Utah mom shoots and kills 9-year-old daughter and self in shocking murder-suicide
Police have no clear motive for why a Magna, Utah, mom, Karina Clark, 41, shot and killed her 9-year-old daughter, Madison, before shooting herself to death – although there is speculation that mental illness played a role in the tragic murder-suicide discovered on New Year’s Eve. Police responded to the Clark residence to perform a welfare check after neighbors noticed that a Christmas present had been sitting on their front porch for days and had never been moved or taken inside. When police made their way into the home, they discovered the two lifeless bodies, according to a January 3 report from Fox News.
Police say the shootings took place anytime from one week to three weeks before the bodies were discovered on December 31. Karina’s last posting to her Facebook page is dated December 7. Several of her posts from that date were sharing of news articles. Her last personal update on December 6 reads, “I bought Ancestry DNA kits for myself and the kids for Christmas. Madison and I did ours today and sent them in!” Detectives say that Madison was shot three times and Karina once.
Bailey Miller, Karina’s older daughter who lives in Lawton, Oklahoma, posted to her Facebook page that “Madison had just been baptized in the [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints] and they both had so much going for them.” Bailey added that her mom “struggled from mental illness for a while but her heart was always in a good place.”
A YouCaring page established by family members reads, ”Our family doesn’t have the funds to cover costs and so I am doing all I can to help raise that for them and these children left behind to mourn their loss. Anything helps!!! Feel free to share and do what you can, even love and prayers are appreciated at this time. Thank you for your kindness ❤” More from that YouCaring page reads:
Karina Clark (my aunt) and her little sister, Maddie were found dead in their home. I don’t want to get into to much detail right now about it but please know this was something we are all processing together. Karina had 3 other children besides Maddie named Gibson Clark (oldest) and the twins Bailey and Brandon Miller.
The twins have already lost their father earlier in childhood to suicide and now again through this situation. Mental illness is such an ugly and heartbreaking thing!!
You never know what someone is going through and capable of and my heart is breaking for these kids who now have to bury their mother and little sister. My grandma still is in shock about the whole thing! No parent should have to bury their daughter and granddaughter. So in my attempt to be there for them all and have faith God has a plan I am asking for help to give them a proper funeral so they can heal and find peace together.
People quoted Lt. Brian Lohrke of Utah’s Unified Police Department as saying that, “This is one of those situations where we’re kind of left in the dust right now, trying to figure out why a mother had the need to kill her 9-year-old daughter. It’s a question we may have forever.”
Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today
