HAMPTON, Va. — Cory Bigsby was found guilty on Tuesday 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. Bigsby still faces child abuse and neglect charges unrelated to Codi's disappearance. The jury reached its verdict on the seventh day of the trial against Bigsby.
WARNING: This article includes references to possible child abuse and graphic situations that some viewers may find disturbing.
The jury began deliberating around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday after both sides presented their closing arguments.
Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney Anton Bell described Bigsby as a "predator" during the prosecution's closing remarks.
"This case is about a predator who preyed upon a 3-year-old. This is not about a protective, caring parent," said Bell.
Lead Defense Attorney Curtis Brown told jurors, "You have a case based on sympathy, not on evidence."
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Defense rests case in Cory Bigsby murder trial; Bigsby does not testify
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 his father, Cory Bigsby, reported him 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, Bigsby was charged with murdering Codi.
Since Codi was reported missing, the community has organized search parties, decorated a fence in his honor and rallied to fight for answers.
Bigsby trial recap
Bigsby is on trial for charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a body in connection to Codi's death.
Since the trial began on March 4, the jury has heard testimony from Codi's relatives, corrections officers who interacted with Cory Bigsby, and people who played a role in investigating Codi's disappearance.
Here's a breakdown of witnesses jurors heard from throughout the trial:
Codi's brother
Codi's older brother claimed their father would often punish Codi.
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.”
Codi's mother
Codi's mother Dina Kareem also provided testimony.
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.
Codi's aunt
Cory Bigsby's sister, Tandaleyia Butler, 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 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.
Corrections officers
Corrections officers from Hampton Roads Regional Jail - where Bigsby was in custody - testified about what Cory allegedly confessed while in jail.
One of the corrections officers who took the stand 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."
NCIS agent
Agent Daniel Smith with NCIS testified that he had interviewed Bigsby. He admitted that he suggested twice that Codi fell down the stairs.
Man who believes he saw Codi
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.
FBI analyst
An FBI analyst who specializes in digital data analysis provided testimony. 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.
911 call
The defense played the 911 call Bigsby made, reporting that his son was missing. That was on Jan. 31, 2022.
WTKR 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.
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
