HAMPTON, Va. — Defense attorneys for Cory Bigsby are likely to start presenting their case to the jury on Friday.
It remains to be seen exactly which witnesses the Defense plans to call, although they said earlier in the week they plan to call a female family member of Cory Bigsby.
There is also always the option for the defendant to testify on his own behalf.
13NewsNow Legal Analyst Ed Booth weighed the factors at hand.
"And there are some strong negatives with doing that because once you take the stand, you are fair game at that point," Booth said. "You've lost your right to remain silent and you can be questioned on a whole host of things by the Commonwealth."
Bigsby's attorneys hinted during jury selection that their client would not take the stand on his behalf.
But Booth said the choice of whether or not to testify will ultimately be up to Bigsby.
"It's ultimately going to be that client's choice. But in this particular case, there's significant danger associated with doing that, but there's also danger in staying silent, so it's a difficult decision," Booth said.
During opening statements, Attorney Kenneth Singleton told the jury they planned to present evidence that Codi was alive between June and January.
Singleton then told the jury their job was not to determine where Codi is, but rather whether Cory Bigsby is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.