Mother, 9-year-old daughter, found dead in murder suicide: 'They've been rotting...for weeks now'

A mother and her 9-year-old daughter were found dead in a murder suicide after a church member noticed the Christmas present she left on their doorstep remained untouched, police said.

Karina Clark, 41, fatally shot her daughter Madison Clark at their Magna, Utah, home before she turned the gun on herself, according to Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke.

While the exact timing of their deaths remains unclear, Lohrke said the two may have died anywhere from one to three weeks before their bodies were found on Sunday.

A fellow member the Latter Day Saints requested a welfare check after she noticed her Christmas present was still outside the home on New Year’s Eve, Lohrke said.

Karena Marvell, a longtime friend of Karina Clark, remembered the mother-of-four as a “sweet, sweet person” who struggled with depression and recently underwent surgery, according to Deseret News.

The 41-year-old, who alluded to her struggles with mental illness on Facebook, shared that she was being forced to move before she was scheduled to undergo a tummy tuck in late November.

Her eldest son Gibson Clark, 23, also told News4Utah she was unstable.

He told the local news station that his mother left behind a note saying she couldn’t go on after her boyfriend left her.

Instead of letting Madison enter the foster care system, Karina Clark shot the 9-year-old twice in the head, and once in the chest before shooting herself in the same bed, Gibson Clark said.

"They've just been in there, rotting, without anyone knowing, for weeks now," Gibson told Utah4News.

Karina Clark’s adult daughter Bailey Miller also wrote on Facebook, “Madison had just been baptized in the LDS church and they both had so much going for them. My mom, despite what has been done, was a good person. She struggled from mental illness for awhile but her heart was always in a good place.”