WARNING: This article includes references to possible child abuse and graphic situations that some viewers may find disturbing.
HAMPTON, Va. (Scripps News Norfolk) — Friday marks the fifth day of the murder trial against Cory Bigsby: the Hampton man accused of killing his son Codi.
Hampton Roads Regional Jail corrections officer Jemal Massey testifying in the murder trial against Cory Bigsby. (Scripps News Norfolk/Ian Teasley)
A corrections officer from Hampton Roads Regional Jail – where Bigsby was in custody – testified about what Cory allegedly confessed while in jail.
The officer, Jemal Massey, claimed that Bigsby yelled, asking for an officer to write stuff down for him. He claims this happened while he was on duty the night of Aug. 3 2022 and the morning the next day.
Massey claims Bigsby asked him to write down the following: “I found my son unresponsive, tried CPR… [I] could not revive him,” said Massey while quoting what Bigsby allegedly said on the stand. “I put him in a trash bag, put him in the car, where he sat [for] three to five days.”
After the corrections officer wrote down Bigsby’s words, Bigsby asked to sign it, Massey claims. He claims Bigsby did sign the paper.
Darren Spencer – an FBI analyst, forensics examiner and digital analyzer in data – also took the stand. He claims he looked at Cory Bigsby’s tablets and phones.
When asked if he saw any pictures of Codi after June and July 2021, Spencer responded, “There were no original pictures of Codi.”
There are still multiple law enforcement officers and corrections officers listed on the witness list who haven’t testified. They could still be called to the stand today.
Codi’s 7-year-old brother made claims that suggested Cory Bigsby abused Codi. He also spoke about a time in which he thought his little brother Codi “looked dead.”
Cody Bigsby sat in court on the first day of testimony in his trial. (Scripps News Norfolk/Ian Teasley)
What’s happened thus far in the trial?
The murder trial against Cory Bigsby began Monday.
During the prosecution’s opening remarks, attorney Dylan Arnold accused Bigsby of killing Codi months before he reported him missing.
Defense attorney Kenneth Singleton claimed Bigsby frantically called 911 after he couldn’t find his son. He told jurors they’d hear “no evidence of a murder.”
Codi’s brother testifies
The courtroom was emotional when Codi’s older brother provided testimony. He testified in a separate room outside of the courtroom.
The brother claimed Cory Bigsby would often punish Codi and said “he would spank him.”
He also claimed there was an instance in which he couldn’t wake up his brother Codi. “His face was red, it was dry, and it was bruised,” the brother said.
The brother recalled the exchange he had with his father following the alleged incident:
“I asked [my dad] what was wrong with Codi. He said nothing was wrong with him,” the brother said.
When the prosecution asked the boy if he believed his dad, he said: “No…because [Codi] looked dead.”
In the courtroom, Cory Bigsby was visibly shaking and somewhat emotional. Members of the public who were in the courtroom were upset during the child’s testimony and began crying.
During his testimony, the child did struggle with description of time.
Codi’s mother testifies
Another noteworthy testimony was provided on Wednesday by Codi’s mother, Dina Kareem.
Dina Kareem, Codi Bigsby’s mother, was the first witness to testify in Cory Bigsby’s trial. (Scripps News Norfolk/Ian Teasley)
On the stand, Kareem claimed that she and Cory Bigsby, who share four kids, have not been in a relationship since 2019. After she was hospitalized in 2020, she left their children in the care of Bigsby, she claimed.
She claimed she had not spoken to Codi since April 2021 – about nine months before he was reported missing.
She claimed that in April 2021, she got an email from Bigsby that read, in part, “[Codi] is still doing the same stuff… He needs to come back to you… I do not want to seriously hurt him to protect my babies.” She did not believe the claims Bigsby was making in the email, she said.
Who is Codi Bigsby?
Many are hoping the trial will provide answers to a question the Hampton community has been asking for nearly two years: What happened to Codi Bigsby?
Codi was 4 years old when he was reported missing in January 2022. Since then, there’s been no trace of him, but law enforcement believes he’s dead.
Over a year later in June 2023, Cory Bigsby was charged with murdering Codi.
He’s also facing child abuse and neglect charges that are unrelated to Codi’s disappearance.
Since Codi was reported missing, the community has organized search parties, decorated a fence in his honor and rallied to fight for answers.
This story was originally written by Madeline Miller and Angela Bohon at Scripps News Norfolk, an E.W. Scripps Company.
