Combination photo provided by Montgomery County Office shows two views of suspect Bradley William Stone. (AFP Photo)
A US former Marine and Iraq war veteran accused of murdering his ex-wife and five members of her family was found dead in woods near his home on Tuesday, a prosecutor said.
The body of Bradley Stone, 35, was discovered in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania a day after he shot dead ex-wife Nicole Hill, 33, her mother, grandmother, sister, brother-in-law and 14-year-old niece.
Hill's 17-year-old nephew Anthony Flick was wounded and remains in a critical condition in a hospital after the murderous gun rampage before dawn on Monday, officials said.
"Authorities have confirmed that suspected mass killer Bradley Stone is dead, his body found in the woods near his Pennsburg home," said Bucks County district attorney's office.
A news conference is expected at 4:00 pm (2100 GMT).
Stone had been described as "armed and dangerous" and residents in areas where a massive manhunt had been underway had been told to stay home with their doors locked. Schools also closed.
Stone, who reportedly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, allegedly shot dead Hill in front of their two daughters aged five and eight.
- Bitter custody battle -
Police say the couple were locked in a custody battle since an acrimonious divorce in 2009 and neighbors told TV networks that they were repeatedly overheard arguing.
Stone is accused of killing four generations of his ex-wife's family in three separate towns near the city of Philadelphia.
Stone's current wife and infant child are safe and secure, as are the two daughters he had with Hill, Montgomery County district attorney Risa Vetri Ferman told a news conference.
His car and phone had been seized, forensic evidence gathered and his home searched, she said.
Prosecutors released two photographs of Stone -- one from November 2013 downloaded from his phone, which shows him with closely cropped red hair, a beard and mustache.
The second has been digitally modified to show him clean shaven as he most likely latterly looked, Ferman said.
Stone, who was five-foot, 10-inches (1.78 meters) tall and weighed 195 pounds (89 kilos), was known to use a cane or a walker.
- Attempted theft -Police say Stone's first victims were Hill's sister and her family.
Stone then allegedly shot dead his ex-wife's mother and grandmother, before murdering Hill in her apartment in Lower Salford in front of their two young daughters.
Stone then dropped off the girls in their pyjamas with a neighbor in his hometown of Pennsburg, authorities said.
In Doylestown, around 40 miles north of Philadelphia, a man fitting his description reportedly had tried to steal a man's car keys at knife point before vanishing overnight.
The victim opened fire several times, prompting the suspect to flee into nearby woods.
The US Marine Corps confirmed that Stone was a reservist from 2002 to 2011 and served in Iraq in 2008. He left with the rank of sergeant and had been trained as an artillery weatherman.
He was awarded several medals but had been arrested three times for drunken driving since 2001, US media said.