A Florence man has been indicted for abuse of a corpse after the discovery last year of his mother, who apparently had been dead for weeks.

According to court documents, Richard Shane Crosslin, 51, was also charged with public assistance fraud.

The indictment says Crosslin “did knowingly treat the human corpse of his mother, Regina L. Crosslin, in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities, by not properly disposing of the body…”

Police found Regina Crosslin’s body during a welfare check last July 29.

According to police, Richard Crosslin was in the home in the 300 block of Trade Street in Florence at the time officers conducted the check. He was later arrested on unrelated warrants.

Regina Crosslin had not been heard from for several months by the person who asked police to conduct the welfare check, according to police.

Crosslin’s body “appeared to have been deceased for several weeks,” police said at the time.