BOCA RATON, Fla. — For Boca Raton mother Suzann Rubinov, the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks carries a surreal weight: she is now 32 years old, the same age her father was when he was killed in the World Trade Center. As she navigates this painful milestone, her family's grief is compounded by a quarter-century wait for justice that is only now beginning to move forward.
This story is a reflection on enduring loss and the human cost of waiting for the judicial process. As the nation prepares to mark 25 years since the attacks, the personal stories of families like the Rubinov's highlight the ongoing quest for closure and accountability that continues to this day.
WATCH: Boca Raton woman, now same age as her father killed on 9/11, reflects on 25 years of grief, delayed justice
The Last Goodbye
Rubinov's memories of that Tuesday morning are vivid and heartbreaking.
"On the morning of September 11th, 2001, I got a phone call in the morning as I always do from my dad," she recalled. "Saying, 'I love you. Have a great day at school, and I'll see you later.' And I had no idea that would be the last time I had heard his voice."
Her father, Jason David Cayne, went to work at the World Trade Center and never came home.
Because his body was never recovered, Rubinov's family maintains a shrine in their home. "This site is kinda where I feel like he is," she said.
The passage of time has only sharpened her sense of what was lost.
"He had an entire life that was just taken away from him," Rubinov said. "At 32 years old, he was robbed of so much life, and I was robbed of so much life with him."
A 25-Year Wait for Justice
For Rubinov and countless other families, the grief has been shadowed by a justice system that has moved at a glacial pace.
"There's no closure, no justice for her family after all these 25 years," she said, noting that some of those responsible have yet to face a jury.
That long wait, however, is finally entering a new phase. After years of legal debates and delays, jury selection for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the accused mastermind of the 9/11 attacks — is now scheduled to begin on June 5, 2028.
As her family waits for that trial, Rubinov also reflects on the unity she felt in the country after the attacks, a feeling she believes has faded and must be rediscovered.
"At the end of the day, a heart breaks the same way," she said. "There's an empty chair that's missing when people pass away, or die, or are murdered. There hasn't been change, and there needs to be a change."
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