HAMPTON — Cory Bigsby, the father of missing four-year-old Codi Bigsby, was arrested on charges of child neglect on Thursday, Feb. 3.
However, Hampton Police Chief Mark Talbot said that the investigation is not over and will only become “more intense now.”
Codi was reported missing by his father from his home in Hampton on Jan. 31 at approximately 9 a.m.
Through the investigation, Cory was arrested and charged with seven counts of felony child neglect.
Talbot provided updates on the status of the investigation during a press conference Friday, Feb. 4.
Talbot said that Cory’s charges are based on his admission of leaving his five-year-old, four-year-old and two-year-old twins home alone on numerous occasions. Talbot said that Cory told investigators that “it was too much of a burden to bring his kids along with him.”
Talbot said that the investigation does not end with Cory’s arrest.
“In fact, in some ways our investigation is going to start and become more intense now,” he said.
Talbot said that the FBI has provided an extensive amount of forensic data to review and there are still “many interviews to conduct, many areas to search and many leads to follow.”
According to Talbot, the timeline of when Codi was last seen alive and well by anyone is still being investigated.
Talbot also confirmed that Hampton Police have been in contact with Codi’s mother and she has answered their questions.
He also said that there has been no evidence of someone else’s involvement in Codi’s disappearance, and no reason to believe that he may be outside the state of Virginia.
Talbot said that police hope to find Codi alive, but as the days go by, they lose more hope.
“With each day that passes, we become more and more concerned and we lose a little bit more hope,” he said. “Obviously the longer we go, the more tragic it feels.”
When asked why Cory was supposedly not able to be in contact with his attorney while at the police station prior to his arrest, Talbot answered, “Mr. Bigsby is a 43-year-old man who’s had a full career in the Army. He retired from a position of authority. He seems to be quite intelligent. He seems to be quite capable, and part of his capabilities seems to be understanding his rights. At no time did he request to see an attorney. Had he made such a request, we would have honored that request.”
Talbot also said that the timeline of the last few days leading up to Codi’s disappearance and Cory’s whereabouts at that time is still “a work in progress.”
WYDaily will continue to keep you up-to-date as more information becomes available.
