Written by: Sam Orlando
HAMPTON, Va. - Cory Bigsby, the father of missing child Codi Bigsby in Hampton, has been found unfit to stand trial on more than 30 unrelated child abuse and neglect charges. On Thursday, a judge ruled that Bigsby will undergo mental health treatment in a facility, further delaying his trial.
Bigsby's mental state has been evaluated multiple times, with conflicting results. His first exam determined he was competent to stand trial, but a subsequent evaluation by a psychologist hired by his defense team concluded otherwise. Although that doctor was not approved by the court, a court-approved doctor also found that Bigsby failed to understand the gravity of his charges. He claims to have no recognition of the names of the children listed in the indictment that he had been parenting.
Bigsby's family and attorneys argue that his decline in competency is due to his incarceration and the disappearance of his son, Codi. Clinical psychologist Dr. Weare Zwermer has evaluated Bigsby and believes he is suffering from an undiagnosed formal thought disorder, post-traumatic stress, and some insult or injury to his central nervous system.
"First he lost his child, and now he's lost his mind, is essentially where we are," said Amina Matheny-Willard, Cory Bigsby's attorney. "At some point, you have to look at this and say this is not fair."
In addition to his mental state, Bigsby's arrest has been shrouded in controversy. According to his attorneys, he was prevented from having access to counsel for more than three days and was allegedly subjected to sleep and food deprivation tactics in a small interrogation room. Hampton police have acknowledged preventing him from having access to his attorneys. Bigsby's defense team claims that these actions, along with continued harassment and berating by correctional officers and investigators, have "literally led him to lose his mind."
Bigsby's family still holds out hope that Codi is alive, and denounce Prosecutor's efforts to keep Cory Bigsby detained, where he cannot help search for his son. Bigsby Attorney Amina Matheny-Willard claims this prolonged and at times violent detention and the Police Department's sole focus on Bigsby has led to a manifest injustice, one where the Police have simply stopped searching for missing Cori Bigsby.
According to Hampton Circuit Court records, Cory is due back in court in June, where his defense team will argue a motion to drop the charges against him.
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