RED LION, PA – A York County teenager will spend at least the next three decades in prison after a jury found him guilty of fatally shooting a 12-year-old friend during a dispute last year.
Nolan Grove, 15, was sentenced Thursday to a minimum of 16 years in prison after jurors convicted him in June of third-degree murder and several other charges stemming from the killing of Kain Heiland in April 2023. Judge Maria Musti Cook ordered Grove to serve 15 to 30 years on the murder conviction, and an additional one to two years for possessing a firearm as a minor, with the sentences to be served consecutively. Grove was also handed five years’ probation on related reckless endangerment charges and was credited for time already spent in juvenile detention.
Authorities said the shooting took place on April 1, 2023, in Red Lion, a small town southeast of York. State police responded after receiving a call about a boy found unresponsive between two homes on First Avenue. The victim, Kain Heiland, died after being shot once in the back, the bullet striking his spinal cord and heart.
Investigators reported that Grove and two friends, including Kain, had spent that Saturday hanging out at Grove’s house, with plans to have a sleepover later that night. At some point, Grove retrieved a handgun from his home. Witnesses later told police he had been brandishing the firearm throughout the day—loading and unloading it, turning on its laser sight, and, at times, pointing it at others.
Surveillance video and a screenshot from a FaceTime call surfaced during the investigation, showing Grove pointing the weapon at Kain, with the laser’s red dot lingering on the younger boy. Witnesses told authorities that Grove verbally threatened to shoot someone earlier that day while confronting two girls over a missing scooter.
The fatal encounter came just after 8 p.m. as the three boys walked through a neighbor’s yard. After a brief argument, witnesses recounted Grove saying something akin to, “you know what happens,” before firing once at Kain’s back. One friend ran home, while Grove followed, later calling his father. Meanwhile, the other boy notified his parents, who contacted police.
Throughout the day, Grove reportedly taunted Kain with repeated jokes about his mother. Despite Kain’s pleas for Grove to stop, the antagonism continued up until the shooting, according to witness accounts.
When questioned by police, Grove initially claimed he was in his bedroom at the time of the gunshot. Investigators noted that he had changed clothes and washed his hands prior to being taken into custody.
During trial, jurors viewed multiple videos depicting Grove menacing Kain with the firearm, including clips where he pointed the gun at Kain’s face. Grove testified that retrieving the weapon had been a critical error in judgment. He maintained that he believed the gun was not loaded at the time of the shooting, but the prosecution argued that Grove’s willingness to threaten and point the firearm at others amounted to malice under Pennsylvania law.
The jury ultimately found Grove guilty on all counts, including third-degree murder—a statute that remains in effect in only a handful of states. The distinction between manslaughter and third-degree murder in Pennsylvania centers on whether the defendant acted with recklessness and malice, even absent intent to kill.
Grove’s conviction and lengthy sentence close a tragic chapter for the families involved, and the case has drawn renewed attention to Pennsylvania’s unique legal standards for homicide, as well as ongoing concerns about minors’ access to firearms.