Nolan Grove was a thirteen year old living in Pennsylvania who would murder twelve year old Kain Heiland
According to court documents thirteen year old Nolan Grove and twelve year old Kain Heiland were hanging out the day of the murdering. The two teens were planning on sleeping over at another friend’s home.
Before heading to the other friend’s home Nolan Grove would go to his home where he would grab a gun. Later that night Grove would fatally shoot Kain Heiland in the head following a slight about Grove’s mother
Nolan Grove would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to fifteen to thirty years in prison
Nolan Grove Current Information
| Name | Name Type |
| NOLAN DONALD GROVE | Commit Name |
Parole Number:
361LG
Age:
16
Date of Birth:
09/11/2009
Height:
6′ 01″
Gender:
MALE
Citizenship:
UNKNOWN
Complexion:
LIGHT
Current Location:
PINE GROVEPermanent Location:
PINE GROVE
Committing County:
YORK
Nolan Grove Case
A York County teen who was convicted in June of shooting a 12-year-old classmate to death in 2023 was sentenced Thursday to a prison term of 15 to 30 years at a hearing before York County President Judge Maria Musti Cook.
Nolan Grove, 15, was found guilty on June 9 of third-degree murder in connection to the death of 12-year-old Kain Heiland, who was shot and killed on April 1, 2023 after spending the day with Grove and another friend.
In addition to his sentence for the murder conviction, Grove will also serve an additional 1-2 years in prison for his conviction on a misdemeanor count of possession of a firearm by a minor.
He will also serve three years of probation for one conviction of reckless endangerment, followed by four more years of probation to run consecutively and concurrently for his convictions on three other reckless endangerment counts.
Witnesses told police they were on a Facetime call Grove, Heiland, and another teen when Grove shot Heiland in the back from close range. The witnesses reported hearing the gunshot, and hearing Grove’s friend yelling something at him after the gun discharged.
Heiland’s body was found lying on a pathway between two homes on the first block of 1st Avenue in Red Lion shortly before 8:30 p.m.
An investigation by State Police determined Grove and Heiland spent the afternoon and evening with their friend. They were planning to sleep over at the friend’s house that night.
The other friend later told investigators what happened, authorities said.
At some point during the day, the friend reported, Nolan Grove went to his home and retrieved the firearm used in the shooting. The witness told police he saw Grove “playing” with the handgun several times throughout the day, loading and unloading it and activating the firearm’s laser sight.
Surveillance video taken from the friend’s home showed that at approximately 6:09 p.m., Grove pointed the gun at Heiland and a dot from the laser site was seen on Heiland’s torso.
At about 7:15 p.m., the group went to Grove’s home and later had a conversation with two girls who were in possession of a scooter that the friend believed was his.
During the conversation, police claim, Grove told one of the girls he “wasn’t afraid to shoot somebody” and that he would if he could, police said.
Another witness later provided investigators with a screenshot taken from a FaceTime call between the witness and Grove. The image showed Grove again pointing the gun at Heiland, and the laser sight is visible on Heiland’s body.
At about 8:22 p.m., Grove, Heiland and the third friend were walking through a neighbor’s yard when Grove said “something” about Heiland’s mother, though the witness could not recall what was said.
Heiland allegedly told Grove to be quiet.
The friend and another witness, who was still on a Facetime call with the group at that point, told police they heard Grove tell Heiland something to the effect of “you know what happens” or “you know what would happen.”
At that point, the friend told police, Grove removed the firearm from his sweatshirt and shot Heiland in the back from close range. The person on the Facetime call confirmed hearing the shot, and that the friend yelled something at Grove immediately afterward.
The friend told police he ran home following the shooting, and that Nolan Grove followed him. Grove reportedly did not answer when asked by the friend why he had shot Heiland.
Neither boy called 911, according to police. The friend told police Grove later returned to where Heiland was lying to pick up a BB gun Heiland had dropped after the shooting.
According to police, phone records indicate Nolan Grove called his father, who was in Harrisburg, shortly after the shooting.
The friend told his parents about what had happened, and the parents contacted authorities.
Investigators executed a search warrant at Grove’s home and found the handgun believed to have been used in the shooting in a hidden compartment-styled firearms case.
Nolan Grove allegedly told police he was in his bedroom the night of the shooting and reported hearing a gunshot. Police noted in the complaint that Grove was wearing different clothes than what he was seen wearing in surveillance video earlier that night, and that he had washed his hands.
At trial, Nolan Grove testified that he had removed the firearm from his father’s gun safe without permission—an action he described as “probably the dumbest thing I’ve done.”
He claimed he did not know the gun was loaded when he shot Heiland.
Prosecutors cross-examined Grove for several hours following his testimony.
While on the stand, Grove stated multiple times that he did not remember certain details of things that occurred hours before he shot Heiland. He said he didn’t remember if he pointed his gun at two girls while retrieving a friend’s scooter or having an exchange with Heiland before he was shot.
He also stated that he was using the gun’s laser to shine on a pothole and was casually swinging his arms when the gun discharged and struck Heiland.
Prosecutors told the jury that Grove’s statements were inconsistent with prior expert testimony.
The jury had to choose between convicting Grove of third-degree murder, which the prosecution pushed for, or involuntary manslaughter.
During deliberation, the jury called in the judge several times to ask whether it was legally relevant that Nolan believed that the gun was not loaded.
The judge instructed the jury that Nolan’s actions could demonstrate malice if they found that he intentionally pointed the gun at Heiland, even if he believed the gun was empty.
Nolan’s defense attorney, Farley Holt, believed that ruling was a mistake.
“Nolan, based on his own actions in clearing the gun, when they lost the bullet before the shooting, believed the gun was clear,” Holt said after the trial.
