Florence Residents Charged with Abuse to Corpse

Officers responded to a complaint of a potential dead body in an alleyway at around 9:40 AM on Wednesday, December 18th, in the 2700 block of Huntsville Road. Officers found Florence resident Christopher Thomas Pierce, age 31, dead in the alleyway upon arrival. Detectives were alerted and a crime scene was set up. According to information given to officers, Pierce had been spotted on the property next to the alleyway before. A search warrant was then acquired for the premises. After being taken for interrogation, two subjects were charged with the criminal Abuse of Corpse. A forensic autopsy will be performed on Pierce’s body. Florence residents Joni Renee Cummings, 38, and William Shane Nichols, 54, were charged. Due to prior crimes, both are being held at the Lauderdale County Detention Center without bond.