Nolan Donald Grove, left, and Kain Heiland, right. (York County Prison; GoFundMe)
A 13-year-old Pennsylvania boy has been charged with murder as an adult after allegedly shooting and killing his 12-year-old friend just before a planned sleepover in early April.
Nolan Donald Grove stands accused of numerous crimes, including murder in the third degree, involuntary manslaughter, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm by a minor, and recklessly endangering another person, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday said during a Friday press conference.
Pennsylvania is one of only three jurisdictions in the U.S. that has a third-degree murder statute still on the books. The maximum sentence for third-degree murder is 40 years in state prison.
According to Sunday, Grove was charged in a grand jury presentment based on “the testimony of numerous witnesses” and evidence that included “video footage of surrounding events.”
The defendant surrendered to law enforcement and was arraigned Friday morning, the DA said.
Grove is alleged to have shot his friend in the back, Sunday said, “causing his death.”
The incident occurred near Grove’s home on April 1. The victim, Kain Heiland, was pronounced dead at 9:48 p.m. that day by York County Deputy Coroner Scott Pennewell.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Scranton-based ABC affiliate WNEP, the Pennsylvania State Police received a call about a boy lying on a pathway between two homes on First Avenue in Red Lion. The body was Heiland’s.
Heiland, Grove, and a third friend had spent the afternoon and evening at Grove’s house, and the three were planning on spending the night.
A witness told law enforcement that at some point earlier in the day, Grove had retrieved the gun used in the shooting from his home. This witness told police that Grove was “playing” with the gun several times that day – loading it, unloading it, and activating the laser sight.
In a surveillance video cited by police, Grove can be seen pointing the gun at Heiland with the laser’s dot visible on the victim’s torso.
At around 7:15 p.m., the three boys allegedly talked to two girls because one of the boys believed the girls had a scooter that belonged to the unnamed friend. A witness told the police that Grove told the girls he “wasn’t afraid to shoot somebody” and would do so if he could.
In the complaint obtained by the TV station, police cite another witness who allegedly provided a screenshot of an image from a FaceTime call where Grove can be seen again pointing the gun at Heiland with the laser sight visible on the other boy’s body.
At around 8:22 p.m., the three boys were walking through a neighbor’s yard when Grove allegedly said something about Heiland’s mother, a witness told police. Heiland told Grove to be quiet.
The third friend and the other witness – who remained on FaceTime up to and including during the shooting – said Grove replied with something like: “you know what happens” or “you know what would happen.”
Then the younger boy was shot in the back and killed.
The third friend said he ran home after the shooting and that Grove followed him, the complaint says. The boy told police he asked Grove why he had shot Heiland but received no response.
Grove called his father after the shooting. The third friend told his parents about what happened, and they reached out to law enforcement.
During a later interview with police, the third friend said that Grove had repeatedly been needling Heiland with “your mom” or “yo’ mama” jokes throughout the day and that Heiland had repeatedly told Grove to “be quiet” or “shut up.”
When questioned by police, Grove allegedly lied and said he had been in his bedroom when he heard a gunshot. Investigators noted that he had also changed clothes and washed his hands.
A GoFundMe for Heiland’s mother, Devin Rexroth, was started by a friend who wrote, “her son was spending the night at a friend’s house, and a nightmare happened.”
In comments to the York Daily Record, Heiland’s family bemoaned the relatively light charge of third-degree murder.
“His parents will still get to see him,” Rexroth said. “I’ll never get to see Kain again.”
The dead boy’s family recently protested outside of the York County Judicial Center – demanding charges over the shooting that happened over a month ago, the Daily Record reported.
Heiland’s stepfather, Ken Quickel, was also upset with the charges filed against the 13-year-old.
“He got third-degree murder charges thrown at him and licked his lips, like nothing,” Quickel said after Grove’s arraignment in comments reported by WNEP. “His dad sat there. No sympathy on the kid or his father’s face. To me, that’s not something that should happen.”
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