to their romance. “I often say, Janne is an old soul in a young body and I am a young soul in an old body.”

When asked if they plan to have children, Nordmo said they are focused on enjoying the present.

“It’s important to be happy now and I don’t see the point in thinking about the future,” he said. “Who knows what’s around the corner?”