HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — Cory Bigsby was found guilty of murder and disappearance of his son, Codi, but advocate groups pleased by the verdict still had one question.
“I am so glad we got justice for that baby,” Angie Hardin said. “Now, where is that baby?”
Hampton Police Chief Jimmie Wideman said the division is not giving up the search.
The fact that the Commonwealth didn’t know where Codi was didn’t seem to hurt this case for the jury.
Harvey Bryant, former Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney and legal expert, said this is one of many cases where there was a conviction without a body.
He said prosecuting a murder case really comes down to good facts.
“There was obviously a lot of evidence, other than the body itself, that would cooperate,” Bryant said. “The fact that there had been a murder, that the person is, in fact, dead, and that kind of information comes from statements of the defendant.”
In this case, the Commonwealth presented a letter from Cory Bigsby that said Codi was beaten to death.
“If you have some statement by the defendant or an email or a plan or a letter… things like that have major impacts with judges and juries,” Bryant said. “It goes to help prove that this person is the one who murdered the victim that hasn’t been found yet.”
He said the evidence in this case must have been overwhelming if the jury came back in less than two hours.
“I think it’s indicative of the prosecution really did their job,” Bryant said, “that the evidence was fully sufficient for the jury to find that the case had been proven beyond doubts that are reasonable.”
Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell told 10 On Your Side he isn’t going to lower Cory Bigsby’s sentencing recommendations if he reveals where Codi is.
Bryant agrees with this strategy.
“It’s horrendous,” Bryant said. “He’s hidden this from law enforcement, from his family, from everyone in the community for all this time, and to now come forward and say, ‘well, here’s where it is,’ I don’t think that’s sufficient for a reduction in sentence.”
Bell said he will seek 40 years for the second-degree murder charge and five years for concealing his son’s body. The sentencing is set for June 18.