HAMPTON, Va. - Cory Bigsby, the father of missing 4-year-old Codi Bigsby, was in court on Tuesday.
He was there for a bond hearing where a judge denied his bond.
Ahead of that decision,Jeff Ambrose, Cory Bigsby's attorney, said Cory has been a Hampton resident since 2017. When arguing for bond Ambrose said Cory had never been convicted of a crime in the past and has had no failures to appear in court.
He added that Cory came to Virginia through the military and was honorably discharged. Ambrose said Cory was willing to apply to requirements set for bond including an ankle monitor, house arrest and pre-trial check-ins.
After his opening statements, Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney, Anton Bell said Cory Bigsby has previously been convicted of AWOL in the military and Cory confirmed that was true.
Jeff Ambrose, Cory's attorney, said this was not a question he was expecting today.
"I don't believe [Cory] lied, I believe when the question of whether or not he had a conviction came up, he wasn't thinking of military convictions," said Ambrose.
The judge was concerned about past violent complaints and said the AWOL military conviction was also concerning.
Cory has been charged with seven counts of felony child neglect, stemming from incidents that go back well over a month. His next court hearing will be on April 5.
In the meantime, Ambrose says he's expecting over 72 hours of interview footage coming from the Hampton Police Department, all of which were taken during the first week of Codi's disappearance.
Ambrose says he will also receive discovery materials collected by state and federal agencies during the investigation and search for Codi.
As of now, Ambrose says he is not aware of any documentation that may incriminate his client in regards to Codi's disappearance.
"I'm not aware of any evidence tying Mr. Bigsby to Codi's disappearance," said Ambrose. "Specifically that he was at police headquarters for 72 hours and these were the only charges that resulted leads me to believe that the police did not find evidence that he was involved in Codi's disappearance."
Police still need the public's help with knowing Cory and Codi's last whereabouts. Any information could be of value to the police.
If you know anything, you're asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887) or submit a tip online at P3Tips.com or via the P3Tips app.
