Okay so can you summarize what it means that he is held without bond, to someone who doesn't know a word about prisoners' rights?
His release is not currently authorized. This is likely just in place until a formal hearing where he will also be appointed an attorney (although he will likely not yet meet with the attorney). That is not tremendously unusual and is again likely very temporary- if he is arraigned this week he will likely receive a bond at the arraignment.
Virginia does have several situations where they allow no bond at all; I know in the past prisoners under an extradition hold and probation violators in VA were not allowed bond.
In most states and with most offenses, a magistrate (essentially the lowest form of judge) issues / approves most warrants or some civil matters. They are the person a police officer takes you to for booking, and the one who initially says "this is what you are charged with".
However, when charged with a felony things are a little different. An officer can charge a felony offense if they observe it occur or have a great reason to do so, but ordinarily a charge will be brought before a grand jury- a group of jurors to whom a district attorney (in VA, the commonwealth attorney) present the particulars of cases to. They do not have to present absolute proof at the time of a grand jury, just enough for the GJ to decide to issue an "indictment". A felony is preferably charged after an indictment is secured, and at that point criminal proceedings begin in earnest.
Note that if an officer effects a probable cause based felony warrant- say, he observes someone shoot somebody or there are other circumstances that lead him to arrest someone prior to the grand jury process- the case will still be presented to the grand jury, and if the GJ declines to indict that person will be released. If the person is released, law enforcement can re-investigate or seek new information and retry- double jeopardy does not attach at this point.
The precise language and process changes a bit from state to state but often a person will be re-arrested following the indictment being secured if he has been released already. A superior or higher court judge may specify that a judge higher than the magistrate set the bond, in which case the accused may be held until his hearing in front of the court at his arraignment (the formal presentation of charges to the accused in a felony proceeding).
The ideal workflow for a felony is
Crime is reported -> crime is investigated -> case is staffed with the district attorney -> evidence is presented to the grand jury -> indictment is secured -> officers arrest the accused with a warrant -> the accused is formally arraigned and then proceedings begin.
Sometimes the body of evidence, or risk is such that the accused may be arrested based on probable cause... in this case based on Chris' communications and possibly statements by or medical evaluation of Barb.
A savvy investigator may not want to immediately arrest, particularly if there are co-defendants or other factors at play. The suspect may still be engaging in criminal activity or may be about to disclose or uncover something that will assure his culpability. That is often a judgement call. Some cases are also built over a long time- you may watch a theft ring for some time before securing indictments and/or warrants for everyone involved, and bust them at once. That allows for less time for them to coordinate cover stories, destroy or obfuscate evidence, or flee.
