Following less than two hours of deliberation, a jury convicted a Virginia dad of murdering his 4-year-old son whose body has never been found.
Cory Bigsby, 45, was found guilty of second-degree murder and concealing a body in connection with the death of his child, Codi Bigsby, according to investigators, WTKR-TV reported.
His sentencing is scheduled for a later date, but the prosecution said it would seek the maximum time behind bars.
"Forty years for second-degree murder, which is the max. Five years for discarding a dead body. That's the most I'm going to get, and that's what I'm going to ask for," Hampton Commonwealth Attorney Anton Bell said, according to the outlet.
While loved ones and advocates were satisfied with the jury's decision, the hunt for Codi's remains is far from over.
"This verdict still doesn't give us Codi," Joe Slabinski, who worked as a lead searcher on the case said, according to WVEC-TV.
Bigsby first reported Codi missing on Jan. 31, 2022, but investigators believe the little boy was killed seven months prior to him filing the missing persons report.
Codi's mother took the stand and said a 2020 hospitalization forced her to leave the children she shared with Cory in his care. She said that she had not spoken to her son since April 2021, WTKR reported.
The victim's 7-year-old brother also told the court he failed to shake his brother awake around that time, and that his face was red and covered with bruises. He claimed their dad would often discipline Codi.
Corrections Officer Jemal Massey testified Cory admitted to murdering the boy.
He said Cory confessed, "I found my son unresponsive, tried CPR... [I] could not revive him... I put him in a trash bag, put him in the car, where he sat for three to five days... I buried him," according to the station.
After the verdict was announced, Bigsby's defense attorney told reporters outside the courthouse: "Y'all presented the case as if he was already guilty, so I hope y'all are happy," WVEC reported.
