HAMPTON, Va. — The Cory Bigsby murder trial in Hampton this week marks just the fourth ‘no body’ murder case in Hampton Roads history.
Bigsby is accused of killing his 4-year-old son, Codi Bigsby, in 2022 and then concealing the body roughly seven months before filing a missing person report with the Hampton Police Division, according to court documents.
The boy’s body has never been found. And yet, Bigsby will be tried for the boy's murder this week. It is considered a 'no body' murder trial – a trial that goes before a judge or jury without the physical evidence of the victim’s body.
The lack of a body can be difficult for the prosecution, and sometimes also the defense.
“In a no-body murder case, you have the additional burden of actually proving that the victim has been murdered,” said Tad DiBiase, a former federal homicide prosecutor in D.C.
DiBiase prosecuted a no-body murder case in 2006 in Washington, D.C. He’s since studied the subject in depth and published his findings online. His research shows there have been only about 600 no-body murder cases in the United States since the early 1800s.
“It is exceedingly rare to have a no-body murder case,” DiBiase said. “Most prosecutors will never have a no-body murder case, and there’s really only a handful of prosecutors who have had more than one no-body murder case.”
Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell is prosecuting his first no-body case this week against Cory Bigsby, who is accused of killing his son Codi. DiBiase says Bell must prove both guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and that Codi was even murdered.
“Here, without a body, we don’t know what the manner of death was, or what the cause of death was, and that becomes a real challenge. So, you have to rely on circumstantial evidence,” he said.
No-body murder trials end with convictions (88%) far more often than murder trials with a body (71%), according to DiBiase’s research. He pointed to two possible factors: prosecutors likely only send the strongest of cases to trial, and juries may find it easier to convict when there is a relationship between the defendant and the victim – like in the Bigsby case.
“I do think in any parent/child case, it’s especially challenging for the defense, because you have to explain how can this child just disappear," he said. "Those of us who are parents have a hard time understanding that, and I think even those who are not parents have a hard time understanding – how does a child just disappear with no trace?”
In Hampton Roads, there have only been four no-body murder trials, and the previous three cases all ended with guilty verdicts. This is the first no-body murder trial in Hampton Roads involving a parent and child.
In Portsmouth, Freddie Lee Hall was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 for 1st Degree Murder in the death of his acquaintance James K. Britt.
In Virginia Beach, Lamont Johnson was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2022 for 2nd Degree Murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Bellamy Gamboa.
And in Newport News, Adrian Lewis was sentenced to life in prison in 2023 for 1st Degree Murder in the death of his wife, Shanita Eure-Lewis.
13News Now's Angelique Arintok and Dan Kennedy will be reporting live from the Bigsby murder trial each day this week. Stay with us for the latest updates.