Suspect in Montgomery County killing spree commits suicide

PENNSBURG, Pa. (KABC) -- An Iraq War veteran suspected of shooting his ex-wife and five members of her family in suburban Philadelphia was found dead of self-inflicted stab wounds Tuesday. A knife was found at the scene.

The body of 35-year-old Bradley William Stone was found Tuesday afternoon in a wooded area about 200 yards from his home in Pennsburg. His cause of death is not yet known, but the former Marine sergeant had cuts in the center of his body, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.

"There's no reason, no valid excuse, no justification for snuffing out these six innocent lives and injuring another child," Ferman said. "This is just a horrific tragedy that our community has had to endure. We're really numb from what we've had to go through over the past two days."

Stone is suspected of shooting his ex-wife and six members of her family in Montgomery County during a gruesome, 90-minute killing rampage.

Investigators say Stone went to a house in Souderton Monday morning and killed his ex-wife's sister, Patricia Flick, her husband, Aaron Flick, and their 14-year-old daughter, Nina. Their 17-year old-son was injured, but survived. He was listed in "very serious" condition after suffering knife wounds to his head and hands.

Authorities then found the bodies of Stone's former mother-in-law, Joanne Hill, and grandmother-in-law, Patricia Hill, in nearby Lansdale. Police suspect he then went to the house of his ex-wife, 33-year-old Nicole Hill, smashed her sliding glass door with a propane tank, and fatally shot her twice in the face.

"She was a sweet girl, took good care of her kids. Her mom was always over here, helping her," said neighbor Dee Fecca.

Neighbors say they saw Stone taking his two daughters from the house in pajamas around 5 a.m. He dropped them off at a neighbor's house, before fleeing. That was the last confirmed sighting of Stone.

People who live nearby say they often saw Stone confronting his ex-wife outside over an ongoing custody dispute. He filed an emergency request for custody this month and was denied Dec. 9, Ferman said.

"They weren't getting along," said Corlie Stills. "They started arguing with one another: 'I don't want you to have her. I don't want you to see her.'"

PHOTOS: 5 dead in Montgomery County shooting spree

Neighbors also said Stone had issues stemming from his time in the military.

According to a Marine spokesperson, Stone is a former Marine reservist who served from 2002 to 2011, with one deployment to Iraq, leaving with the rank of sergeant. He was deployed to Iraq from April 2008 until July 2008.

Stone and Hill married in 2004 and filed for divorce in 2009, the Associated Press reports, citing court records.

He had faced several driving-under-the-influence charges, one of which was handled in veterans' court and led to a three- to 23-month sentence, the AP reports.

WPVI reports that Stone's ex-wife got engaged over the summer. Her fiance was placed in police custody because they were concerned for his safety.

Neighbors said Stone's ex-wife would sometimes ask her apartment complex's maintenance staff to go in and check her place first because she was afraid he might be lying in wait.

"She would tell anybody who would listen that he was going to kill her and that she was really afraid for her life," said Evan Weron, a neighbor in Harleysville.

WPVI-TV and the Associated Press contributed to this report.