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Judge orders second mental examination for Cory Bigsby

During a hearing, a court-approved doctor said Bigsby was competent to stand trial, while a defense-hired doctor said he wasn't.

HAMPTON, Va. — A judge on Friday ordered a second mental examination for Cory Bigsby, the father of missing child Codi Bigsby. Bigsby faces several charges unrelated to his son's disappearance, and the court is trying to determine if he's competent to stand trial.

The order comes after Judge James Hawks ordered the first examination of Bigsby in December using a court-approved doctor. Bigsby's defense also hired their own doctor, who wasn't on the approved list.

During a Friday morning hearing, the court-approved doctor said Bigsby was competent to stand trial, while the defense-hired doctor said he wasn't. Because of the conflict, Bigsby's defense requested a second examination from a new doctor.

Judge Hawks said that assessment is not able to be used, because the expert isn't a court appointed or on their list.

13News Now got a look at the court appointed doctor’s assessment. 

In the documents, the doctor writes Bigsby understands the possible consequences of his charges and how the judicial system works. The paperwork said Bigsby has refused medical treatment at Hampton Roads Regional Jail. The assement said mental health staff say Bigsby has reported hearing voices, has made references to seeing children tapping on the windows of the jail and said there is a machine in his head telling him to do crazy things.

However, the documents said when the doctor interviewed Bigsby in January, he denied having those experiences and said he’s never received psychiatric treatment in his life saying, “There’s nothing wrong with me. I don’t need those services.”'

Some of Bigsby’s family members sat in the courtroom. Glenn Hinnant said he's Bigsby's uncle and said this court process and the disappearance of Codi are taking a toll on his family.

"The family is hurting, my wife and I, we paying for this whole thing," Hinnant said. "It’s not about money. But we hurt too because he hurt. That is our nephew, just like Cory is, everyone is hurting. Because we wonder, where is he? Is he alive or is he dead?”

Hawks appointed a Chesapeake psychologist to conduct the examination. The court will meet to discuss the results on March 31.

Friday's hearing came almost a year after Bigsby first reported his son, 4-year-old Codi, missing to the Hampton Police Division on Jan. 31, 2022.

When police brought Bigsby in for questioning about Codi, he allegedly told them he sometimes left his young children home alone. That led to child neglect charges.

Bigsby faces 30 charges, which include 28 felonies and two misdemeanors. He's been behind bars since Feb. 3, 2022, and his bond has been denied six times as he awaits a trial.

Since Codi's disappearance, search teams and the public have banded together at different times to search for the four-year-old, but he hasn't been found yet.

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