A Kings County jury has found Hanford child care provider Courtney Bias guilty of violently shaking a 13-month-old boy left in her care, an attack that left him with permanent brain damage and long-term paralysis. The verdict, announced by the district attorney, closes out a case that began more than three years ago when the toddler, identified as Levi Andersen, was rushed to the hospital with catastrophic injuries.
Bias was found guilty of assault on a child under 8 resulting in coma or permanent paralysis, according to KMPH Fox 26, which reported that investigators determined she shook Levi violently while he was in her care. She is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9 and faces a potential life sentence in state prison, the station reported.
The case traces back to March 21, 2023, when one-year-old Levi Andersen — whose surname has also been spelled Anderson in some records — ended up hospitalized and severely injured after being in Bias's care, according to ABC30. Doctors found blood in his spinal column, a problem with his liver, bleeding behind both eyes, and a brain bleed, the outlet reported. Hanford police said at the time that the injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
Charges Followed a 21-Day Hospital Stay
Prosecutors formally charged Bias with felony assault of a child resulting in a brain injury, felony child abuse with great bodily injury, and an enhancement for great bodily injury to a child under 5 years old, per the same ABC30 account. Levi spent 21 days in the hospital following the attack, according to a 2023 report from KTVZ, which also noted that Hanford police had arrested Bias on suspicion of felony child abuse with gross bodily injury and that she later bailed out of jail. Bias pleaded not guilty to the charges at that earlier stage of the case, the report noted.
At a subsequent bail review hearing, a judge allowed Bias to walk out of jail, the same ABC30 account reported. The toddler, meanwhile, underwent surgery for his injuries, including what doctors hoped would be his final procedure to replace a portion of his skull, the report noted.
Lasting Damage and an Ongoing Recovery
Levi survived the injuries, but he sustained permanent neurological damage, including long-term paralysis and loss of brain tissue, per the seed reporting on the verdict. A 2025 follow-up described a recovery that was still far from over: Levi was still missing a portion of his skull, and his mother said he was attending multiple medical appointments and therapy sessions each week, the outlet reported.
That same report detailed his mother's push to create what she calls Levi's Law, part of a broader effort tied to the family's experience with the case. With sentencing now set for December 9, Bias faces the possibility of spending the rest of her life in state prison for injuries that have already reshaped a toddler's future.
