Traitors series postponed after contestant found dead in shock murder
The Finnish version of The Traitors has been postponed airing the series finale after the death of one of the contestants. Janne Puhakka, 29, was found dead at his home last Sunday evening.
Janne, Finland’s first openly gay ice hockey player, was found dead at his home. Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat has reported that Janne's case is being treated as a murder, with a suspect detained on the scene on suspicion of shooting Janne. A 65-year-old man who is suspected of the shooting, has been detained by police, according to Finnish media. Detective Inspector Matti Högman, told news agency STT there was 'reason to believe the suspect's actions were deliberate and cruel' and that the 'suspect and victim knew each other'.
Janne had filmed The Traitors earlier this year, and according to broadcasters, was still in the game as a Traitor. However after the tragic news, the series finale, which was supposed to air this week, has been postponed indefinitely. A translated statement about the postponement from TV channel Nelonen read: “The final episode of the season of Petolliset was scheduled to be shown on Thursday of this week.
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“We have come to the conclusion that right now is not the right time to air an episode. We will return to the question of the possible presentation of the episode later. We share in the grief of Janne’s loved ones.”
Season two of The Traitors in Finland also featured drag artist Cristal Snow, radio and TV personality Jone Nikula, and rapper Dan Tolppanen. Janne, who started playing hockey when he was six, launched his major league career in 2015 and played for the Blues, Espoo United, and Rapaces de Gap. He was also on the national team roster and won the bronze in the Under 18 World Championship in 2013.
Janne opened up about his sexuality after hanging up his skates, revealing he had concealed being gay to avoid scrutiny in the sports world. The Rapaces de Gap team said in a statement: "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."
Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, shared a picture with a broken love heart emoji as she payed tribute to Janne. A tribute was also paid to the late athlete by Liiga, Finland’s top ice hockey league, who described him on Twitter/X as “an important role model” and said his “courage and openness left an incredible mark on Finnish hockey”.
