HAMPTON, Va. — Cory Bigsby was convicted in the murder of his son Codi in March 2024.
It was a rare case for prosecutors, who charged a murder crime without Codi's body.
Here's what's happened since his disappearance in January 2022.
JANUARY 31, 2022
Codi Bigsby's father, Cory Bigsby, called Hampton police around 9 a.m., saying his son was missing and last seen in his home in the 100 block of Ranalet Drive in the Buckroe area of Hampton around 2 a.m.
The FBI joined the search for Codi alongside Hampton police and community.
FEBRUARY 2, 2022
Hampton police held a press conference and declared Cory Bigsby as the sole person of interest. More community members joined the effort to locate Codi.
FEBRUARY 3, 2022
Evidence was removed from Cory Bigsby's home, the father of the missing child.
Cory was arrested and charged with seven counts of felony child neglect stemming from incidents before Codi's disappearance.
Court documents show that Bigsby left his children, all under the age of 6, home alone on multiple occasions. Bigsby told police the children were too much of a burden to take with him.
FEBRUARY 4, 2022
Cory Bigsby appeared via Zoom for his arraignment on the child neglect charges.
FEBRUARY 8, 2022
Cory Bigsby had his first bond hearing.
The judge denied his bond, citing concern for past violent behavior and an AWOL military conviction.
FEBRUARY 12, 2022
Police started investigating after what appeared to be a young boy's jacket was found near Bigsby's apartment. Police never gave an update on the clothing.
FEBRUARY 14, 2022
Jeff Ambrose, Cory Bigsby's attorney, told News 3 that Cory was not at the Hampton Police Department voluntarily for 4 days. Hampton Police Chief Mark Talbot held a press conference admitting his department mishandled Bigsby's request for a lawyer. Chief Talbot said after a polygraph test, a heated argument broke out between Bigsby and a detective. Bigsby requested a lawyer twice in the middle of the argument and was denied, Chief Talbot said in a press conference.
FEBRUARY 17, 2022
Michael Gaten, Chief Judge for the Hampton Circuit Court, disqualified all 8th Judicial Circuit judges from the case. The search for a new judge began.
APRIL 5, 2022
Cory was denied bond for the second time after an appeal hearing.
APRIL 13, 2022
Jeff Ambrose withdrew himself as Cory's attorney citing "an ethical conflict has arisen that precludes further representation" in the motion.
APRIL 14, 2022
Cory decides to hire his own attorney.
APRIL 25, 2022
Amina Matheny-Willard takes over Bigsby's case as his new attorney.
APRIL 30, 2022
Bigsby and his new attorney file a cease and desist against Hampton Police Chief Mark Talbot. The letter asked Chief Talbot to do the following: publicly retract the statements he made regarding Bigsby, cease and desist from making a public comment that could obstruct justice or tamper with a future jury pool, ask the community not to harass or threaten the Bigsby family, and issue a public apology to the Bigsby family for making statements that put their lives in danger.
MAY 10, 2022
The 100-day mark since Codi Bigsby was reported missing.
MAY 11, 2022
Hampton City officially responds to the cease and desist. The City's attorney, Cheran Cordell Ivery, responded on behalf of Mayor Donnie Tuck and Chief Talbot saying Chief Talbot would not retract any of his statements about the disappearance of Codi Bigsby and the police's ongoing investigation into his whereabouts, that no statements made by Chief Talbot obstructed justice or tampered with a potential jury pool, the City does not endorse or condone harassment or threats made against anyone. They said if this occurs, then it should be reported to law enforcement immediately. The City denied that Chief Talbot made statements that put anyone's life in danger.
MAY 23, 2022
Cory Bigsby is denied bond for the third time after his attorney filed a motion to reconsider. The judge said there was no change in circumstance for the bond to be considered.
MAY 25, 2022
In an interview with News 3, when asked where he believes Codi is, Chief Talbot said he didn't want to speculate, but said there is "no evidence" that Codi is still alive.
JUNE 7, 2022
After Bigsby's attorney filed another motion to reconsider, Bigsby's bond was denied a fourth time.
JUNE 15, 2022
A trial date was set after Bigsby was denied bond for the fifth time.
JULY 5, 2022
A grand jury indicts Bigsby on 30 total counts of child neglect and abuse not related to Codi's disappearance.
The new charges in the indictment included 15 charges of child neglect for leaving the children home alone, four more charges of alleged child abuse and two additional child neglect charges in connection to those child abuse charges.
Also, two misdemeanor charges were added for failure to secure medical attention for an injured child.
JULY 15, 2022
Cory Bigsby's family hold a press conference offering a $25,000 reward for information that can help locate Codi or lead to an arrest.
JULY 22, 2022
Two Hampton Roads attorneys, Curtis Brown and Kenneth Singleton, and Peter Hansen from Northern Virginia, were added to Bigsby's council.
AUGUST 19, 2022
The 200-day mark of Codi Bigsby's disappearance.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
Bigsby's pretrial hearing was rescheduled. At the center of the discussion was whether attorneys had gone through the appropriate process to have F.B.I. agents in the courtroom to testify. The judge said the process had not been completed. In the pre-trial motion, Bigsby's legal team and the Hampton commonwealth's attorney were expected to debate what evidence should be permitted in Bigsby’s trial scheduled for Nov. 7.
OCTOBER 13, 2022
Bigsby appeared in court before his November trial. His attorney asked the judge to throw out any statements he made to detectives during questioning at police headquarters that included a two-and-a-half-hour polygraph test on Jan. 31. After nearly four hours of argument and witness testimony, the judge denied the defense’s motion to throw out that evidence ahead of the trial in November.
NOVEMBER 3, 2022
Bigsby's jury trial was postponed.
DECEMBER 9, 2022
A judge ordered Bigsby to complete a competency evaluation. His trial was postponed again.
JANUARY 27, 2023
Bigsby appeared in court for the result of the evaluation. He was seen by two doctors to examine his mental competency. The judge says one of them, hired by the defense, was not on the commissioner's list of appointed physicians.
The court-approved physician ruled Bigsby was competent to stand trial.
The unapproved physician ruled he was not. The judge appointed a third doctor to evaluate Bigsby.
JANUARY 31, 2023
The search for Codi continues, one year later.
The vigil for Codi has continued to grow all year while the community and volunteer search teams continue to look for any sign of the 4-year-old. Everyone has been left with one question.
Where is Codi?
MARCH 31, 2023
A judge finds Cory Bigsby is not fit to stand trial and will be sent to a mental health facility. Bigsby undergoes mental health treatment that will continue to push back his trial.
JUNE 5, 2023
A grand jury indicts Cory Bigsby with a murder charge in the case.
JUNE 9, 2023
News 3 obtained court documents that claim Cory Bigsby murdered his son Codi on or about June 18, 2021, about seven months before the toddler was reported missing.
Court documents show that Cory Bigsby is charged with the murder of Codi and the concealment of his body, although it remains unclear if Codi's body has been found.
JUNE 12, 2023
Cory Bigsby's attorney Amina Matheny-Willard and his family maintain Cory's innocence.
JUNE 14, 2023
Cory Bigsby appeared in court for the first time since he was sent to Eastern State Hospital for mental treatment.
During court, the judge decided that another competency hearing will take place, after his attorneys challenged a mental evaluation stating he was competent to stand trial.
JUNE 21, 2023
Cory Bigsby was granted $80,000 total in bond after being denied several times.
His attorney says he will essentially be on house arrest while he stays with his eldest daughter in Norfolk.
The judge set the following conditions: Cory cannot leave the City of Norfolk (or the state), he has a curfew of 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and he cannot leave the house except for meetings with doctors and his attorney.
NOVEMBER 8, 2023
Cory Bigsby was in court after his attorney filed a motion to throw out a confession statement he allegedly wrote in jail.
On or around August 3, Cory Bigsby allegedly wrote a statement in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail, got an officer's attention, and handed it to the officer, who was present in the courtroom today. The officer broke down and got emotional as he read the statement allegedly written by Cory Bigsby.
The officer read the following excerpt from the statement Cory Bigsby allegedly wrote: "I stepped outside of my apartment to get some items out of my car to wash clothes. When I got inside, I saw my son laying on the ground unresponsive. I tried to revive him, but he couldn't breathe. I stepped outside and prayed. I then put him in a trash bag and left him in the car for three days."
FULL ALLEGED CONFESSIONS DOCUMENTS CAN BE READ IN THE LINK BELOW. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Hampton
Documents: Confession of Cory Bigsby in death of son Codi Bigsby
The letter stated he then drove his son's body to Garriot Morgan Blvd. — a quick search on Google Maps shows that's in Maryland. The statement states this is where Cory buried Codi and then grabbed something to eat.
Another key development in the case happened at the hearing: A judge granted permission for Cory’s 6-year-old son to provide testimony during the murder trial. The judge said instead of appearing in the courtroom, the son will testify in a separate room. The son's testimony will discuss the relationship between Cory and Codi.
NOVEMBER 9, 2023
A judge denied a motion to suppress the confessions made by Cory Bigsby about his son's murder.
His murder trial was scheduled for March 4 through 8 of 2024.
MARCH 4, 2024 - FIRST DAY OF THE TRIAL AGAINST CORY BIGSBY
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Trial begins for Cory Bigsby, the man accused of killing son Codi
The trial for Cory Bigsby began in Hampton. He is facing charges for murder and concealing Codi's body.
Jury selection began, but was not finished by end of day.
MARCH 5, 2024 - SECOND DAY OF THE TRIAL AGAINST CORY BIGSBY
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Defense asks judge to recuse himself amid jury selection in Cory Bigsby trial
Jury selection resumed. The court selected an initial panel of 26 potential jurors out of the 69 who were called.
Lead defense attorney Curtis Brown asked Judge James Hawks to recuse himself because Brown said it appeared that the judge was siding with prosecutors after a potential juror was stricken from the pool after saying they'd need evidence of a body and an autopsy. Judge Hawks overruled the motion.
Jury selection was not finished by end of day.
MARCH 6, 2024 - THIRD DAY OF THE TRIAL AGAINST CORY BIGSBY
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
'He looks frightened:' Codi's mother testifies in Cory Bigsby murder trial
Jury selection was finalized with 14 jurors and two alternates. There are 10 women and four men on the jury.
Opening statements began, body camera footage from the day Codi was reported missing was shown, and Codi's mother testified.
MARCH 7, 2024 - FOURTH DAY OF THE TRIAL AGAINST CORY BIGSBY
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Codi Bigsby's brother testifies in their father's murder trial
Codi's 7-year-old brother testified and claimed Cory would often punish Codi and said "he would spank him."
He also claimed there was an instance in which he couldn’t wake up his brother Codi. “His face was red, it was dry, and it was bruised,” the brother said.
Cory Bigsby was visibly shaking and somewhat emotional.
MARCH 8, 2024 - FIFTH DAY OF THE TRIAL AGAINST CORY BIGSBY
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Correctional officers testify about alleged confessions from Cory Bigsby
Corrections officers from the Hampton Roads Regional Jail testified about what Cory allegedly confessed while in jail.
The officer, Jemal Massey, claimed that Bigsby yelled, asking for an officer to write stuff down for him on Aug. 4, 2022.
After the corrections officer wrote down Bigsby's words, Bigsby asked to sign it and did so, Massey claimed.
Another corrections officer stated that later that same day, Aug. 4, 2022, she offered pen and paper to Bigsby and that he wrote another letter. Lt. Kate Evans stated it talked about how Codi was “…laying at the bottom of the steps. He must have fallen.”
MARCH 11, 2024 - SIXTH DAY OF THE TRIAL AGAINST CORY BIGSBY
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Defense rests case in Cory Bigsby murder trial; Bigsby does not testify
The defense rested its case in the trial against Cory Bigsby.
Bigsby did not take the stand.
Court adjorned without hearing closing arguments.
MARCH 12, 2024 - SEVENTH DAY OF THE TRIAL AGAINST CORY BIGSBY
Closing arguments began on Tuesday.
The jury began their deliberation around 11:25 a.m.
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Jury begins deliberating in Cory Bigsby murder trial
UPDATE:
Cory Bigsby was found guilty on March 12 of killing his 4-year-old son, Codi Bigsby.
Bigsby was on trial for charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a body in connection to Codi's death. He was convicted on both charges.
