Records: Bellport man who police said led them on chase and died by suicide was on parole

The Bellport man who police said slit his own throat after leading police on a chase on the same day police discovered two bodies at his home was paroled from state prison last year and had several pending criminal charges in Suffolk County, according to court and corrections records.

William Farnum, 43, of Doane Avenue, died by suicide after crashing his car into a utility pole in East Patchogue Tuesday, Suffolk police said Thursday.

Farnum was released last year to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision after serving over four years in an upstate prison on a second-degree attempted burglary conviction, records show. He was set to be under community supervision until August 2024, according to records.

A defense attorney for Farnum was not listed in court records. Family members could not be reached.

Farnum had also served other stints in state prison after being convicted on charges of robbery, burglary, attempted assault and DWI, records show.

While on parole earlier this year, he was charged in Suffolk County with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, resisting arrest and marijuana possession, according to court records. He was also issued several motor vehicle citations.

A spokeswoman for the state correction department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Tuesday at 10 a.m., a Suffolk police officer attempted to pull over Farnum’s 2003 Honda Civic at the intersection of Route 112 and Montauk Highway in East Patchogue.

Farnum pulled over, according to police, and a passenger who police did not identify "exited the vehicle before the driver left the scene."

Farnum’s Honda then crashed into the utility pole on Washington Avenue and when officers approached the vehicle, they found that Farnum "had slit his own throat," police said.

Farnum was found by the pursuing officer bleeding profusely from his neck and despite the officer administering first aid, Farnum was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on Washington Avenue, police said.

Homicide detectives, attempting to notify the next of kin after Farnum’s suicide later Tuesday, entered Farnum’s home after nobody answered the door and found the body of a man and a woman, police have said.

Suffolk police have not yet publicly disclosed the identities of the two bodies found in Farnum’s home, nor their relationship to Farnum. Police have said the bodies would undergo autopsies, but have not yet released the cause and manner of deaths of the two bodies.

Suffolk Homicide Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer, the commanding officer, said previously the deaths and suicide appear related.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.