With Gadhafi’s death, kin of Pan Am Flight 103 victims hope to learn more

New Jersey relatives of the victims of the 1988 bombing of PanAm Flight 103 say they’re relieved that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi is dead. Susan Cohen of Cape May Courthouse blames Gadhafi for the explosion on the plane that killed her daughter and is glad he’s dead. “It’s been over nearly 24 years that I have fought for justice for her. We never got any … now he is dead and he should be dead,” Cohen said. “That is just a wonderful day. I’m going to celebrate. I’m going to drink a bottle of expensive Champagne.” Cherry Hill resident Bob Monetti, who lost his son in the PanAm bombing, said Gadhafi’s death does not bring him a sense of closure. He said, however, that he hopes it makes it easier to get more information about whether Gadhafi gave the order for the bombing that killed 270 people. The bomb exploded as the plane, which took off from Heathrow Airport,  flew over Lockerbie, Scotland, on its way to New York. “Those are the kind of things we’ve been trying to find out for years. As long as Gadhafi lived I think an awful lot of people who knew what was going on were afraid to say anything,” Monetti said. “With his demise, we might get actually a lot more information that we’ve been looking for for 23 years.”