Codi Bigsby was reported missing by his father, Corey Bigsy, as having gone missing from their home in Hampton, Virginia, in January 2022.
To date, the family and authorities do not know what happened to the four-year-old boy or where he is. Some members of the boy’s family believe he was abducted and sold into human trafficking.
However, the Hampton Police Department suspected Codi was murdered by his father, Corey Bigsby. The cops believe Bigsby killed his son on or near June 18, 2021, seven months before reporting him missing. Codi would have been just three years old on that date.
Bigsby is accused of murdering and secretly transporting and concealing Codi’s remains. He’s also accused of 30 charges of child abuse and neglect.
On the morning of January 31, 2022, Corey Bigsby dialed 911 and told the dispatcher his four-year-old son Codi Bigsby was missing. Police officers arrived at his house at approximately 9 a.m. when Bigsby told them he’d last seen his son sleeping at about 2 a.m.
At the time of the disappearance, Codi’s three brothers, a five-year-old and two-year-old twins, were also in the home.
Missing: Codi Bigsby vanished at least 18 months ago
The Hampton police immediately initiated a search for Codi, with Police Chief Mark Talbot vowing not to stop until he was found. The FBI was drafted in to help, and helicopters, drones, and dogs were used in the search.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelInterestingly, they did not issue an Amber Alert. These alerts are generally issued when the police want to galvanize the public and authorities into helping search for a child they believe has been abducted or is in imminent danger.
The police said Codi’s family had been cooperative with the investigation. Corey Bigsby voluntarily went down to the police station and was subjected to hours of questioning along with a polygraph test. Within a couple of days, Bigsby was named the sole person of interest in his son’s disappearance.
Bigsby was kept in custody as the police began to suspect him of abusing Codi’s three brothers. The father allegedly admitted to leaving the children home alone on multiple occasions.
On February 3, a large quantity of forensic material was removed from the house, and Bigsby was officially arrested on seven charges of child abuse, none of which related to Codi’s disappearance.
Over the next few months, the cops added 23 more charges related to the abuse of Codi’s brothers. The charges mainly involved leaving the children home alone, but a couple did relate to failing to secure medical care for an injured child.
According to the police, Bigsby had already confessed to many of these charges and told detectives that the children were “too much of a handful.” However, he had never sought help from a babysitter.
Corey Bigsby lawyer accused Hampton police of ‘modern-day lynching’
In July 2022, Bigsby’s defense lawyer, Amina Matheny-Willard, accused the authorities of performing a “modern-day lynching” on her client. Matheny-Willard accused the police and the Commonwealth of Virginia of denying Bigsby a lawyer and torturing a confession out of him.
In a lengthy statement, the lawyer accused the police of attempting to force a military veteran into confessing despite a lack of evidence. She accused the police of trumping up charges that could be “made against any busy and struggling parent.”
Matheny-Willard added in part, “They locked him up, deprived him of a lawyer, and tortured him in an effort to secure a confession. They soon realized, a combat veteran turned innocent father doesn’t break, and he doesn’t confess to a crime he didn’t commit. When police realized Cory was innocent, they should have moved on to other potential suspects.”
While in custody, Bigsby was sent to the Eastern State Hospital for a mental evaluation and treatment. He was examined by multiple psychiatrists, who initially declared him unfit to stand trial. However, in June 2023, a doctor finally ruled him fit to stand trial.
Matheny-Willard claimed the authorities at the prison where Bigsby was held had mistreated him, which directly caused his mental health problems. She said her client “will be filing a federal lawsuit against the Hampton Roads Regional Jail at the conclusion of the criminal cases.”
Corey Bigsby charged with murder of Codi Bigsby
On June 5, 2023, the Commonwealth of Virginia officially charged Bigsby with the murder of Codi. The now-former Police Chief Mark Talbot told reporters that he was not surprised murder charges had been brought against Bigsby.
The former chief said, “The news isn’t a surprise to me. I hope that today starts the healing process for the family and for those of us who found ourselves in pain for a child that we never met.”
Talbot had previously stated that the evidence was very clear in pointing to what had happened to Corey and that “there is little about this that has been mysterious.”
At the end of June 2023, Bigsby was granted bond and released from custody. The accused was refused bail on multiple occasions throughout the 18 months he was in custody, but Circuit Judge James Hawks finally agreed with defense attorney Amina Matheny-Willard that her client should be released.
Hawks, a retired judge from Portsmouth, VA, brought out of retirement specifically for his case, ruled that Bigsby was not a flight risk or a danger to himself or others. He granted an $80,000 surety bond.
Bigsby is not free to do as he pleases; he must stay at the home of his adult daughter in Norfolk, Va, and he must wear an ankle monitor. The accused is not allowed the leave the premises unless for a court appearance or a medical appointment. He is to have no contact with his children, who have been put in foster homes outside of the state.
Prosecuting Attorney Anton Bell reportedly stormed out of the building after bond was granted, stating that he would appeal the decision.
Defense lawyer Amina Matheny-Willard argued the decision was a “year late,” adding, “[Bigsby’s] been through a lot that he should not have had to.”
Bigsby will next be back in court at the end of August for a competency evaluation. This will assess his mental fitness and competency to stand trial for murder.
Codi Bigsby found? Family members believe the boy is still alive
Many within Codi’s family have hope that he is still alive. The boy’s uncle Glenn Hinnant told reporters, “We don’t believe that Codi is dead until we see a dead body” and added, “We are praying all the time.”
Bigsby’s sister Tandaleyia Butler also claimed that her nephew is still alive. The family claimed they saw Codi in September 2021, three months after the police said he was murdered. They even said they have photographs of the boy but are unable to share them with the media.
In the meantime, the location of Codi remains a mystery. In the summer of 2022, the police searched a wooded area in Maryland outside Washington, DC but found nothing.
When Codi went missing, he had black hair, and brown eyes, was about 3 feet tall, and weighed about 60 lbs. When he was last seen, he was wearing all black clothing with Spiderman flip-flops. He would now be five years old.
Anyone with any information about what happened to Codi Bigsby should contact the Hampton Police Department (Virginia) at 1-757-727-6111.