Finland's first openly gay ice hockey player found dead in suspected murder

Finland’s first openly gay ice hockey player has been found dead in a suspected shooting murder.

Janne Puhakka, 29, was found dead at his home on Sunday evening in the city of Espoo, around 12 miles west of the Finnish capital of Helsinki.

Police detained a 65-year-old man who was known to Puhakka at the property, but declined to confirm the identities of the suspect or victim, Finnish media reported.

Lead investigator in the case, Detective Inspector Matti Högman, told the STT news agency that officers suspected a deliberate killing.

He said: “The suspect and victim knew each other. That much I can say.”

He added to broadcaster Yle that police “have reason to suspect that the act was carried out with premeditation”.

The suspect is said to have come out of the apartment without incident after a third-party bystander called police to the property.

Puhakka, who played for Espoo Blues and Espoo United before ending his career at the end of the 2017–2018 season was a well-known personality in Finland.

He had been appearing on the Finnish version of reality game show The Traitors and regularly appeared on television networks.

Following his death, TV network, Nelonen Media, said that it would not broadcast the show's final episode on October 17.

In a statement, the network said it was deeply shocked by the news.

"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," it said in a statement.

Puhakka was the first Finnish male ice hockey player to reveal that he was gay and later published a memoir about his experiences.

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