You're listening to the mens rea podcast, and this is the story of Shavon Heinz.

Kiantar Nanolin is a cluster of low-lying islands situated off the northwestern edge of

Galway Bay in the Kanamara-Goyle-Talk region of Ireland. It is worlds apart from the hustle

and bustle of Galway City, which is located just 56 kilometres away. Like much of Kanamara,

Irish is the main language spoken by locals, and the area has a strong association with traditional

culture, heritage and character. Some of the islands in the archipelago are linked to the mainland by

a series of bridges and causeways, the largest being letter Maulin, Garmna, and letter Moor.

In 1988, just over 500 people lived in letter Moor. The local economy was fueled mainly by an

influx of teenage students from all over Ireland to the nearby Irish language colleges that ran

during the summer months. However, winters in letter Moor could be long and dark, and with just

a few scattered pubs and small grocery shops on the island, there wasn't much else for the young

people of the area to do, except drive around the winding roads, listening to music, or maybe

chance their luckish getting served alcohol in the local pub or disco. Like all of her friends,

Shivan Heinz enjoyed the sense of security that came with living in such a small,

tight-knit community where everybody knew everybody else. While she had been shy as a child,

she began to come out of her shell when she started attending the local secondary school,

and her bright and friendly personality made her popular among students and teachers alike.

Her love of music had helped her to form strong friendships with other like-minded teens,

and she was a talented singer and musician. Having just turned 17, Shivan had not yet reached

the legal drinking age of 18. However, as was the culture at the time, teens often started going

to bars at the age of 16 or 17. There had been a national crackdown on venues serving alcohol to

underage drinkers in the previous 12 months, resulting in a number of licensed premises being shut

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