HAMPTON, Va. — The defense has rested its case after witness testimony in Hampton Circuit Court on Monday, as the murder trial of Cory Bigsby enters its second week. Closing arguments will come Tuesday morning.
Bigsby is accused of murdering his 4-year-old son, Codi Bigsby, and concealing his body roughly seven months before filing the missing person report to Hampton Police Division in early 2022. The boy’s body has never been found.
During week one, jury selection lasted a little more than two days, followed by opening statements and then testimony from more than a dozen witnesses called by the prosecution. By the end of the day Friday, the court had heard from Codi Bigsby's mother and brother as well as the Hampton police officers who responded to the missing person report and assisted in the search for Codi.
Other witnesses included a social worker, a property manager for Bigsby's apartment, an FBI digital forensic analyst and three Hampton Road Regional Jail correctional officers. A former Hampton police detective, who had served as lead investigator in Codi's case, also took the stand before the prosecution rested its case Friday afternoon.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Prosecution rests in Bigsby murder trial, after testimony from more than a dozen witnesses
Closing arguments are now set for Tuesday morning, with the case going to the jury for deliberation afterward.
13News Now's Angelique Arintok and Dan Kennedy will be reporting live from the trial each day until there is a verdict. Stay with us for the latest updates.
4:30 p.m. — Man claims he saw Codi weekend before reported disappearance
Before resting their case on Monday, Cory Bigsby's defense team called six witnesses to the stand during the morning and early afternoon.
Among those who testified were the Hampton Roads Regional Jail's assistant superintendent. Lt. Col. William Anderson said Bigsby went under suicide watch multiple times while in custody. At one point, he recalled a mental health practitioner seeing Bigsby punching glass in his cell.
He testified Bigsby refused to eat and only gained his appetite after Anderson invited family members to the jail to lift his spirits.
Defense attorneys also called Bigsby's sister, Tandaleyia Butler, to the stand. She testified her brother and nephews, including Codi, came to see her in Washington DC in September 2021. Bigsby's lawyers called her to testify to seemingly diminish the prosecutors' argument about Bigsby killing Codi in June of 2021.
Prosecuting attorneys then played multiple news interviews featuring Butler. She gave different responses to questions posed about the last time she saw Codi. Only in the third and final interview shown in court did Butler mention seeing Codi at the September 2021 gathering.
Next, a Hampton man who lives in Buckroe Beach testified. He said he remembers seeing a boy who looked like Codi at a local grocery store two days before Bigsby reported his son missing.
Prosecutors presented a photo of a boy, who unbeknownst to the witness is Codi's older brother. The man identified him as the boy he saw at the store.
Afterward, defense attorneys showed the man a photo of Codi.
He said, "That's him," then followed up saying the other photo "seems off."
The man said he called police to report the possible sighting but as investigators testified last week, several hundreds of tips about the search for Codi have come up empty.
3:45 p.m. — Closing arguments to begin Tuesday morning
Court is done for the day and closing arguments will start Tuesday morning.
On Monday afternoon, Judge James Hawks and attorneys on both sides worked to make some decisions before jurors return for closing arguments.
1:10 p.m. — Defense rests its case
The trial has gone into recess after the defense rested its case Monday.
For the final witness called by the defense, a former Hampton police detective who interrogated Bigsby took the stand. Jurors saw surveillance video of the interrogation, where the detective's line of questioning suggested the possibility an accident involving Codi took place, which Bigsby denied.
12 p.m. — 1 more witness expected to testify
Defense attorneys say they have one more witness to call to the stand. Afterward, closing arguments then jury deliberation can get underway.
Attorneys of Cory Bigsby called five witnesses to the stand this morning. Some of the most notable testimony came from Bigsby's sister and a Hampton man who claims he saw Codi the weekend before his reported disappearance.
On the stand, Tandaleyia Butler said her brother and nephews visited her in Washington, D.C. in September 2021. She reiterated multiple times in court she saw Codi at that gathering.
Defense attorneys called her to testify to seemingly diminish the prosecutors' argument about Bigsby killing Codi in June 2021.
On the flip side, prosecuting attorneys played multiple news reports where Butler doesn't give the same answers about the last time she saw Codi.
In a local interview that aired on June 2023, Butler spoke about seeing Codi at the September 2021 gathering.
Next, a Hampton man who lives in Buckroe Beach took the stand, testifying he remembers passing by a boy who looked like Codi twice in a local grocery store.
The man said he called police to report the possible sighting. Prosecutors then showed the man a photo in court.
He said, "It sure looks like him."
Afterward, defense attorneys showed the man a photo of Codi.
He "that's him," then said the other photo "seems off." Jurors later learned prosecutors showed the witness a photo of Codi's older brother.
After the lunch period, a former detective is set to take the stand.
By the course of today's testimony, it's likely attorneys will present their closing arguments this afternoon. After closing arguments, jurors will start to decide the fate of Cory Bigsby.
11 a.m. — 911 call reporting Codi missing, Cory Bigsby's jail behavior discussed in testimony
Hampton's director of public safety communications brought a copy of the 911 call Cory Bigsby made to report his son missing on Jan. 31, 2022.
Bigsby said in part, “I think my son is missing," and reported that he searched for Codi, even outside, and couldn’t find him. Bigsby told the operator he last saw Codi the night before wearing black sweatpants, a black shirt, a black jacket, black socks and Spider-Man flip-flops.
The assistant superintendent for Hampton Roads Regional Jail also testified, shedding light on Cory Bigsby's behavior.
He said Bigsby transferred several times while in custody, first starting in the quarantine unit for COVID-19 safety precautions, then general population.
Bigsby also moved to the protective custody unit, then acute suicide watch, the latter of which he went under multiple times.
The assistant superintendent testified that a mental health practitioner saw Bigsby punching glass in his cell, and claimed that he said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Bigsby lost nearly 60 pounds while in custody, according to the assistant superintendent, who said he refused to eat and only gained his appetite after family members were invited to lift his spirits.
During cross-examination, prosecutors asked whether appetite loss, low moments or anger were not unusual, to which the assistant superintendent replied yes.
Prosecutors also asked whether Bigsby was tortured, to which the assistant superintendent replied no. However, he told a defense attorney Bigsby said some “far-fetched” things, including having an antenna attached to his head.