HAMPTON, Va. — Defense Attorneys for Cory Bigsby are asking a judge to throw out a statement they say their client “involuntarily” wrote while at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail.
Bigsby reported his four-year-old son Codi Bigsby missing in January 2022. In June 2023, prosecutors filed charges against Bigsby for his son’s murder.
In a new motion filed in Hampton Circuit Court, Bigsby’s attorney Amina Matheny-Willard said she believes staff at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail promised Bigsby a meal and visit with his family in exchange for a statement she said prosecutors are trying to use as evidence.
In court documents, Matheny-Willard said jail leaders contacted her on July 24, 2022, expressing concern for Bigsby’s mental health. She said they wanted to arrange a Hardee’s luncheon.
Then, on or around August 3, she said Bigsby wrote a statement, and two days later jail staff allowed his family in for a lunchtime visit.
In the paperwork, Matheny-Willard writes there is a body camera video showing a deputy taking a pen and paper to Bigsby. But she said there is no evidence of what happened before that recording.
Matheny-Willard did not include what the statement said.
Matheny-Willard claims jail staff abused and isolated Bigsby, which caused him to make involuntary statements violating his due process. She said that makes the statement inadmissible.
13News Now reached out to a spokesperson from the Hampton Roads Regional Jail with questions, and we are waiting to hear back.
However, after a June hearing, Bigsby’s defense team also stated they believe jail staff coerced his statement. In response, HRRJ spokeswoman Sharon Scott said, “At no time was Mr. Bigsby, mistreated or coerced into making any statement concerning his missing child while in our custody.”
Matheny-Willard is traveling and could not comment on her motion. Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell said he will do his talking in court.
When Bigsby allegedly wrote this statement in August 2022, he only faced child neglect charges unrelated to Codi’s disappearance. A grand jury indicted him on murder charges for his son’s death in June of this year.
At previous court hearings, Matheny-Willard has declined to share Bigsby’s statement.
Bigsby remains out of jail on bond.
A judge will hear the defense’s motion to suppress Bigsby’s statement on October 31. The murder trial is set for November 6.