HOUSTON – A Houston man whose daughter lost her life in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States said the death of Osama bin Laden meant justice had been served.
"You hate to say that [with] someone’s death...you were celebrating ... but we were," said Larry Catuzzi, whose daughter Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas died when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Catuzzi, a vice chairman of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, learned of bin Laden’s death late Sunday.
"We were surprised but obviously very pleased," he said.
His daughter, who was 38 and three months pregnant when she was killed, was in New Jersey at her grandmother’s funeral when she decided to return home to California on an early flight.
That morning, in a calm, collected voice, she left her husband a message on their home answering machine.
"I love you," she said in the recording. "There’s a little problem on the plane. I’m fine and comfortable for now."
That was the last time her family heard from her.
"It always bothered me, the fact that we could do so many things scientifically and in many, many respects and yet we couldn’t find this guy and bring him to justice," Catuzzi said.
Last year, on the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Catuzzi and his family helped dedicate Lauren’s Garden at Market Square Park, a tribute to his daughter and the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the attacks.
