Janne Puhakka’s partner, Rolf Nordmo, has been caught as a suspect in his assassination.
According to the Finnish news outlet Ilta-Sanomat, Janne, 29, passed away on Sunday evening, October 13, 2024, at his apartment in the southern city of Espoo.
Highlights
- Rolf Nordmo has been taken into custody as a suspect in the recent assassination of Janne Puhakka.
- When Janne met Rolf, he was only 19 years old. Their age gap was 37 years.
- Rolf Nordmo is the present managing director of Aqua Mar AS.
Rolf Nordmo, 66, was caught at the scene and questioned by officers on Monday, October 14, 2024, but was not charged.
Detective Inspector Matti Hogman said that there was reason to believe the suspect’s actions were deliberate and cruel, and the suspect and victim knew each other.
Soon after the incident went public, Finland’s former Prime Minister Sanna Marin took to Instagram to share an image of Janne with a broken love heart emoji.
Additionally, many celebrities and close ones poured tribute through social media. The official Twitter handle for Liiga wrote,
The Finnish hockey community received sad news today when the news of Janne Puhaka’s passing became public. Janne Puhakka was an important role model, and his courage and openness left an indelible mark on Finnish hockey. Puhakka played 40 league matches in the shirt of Espoo Blues in the 2015-16 season. During his career, he also played in Mestis and in the French league. In the under-18 national team, he won the World Championship bronze in 2013. The league offers its deepest condolences to Puhaka’s family and loved ones.
Liiga
Hockey expert Topi Nattinen told sports publication Yle Urheilu that Janne’s tragic passing was shocking, sad, and horrible. He added,
“The first thing that comes to mind about Janne is a role model. His courage opened new doors socially, not only in Finland, but also globally. He was an exceptional person both in the hockey community and the entire sports world. He was so brave. It may not even be understood how great a role model he has been for many.”
Topi Nattinen
However, Janne’s contributions to ice hockey will be remembered forever.
Janne Puhakka Meet His Partner Rolf Nordmo In Europe For The First Time
According to Janne Puhakka, he initially chose not to disclose his sexual identity and relationship to his family, friends, or teammates.
During an interview with South West News Service in 2022, he said,
“I was frightened, and I didn’t want people to know about my sexuality,” “I was scared of the way I would be perceived in the ultra-masculine sporting world.”
Janne Puhakka
Janne was only 19 when he met Rolf Nordmon, then age 56, in June 2014. They spent the summer together in Europe and realized their deep attraction to one another. Nordmo stated,
“I knew that I had feelings I had never felt before, but was constantly telling myself it was just a summer fling and wouldn’t work because of our age gap,” “I was fighting myself the whole time and was trying to fight the love I had for him, but it was impossible,” he continued. “I had never felt like this before. I thought, ‘What on earth does this young man want with me, an old pig?’”
Rolf Nordmo
Puhakka also admitted that he was falling in love with Rolf but was not yet ready to come out of the closet publicly.
When he returned to Canada for the commencement of the next ice hockey season, he came out to his family and told them that his boyfriend was the same age as his dad.
However, his family took the news well, but Janne still wasn’t ready to tell his teammates and other friends.
Meanwhile, Rolf married a woman for 17 years and had three children before coming out at age 40.
The brave sportsman finally came out as gay in 2019, quit ice hockey, and returned to Europe to move in with Nordmo.
Janne publicly revealed details of his relationship with Nordmo by posting a photo of the couple together on Instagram at Christmas 2021.
Rolf Nordmo and Janne Puhakka had been in a relationship for almost 10 years.
Janne Puhakka’s Partner Rolf Nordmo Is Managing Director
According to Rolf Nordmo’s official LinkedIn profile, he has been serving as the managing director of Aqua Mar AS.
He is an experienced managing director with a demonstrated history of working in the aquaculture industry.
He was the head of the department at VESO Vikan and the managing director at Biotec Ah&N—Immunocorp Animal Health.
From January 2015 to 2016, he was the CEO of AquaGen. In 2017, he became the managing director of Aquaculture Innovation.
In April 2021, he joined Codfarm, Eco Fjord Farming as the full-time managing director in Norway.
Additional Information
- Rolf Nordmo received a VMD (Veterinarian Medicinae Doctoris) degree from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH).
- In 2024, Janne Puhakka was featured in Petolliset, the Finnish version of the reality game show The Traitors.
- Janne Puhakka had one sister named Johanna.
