Ex-cop reported dead in burning US mountain cabin

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A former US cop wanted for multiple murders was reported dead on Tuesday in a burning mountain cabin, after a six-day manhunt that jangled nerves in southern California and beyond.

Christopher Dorner's body was found inside the cabin near the California ski resort of Big Bear, where he had barricaded himself in after a shootout with police that left one officer dead and injured another.

The embittered 33-year-old had allegedly already killed three people before going on the run last week, after posting a chilling online manifesto threatening to kill more officers.

He was cornered in the snow-covered San Bernardino mountains after nearly a week-long manhunt, which focused on Big Bear before expanding amid reported sightings elsewhere in California and a suggestion that he had fled to Mexico.