HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell invoked the sixth commandment several times as he argued Tuesday for the maximum sentence for Cory Bigsby before Judge James C. Hawks.

Bigsby was convicted of second degree murder earlier this year in the beating death of his son Codi, 3, whose body was never found.

Bell said “thou shalt not kill” and told Hawks the case cried out for the maximum sentence of 40 years for second degree murder, and an additional five for concealing Codi’s body.

Hawks did just that, sentencing Bigsby to a total of 45 years.

The judge cited several reasons for the stiff penalty: that it involved a father and son; the age difference of more than 40 years; the brutality of the crime – beating the child to death with his own hands; no effort to seek medical treatment; disposing of the body; concealing his death for more than seven months.

Bigsby confessed to killing Codi in June 2021, but did not report him missing until late January 2022.

The case gripped all of Hampton Roads for months. “People wanted to believe this three-year-old was still alive, and that is the biggest trauma outside of his immediate family and his mother,” Bell said during a press conference following the sentencing.

Bell said in March right after a jury convicted Bigsby of killing Codi that he would seek the maximum penalty, and then said Tuesday he never doubted that Judge Hawks would agree.

Bell says this was not a case where the defendant deserved mercy.

“If you want to give mercy to someone, give mercy to the family . Give grace to the family – his mother, his brothers, who every day have to live with that, that they can’t play, can’t interact, can’t love their loved one.”

Defense attorney Curtis Brown said Bigsby did not get a fair jury when he was convicted.

“This is Hampton,” Brown said. “When you come to Hampton you expect to get more blacks than anything else. That wasn’t the case, we had nine (whites) and three (blacks).”

Brown said the sentence of 45 years was more appropriate for first-degree murder, and not Bigsby’s second-degree murder conviction.

Defense attorney Amina Matheny-Willard said they would appeal the sentence but would not comment further.

Bell says Bigsby still has 30 felony child abuse and neglect charges against him which he plans to prosecute later this year.

Bigsby denied an interview from jail after he was sentenced.