WARNING: This article includes references to possible child abuse and graphic situations that some viewers may find disturbing.
HAMPTON, Va. — The defense has rested its case in the murder trial against Cory Bigsby, the Hampton man accused of killing his son Codi.
Bigsby himself did not take the stand during the trial.
On Monday morning, the defense played the 911 call Bigsby made, reporting that his son was missing. That was on Jan. 31, 2022.
News 3 reporter Angela Bohon was in the courtroom. She said Bigsby told the operator he looked everywhere for Codi. "I've checked the entire house," he told the dispatcher.
The defense also called Bigsby’s sister, Tandaleyia Butler. She testified that she saw her nephew Codi in September of 2021 at her home in D.C. — which would be after police believe Bigsby killed his son.
Butler also said that she has known Codi's mother, Dina Kareem, since childhood. The defense pointed out how Kareem had previously testified that she didn't know how to reach Cory Bigsby's family when she stated that he apparently would not return her calls or e-mails.
The jury also heard from a man who believes he saw Codi in a Hampton grocery store two days before he was reported missing. Prosecutors showed him two photos: with the first, he said, “It looks like him,” but prosecutors later revealed that the first picture was actually his older brother who testified last Thursday.
Lt. Col. William Anderson, Assistant Superintendent of Hampton Roads Regional Jail was also called to testify for the defense on Monday. He talked about the various dates which Cory Bigsby would go from "acute watch" back to the general population in the jail.
Anderson said Bigsby was taken to the hospital after he had lost nearly 60 pounds. He also mentioned that Bigsby made "less and less" phone calls as time passed.
Agent Daniel Smith with NCIS testified that he had interviewed Bigsby. He admitted that he suggested twice that Codi fell down the stairs.
Curtis Brown, lead defense attorney, said to Judge James Hawks, "Dismiss both of those charges. Let this man go." Judge Hawks said, "motion to strike is overruled."
The judge told jurors he wanted the instructions and the closing arguments fresh in their minds when they deliberate, so he adjourned and court will resume Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Hampton
Documents: Confession of Cory Bigsby in death of son Codi Bigsby
What's happened thus far in the trial?
During the prosecution's opening remarks last week, attorney Dylan Arnold accused Bigsby of killing Codi months before he reported him missing.
Defense attorney Kenneth Singleton claimed Bigsby frantically called 911 after he couldn’t find his son. He told jurors they’d hear “no evidence of a murder.”
The prosecution wrapped up its witness testimony on Friday. Notable testimonies were provided by Codi's older brother, Codi's mother, and corrections officers who say they interacted with Bigsby while he was in custody.
Codi's brother testifies
The courtroom was emotional when Codi's 7-year-old brother provided testimony.
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Codi Bigsby's brother testifies in their father's murder trial
The brother claimed Cory Bigsby 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.
The brother recalled the exchange he had with his father following the alleged incident: “I asked him what was wrong with Codi. He said nothing was wrong with him,” the brother said.
When the prosecution asked the boy if he believed his dad, he said: “No…because he [Codi] looked dead.”
In the courtroom, Cory Bigsby was visibly shaking. Members of the public who were in the courtroom were upset during the child’s testimony and began crying.
During his testimony, the child did struggle with description of time.
Codi's mother testifies
Another noteworthy testimony was provided by Codi’s mother, Dina Kareem.
On the stand, Kareem claimed that she and Cory Bigsby, who share four kids, have not been in a relationship since 2019. After she was hospitalized in 2020, she left their children in the care of Bigsby, she claimed.
She claimed she had not spoken to Codi since April 2021 – about nine months before he was reported missing.
She claimed that in April 2021, she got an email from Bigsby that read, in part, "He's [Codi] still doing the same stuff... He needs to come back to you... I do not want to seriously hurt him to protect my babies." She did not believe the claims Bigsby was making in the email, she said.
Corrections officers testify
Corrections officers from Hampton Roads Regional Jail - where Bigsby was in custody - testified about what Cory allegedly confessed while in jail.
One corrections officer claimed Bigsby asked him to write stuff down for him, including the following: "I found my son unresponsive, tried CPR... [I] could not revive him... I put him in a trash bag, put him in the car, where he sat for three to five days... I buried him."
Another corrections officer claimed Bigsby wrote another letter that talked about how Codi was “…laying at the bottom of the steps. He must have fallen.” The corrections officer also claimed the letter mentioned having headphones on Codi and that Bigsby placed his bike near him when he buried his body.
A former corrections officer claimed Bigsby “placed a paper on the tray slot.” She claimed in the letter, Bigsby allegedly wrote the following: “[I] beat [Codi] with my fist and he went into cardiac arrest… I tried to perform CPR.”
The jury also heard testimony from an FBI analyst who specializes in digital data analysis. He claimed he looked at Cory Bigsby's tablets and phones and found "no original pictures of Codi" on Bigsby's phone after June and July 2021.
Who is Codi Bigsby?
Many are hoping the trial will provide answers to a question the Hampton community has been asking for over two years: What happened to Codi Bigsby?
Codi was 4 years old when he was reported missing in January 2022. Since then, there's been no trace of him, but law enforcement believes he's dead.
Over a year later in June 2023, Cory Bigsby was charged with murdering Codi. He's also facing child abuse and neglect charges that are unrelated to Codi's disappearance.
Since Codi was reported missing, the community has organized search parties, decorated a fence in his honor and rallied to fight for answers.
We have a crew covering Cory Bigsby's trial. Stay with News 3 for updates.
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