NORFOLK, Va. — Cory Bigsby, the Hampton man charged with murdering his 4-year-old son Codi, has been granted an $80,000 bond with restrictions after spending the last year in jail.
Bigsby's bond was granted during a Wednesday hearing in Hampton Circuit Court. The Hampton Roads Regional Jail confirmed he was no longer in their custody later that evening.
As a condition of his bond, Bigsby will have to be on an electronic monitoring system and will live with his oldest daughter in Norfolk. He won't be able to leave the home unless he has court appearances or appointments with an attorney or doctor.
He also won't be able to contact his other children.
Just a few weeks ago, prosecutors charged Bigsby with the murder of his son "on or about" June 18, 2021, and doing something to conceal his body with malicious intent and hide the crime from law enforcement.
The child was reported missing seven months later, on Jan. 31, 2022.
More than a year ago, police charged Bigsby with dozens of counts of child neglect and abuse for allegedly leaving his other children home alone. Those charges are not related to Codi's disappearance.
Bigsby's attorney, Amina Matheny-Willard, argued in court Wednesday that with strict monitoring, Bigsby would not pose a threat to the public. She said because Bigsby does not have a prior criminal record and has cooperated with court and jail officials, he does not pose a flight risk.
"Regarding the murder charge, there's no body, no determination of how it happened, and no cause of death," Matheny-Willard argued.
Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney Anton Bell argued against the bond being granted. He said that because a judge previously denied Bigsby bond several times just on the child neglect charges, the bond hearing for the murder charge should not be different.
"Yes, there is no body. But I believe giving him bond would give him opportunity to obstruct any evidence," Bell said to the judge. "We're talking about the murder of a 4-year-old and he [Cory Bigsby] is a flight risk."
The judge sided with the defense, saying he does not see any evidence that Bigsby is a flight risk, nor a threat to himself, the family, or the public, as long as he has strict monitoring. He said Bigsby is entitled to bail.
Matheny-Willard said Bigsby's other two children are living with a family member in another state
"He deserved a bond initially," Matheny-Willard said. "Where he stands right now, he is not guilty of any crime. We are a country that... like the judge said, you're innocent until proven guilty. So, this is what's supposed to happen in this country. It should have happened today, should have happened a year ago."
Bigsby's uncle, Glenn Hinnant, took the stand in court, saying he would be there to monitor his nephew and make sure he appeared in court for his hearings and trial.
Hinnant said the decision by the judge is what he's been advocating for over the past year.
"Going through what he's been through, but now this is a portion of relief," Hinnant said. "Lord, thank you for getting him out of this place where they were mentally trying to destroy him."
Hinnant said he doesn't believe the things prosecutors say Bigsby did regarding his children, saying, "We don't believe Codi is dead until we see a dead body. That's what I believe."
"My goal as his defense attorney is to try to find Codi before trial," Matheny-Willard added.
Bigsby has been behind bars since Feb. 3, 2022, and prior to Wednesday's hearing, his bond was denied six times as he awaited a trial.
Bigsby is scheduled for a competency evaluation on August 25. Then there will be another motions hearing on September 25.
From there, attorneys said they plan to discuss a four-day trial around the end of October. Those dates have not yet been finalized.