The Lindenhurst man who killed a woman and sexually abused a child before killing himself had a long criminal history, Suffolk police said Tuesday.

Officials said Phillip Zagarella, 50, was arrested on New Year's Day 1981 on an attempted murder charge. Later that year, he started serving more than two years for first-degree assault. In 1987, he was sentenced to nearly six years for armed burglary. Zagarella returned to prison for an additional year-and-a-half beginning in 1996 for violating his parole.

Beginning late Sunday night, Zagarella engaged in a nearly 15-hour standoff with police at a West Islip home. According to police, he slashed the throat of 59-year-old Joanna White and kept two of her grandchildren hostage for several hours. Before releasing the children, police said Zagarella abused one of them sexually. In the early afternoon Monday, police said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Related Information: Police: Gunman shoots self to end West Islip standoff