YORK, Pa. — Nolan Grove, the 14-year-old suspect who is accused of shooting classmate Kain Heiland in April of this year, is expected back in court today for a status hearing.
The hearing comes after Grove’s defense attorney filed a petition for the family to receive financial assistance from the county for an expert psychiatric evaluation, according to the York Dispatch.
The status hearing will determine whether the case will be a guilty plea or trial. The York Dispatch reports that in a previous hearing, Grove’s attorney, Farley Holt, filed an “indigency petition to seek financial assistance from the county to help pay for the mental health evaluation.” The article says Holt would like to move the case along, and the current mental health evaluation experts provided by the county are backlogged.
The York Dispatch says the judge overseeing the case, Judge Maria Musti Cook, had a hard time understanding why county taxpayers should potentially be left picking up some of the fees for experts in Grove’s defense.
FOX43 reached out to Holt for information on the benefits of the mental evaluation and to find out if a decision will be made at the status hearing today but did not hear back. Grove is currently facing a charge of murder in the third degree.
Officials had determined on June 27 that there was enough probable cause against Nolan Grove to proceed to a full trial. At his interest of justice hearing on July 25, Grove was charged with one felony count of murder of the third degree, one felony count of firearms not to be carried without a license, a misdemeanor count of involuntary manslaughter and four misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person.
He is accused of shooting and killing Kain Heiland while the boys were hanging out with another friend in April.
The third friend and witness testified at Grove's June court appearance, saying that he, Heiland and Grove spent the afternoon of April 1 together, at times playing with a handgun taken from Grove's father's house in Red Lion.
That evening, according to the witness, Grove said something about Heiland's mother, and Heiland told Grove to be quiet. Grove responded, "You know what will happen." Grove then allegedly shot Heiland in the back at close range.
Neither boy called 911, according to court documents, and Grove asked the witness not to tell anyone what happened.
The status hearing is expected to take place at the York County Judicial Center at 10:30 a.m.
A full timeline of the evening of the shooting can be found here.