HAMPTON, Va. — The Virginia Court of Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of Cory Bigsby, affirming a 45-year prison sentence for the killing of his 4-year-old son, Codi Bigsby, whose disappearance in Hampton in 2022 sparked a multi-state search.
In a published opinion issued December 30, the court ruled there was sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Bigsby of second-degree murder and concealment of a dead body, even though Codi’s remains have never been found. Judges also rejected Bigsby’s claims that prosecutors improperly struck Black jurors and that the trial court wrongly allowed several jurors to serve.
Codi was reported missing in January 2022 after Bigsby told police the child vanished from the family’s Hampton apartment overnight. Investigators later said extensive searches turned up no trace of the boy, but a cadaver dog alerted inside the apartment. Prosecutors also pointed to testimony from one of Codi’s siblings and multiple written and spoken statements Bigsby made while incarcerated, in which he described beating the child, attempting CPR, and disposing of the body to avoid detection.
On appeal, Bigsby argued the evidence was largely circumstantial and insufficient without a body. The court disagreed, ruling that Bigsby’s confessions were independently corroborated by other evidence, including the child’s sudden disappearance in mid-2021, witness testimony, and the absence of any credible alternative explanation for Codi’s fate.
The court also found no error in the trial judge’s handling of jury selection, including the denial of several defense motions to strike jurors for cause and the rejection of Batson challenges alleging racial discrimination in the prosecution’s peremptory strikes.
Earlier child-neglect charges put on hold
The appellate decision comes months after prosecutors paused a separate set of child neglect and abuse charges against Bigsby involving his four sons, including Codi.
On May 1, a Hampton judge nolle prossed 30 child neglect and abuse counts — a legal move that halts prosecution while allowing charges to be refiled later. Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell said at the time that he did not want to move forward because two of the children connected to the case were undergoing therapy, and one would have been a key witness.
Bigsby’s defense argued the delay was unfair and pushed for the charges to be tried or dismissed outright. The judge ultimately agreed to pause the case, leaving open the possibility that prosecutors could revisit it in the future.
Conviction stands
With the appeals court ruling, Bigsby’s convictions for killing and concealing the death of Codi Bigsby remain intact, and his 45-year sentence stands. As of trial, Codi’s body had still not been recovered.
