HAMPTON, Virginia — The lawyer for Cory Bigsby, who is considered a person of interest in his 4-year-old son Codi's disappearance, said his client was held at Hampton Police Division headquarters against his will.
On Thursday night, Bigsby was arrested for felony child endangerment charges unrelated to his son's disappearance. He had been at the police station since Monday morning when he first reported Codi missing.
Chief Mark Talbot had said that Bigsby stayed at the station for four days willingly, had been made aware of his rights, and hadn't asked for a lawyer.
Bigsby's family hired attorney Jeffrey Ambrose to represent him after the police division said he was considered a "person of interest" in Codi's case. The police division said Cory Bigsby's story hadn't been matching up with the evidence they were collecting related to Codi's disappearance.
Ambrose said he went to speak with Bigsby before the arrest on Thursday and had been turned away by police officers. He said they didn't let him in because his client was supposedly there voluntarily.
In a press conference about the search for little Codi on Friday, Talbot said: "Mr. Bigsby is a 43-year-old man who's had a full career in the army. He retired from a position of authority. He seems to be quite intelligent, he seems to be quite capable, and part of his capabilities seems to be understanding his rights. At no time did he request to see an attorney. Had he made such a request, we would have honored that request."
When Ambrose met with Bigsby for the first time on Friday afternoon -- after Bigsby's arrest and arraignment -- he said his client denied that claim.
Bigsby told Ambrose he was at police headquarters involuntarily, contrary to the chief's statement. Ambrose said he's planning to watch security videos of the interviews with Bigsby, to review the officers' wording.
"I'm very anxious to review these materials to get some definition as to exactly what happened during those four days," Ambrose told 13News Now on Friday. "I am extremely concerned about taking the Commonwealth and the police at their word."
Bigsby told Ambrose he didn't know his family had hired an attorney.
Hampton Police told 13News Now reporter Angelique Arintok that they stand by Chief Talbot's statements.
Moreover, Bigsby remains the top person of interest in the case of his missing son. Ambrose said that when asked where Codi could be, Bigsby said he does not know.