A man suspected of making the deadly bomb that killed 259 people aboard Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 is now in custody and is expected to appear in a D.C. federal courtroom soon.
It’s the latest development in the nearly 34-year-old attack that took the life of Rabbi Stephanie Berstein’s husband, Mike. He left behind a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old.
“There’s been a hole in our lives because my husband wasn’t there to see his children grow up,” said Bernstein, speaking with WTOP news partner NBC Washington. The arrest is what she sees as a step toward justice. “This shows that our government has a long memory and that it’s going to hold people accountable,” she added.
Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi is the former Libyan intelligence officer accused of making the bomb that went off on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on Dec. 21, 1988. Al-Marimi is the third Libyan to face charges but the first to appear in a US courtroom.
Elizabeth Vrenios’ son, Nicholas was also killed. He was a D.C. native attending Syracuse University. Nicholas was heading home after a semester abroad with 34 other classmates when the bomb went off shortly after take off. He was 20 years old.
“This has been 34 years in the making, really amazing news,” she told NBC Washington, adding that she didn’t need the arrest to feel closure. “I have already made my peace.”
For Nicholas’ brother Chris, the charges don’t change what happened.
“I don’t feel that there will ever be closure for me, personally. It doesn’t bring my brother back,” he said.
Loved ones will gather for an annual memorial service honoring the victims at Arlington Cemetery on the anniversary of the attack next week.
