‘I was thinking that he was dead’: Codi Bigsby’s brother testifies in court

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – Wearing a powder blue bowtie and matching suspenders, Codi Bigsby’s 7-year-old brother testified in court Thursday, the fourth day in the murder trial of Cory Bigsby.

He had to wait two and a half hours because of a technical glitch with the video system.

Cory is charged with second degree murder and hiding a dead body.

Codi’s brother provided his testimony in a room separate from the rest of the trial.

Jury members were riveted on the boy during Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell’s direct questioning. The 7-year-old testified against his father.

Codi’s brother testified that he found his brother unresponsive on a bed with his eyes open saying, “his face was red. It was dry and it was bruised.”

He went on to say he attempted to shake Codi awake before going downstairs and asking his father what was wrong. His father allegedly told him nothing was wrong. That testimony prompted sobs from the gallery, and the seven-year-old started to cry himself.

“I was thinking that he was dead,” Codi’s brother said.

According to Codi’s brother, Codi was often spanked and disciplined, and he told that to a Child Protective Services investigator, according to her testimony Thursday afternoon.

He testified that he was four-years-old the last time he saw Codi. That would mean that it was some time before Dec. 24, 2021, Codi’s brother’s birthday, and would place Codi’s death several months before Cory Bigsby reported Codi missing on Jan. 31, 2022.

On cross examination by defense attorney Kenneth Singleton, the child was less clear and consistent. He got dates mixed up, and could not recall a conversation with a social services worker even after he was shown video of that conversation.

At one point during cross, he testified his father had told lies, but then added that “mom told me that.” Codi’s mother Dina Abdul Kareem testified Wednesday.

In the seven-year-old’s conversation with a social services worker, he said he remembered seeing Codi wearing a Superman costume at Halloween, but it was not absolutely certain which year he was referring to. Judge James Hawks said he would leave that determination up to the jury.

The child was shown pictures of himself and Cory Bigsby at Busch Gardens. He said twice during testimony that those pictures were taken after the last time he saw his little brother Codi. Thursday afternoon a police detective said forensic data from Cory Bigsby‘s phone shows those pictures were taken in July 2021 — a month after the Commonwealth says Cory Bigsby killed Cody.

Codi’s brother testified for a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes, fidgeting and playing with his hair toward the end. At that point the seven-year-old had been in the courthouse four and a half hours.

Opening statements

Opening statements for the trial started on Wednesday. Jury selection took two days.

After opening statements, Dina Abdul Kareem, Codi’s mother, took the stand, testifying that Nov. 1, 2020 was the last time she saw any of her four children prior to Codi’s disappearance. Kareem also testified that Cory refused to give her his home address so she could visit.

The defense questioned Kareem on why she did not call police if she feared for Codi’s safety after she alleged Cory Bigsby emailed her in 2021 saying, “I need to bring Codi back to you, I don’t want to severely hurt him.”

The court also heard testimony from two Hampton Police officers who were the first to arrive to Cory’s home after he reported Codi missing in 2022.

Body cam video shows the officers being led throughout the home by Cory, seeing the bedroom that Codi was allegedly put in before he was reported missing.

WAVY’s Chris Horne has been covering the trial since day one. Look for his continued coverage all week on WAVY News 10.