Nolan Donald Grove, left, and Kain Heiland, right. (York County Jail; GoFundMe)
A 13-year-old Pennsylvania boy has been charged with murder as an adult after he allegedly shot and killed his 12-year-old friend just before a planned sleepover in early April.
Nolan Donald Grove is charged with numerous crimes, including third degree murder, 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 on a Friday. press conference.
Pennsylvania is one of only three jurisdictions in the United States that still has a third-degree murder law. The maximum sentence for third degree murder is 40 years in state prison.
According to Sunday, Grove was indicted in a presentation before a grand jury based on “the testimony of numerous witnesses” and evidence including “video footage of surrounding events.”
The accused surrendered to law enforcement and was arrested on Friday morning, the prosecutor said.
Grove allegedly shot his friend in the back, Sunday said, “causing his death”.
The incident happened 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, Pennsylvania State Police received a call about a boy lying on a pathway between two homes on First Avenue in Red Lion. The body belonged to Heiland.
Heiland, Grove, and a third friend had spent the afternoon and evening at Grove’s house, and the three planned to spend the night.
A witness told law enforcement that at some point earlier in the day, Grove recovered the gun used in the shooting at his home. This witness told police that Grove “played” with the weapon several times that day – loading it, unloading it and activating the laser sight.
In surveillance video cited by police, Grove can be seen pointing the gun at Heiland with the dot of the laser visible on the victim’s torso.
At around 7:15 p.m., the three boys allegedly spoke to two girls because one of the boys believed the girls had a scooter that belonged to the unnamed friend. A witness told police that Grove told the girls that he “wasn’t afraid to shoot anybody” and that he would 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 pointing the gun at Heiland with the laser sight visible on the body of the other boy.
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 shut up.
The third friend and other witness – who remained on FaceTime up to and including during filming – said Grove responded with something like, “you know what’s going on” or “you know what’s going on.” would pass”.
Then the young boy was shot in the back and killed.
The third friend said he ran home after the shooting and Grove followed him, according to the complaint. The boy told police he asked Grove why he shot Heiland but received no response.
Grove called his father after the shooting. The third friend told his parents what had happened and they contacted law enforcement.
In a subsequent interview with police, the third friend said that Grove repeatedly needled Heiland with “your mother” or “yo’ mama” jokes throughout the day and that Heiland repeatedly said Grove to “shut up” or “shut up”. ”
When questioned by police, Grove allegedly lied and said he was in his bedroom when he heard a gunshot. Investigators noted that he also changed his clothes and washed his hands.
A GoFundMe for Heiland’s mother, Devin Rexroth, was started by a friend who wrote, “His 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 be able to see him,” Rexroth said. “I will never see Kain again.”
The deceased boy’s family recently protested outside the York County Judiciary Center – demanding charges for the shooting that happened more than a month ago, the Daily Record reported.
Heiland’s stepfather, Ken Quickel, was also upset about the charges against the 13-year-old.
“He was charged with third degree murder and licked his lips, like nothing,” Quickel said after Grove’s arraignment in comments reported by WNEP. “His father was sitting there. No sympathy for the kid or his father’s face. For me, this is not something that should happen.
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