A US university professor who disappeared after shooting dead his wife and two other people at a community theatre in Georgia two weeks ago has been found dead in woods near his home.

The body of George Zinkhan, who killed his wife Mary Bruce and two male friends on April 25, was covered in brush and dirt, offficials said.

Two guns that matched those described by witnesses to the shootings were found with his body although police would not say how he died.

Cadaver dogs found Mr Zinkhan's body in thick woods near the city of Athens, where he worked at the University of Georgia as a business studies specialist.

Searchers had been scouring the woods since his jeep was found wrecked in a nearby ravine a week ago.

Professor Zinkhan, 57, had been missing since he opened fire on a reunion for the Town & Gown Players, a local theatre group in Athens, near the university.

He argued outside the theater with his wife, Marie Bruce, 47, a family lawyer who was serving as the group's president, then walked away briefly before returning with two handguns and killing her, along with two other members of the theatre, Tom Tanner, 40, and Ben Teague, 63. Two other people were injured by bullet fragments.

Police at first said they had no motive for the shooting. The FBI said later that friends and family indicated Ms Bruce might have been considering a divorce.

Bob Covington, a neighbor with whom Mr Zinkhanhad dropped his children off after the shooting, called the discovery: "another sad chapter to the story."

"It's been two weeks of people being on pins and needles, every time you see a police car. I think this will ease a lot of tension. People can get back to their lives and move on from this horrible tragedy," he said.

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