For the families who lose loved ones to murder or violent crime, time will never heal all wounds.

But not knowing who committed the crime keeps those wounds eternally open because closure can never be achieved.

So it goes for the Mooney family. Two years ago this week Ironton resident Thelma Mooney was found stabbed to death in her home.

No one has ever been brought to justice for this crime, with the anniversary prompting Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to pledge the support of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification in solving this case.

This should be welcome news for the Mooney family and all north Ironton residents, many of whom lived in fear for weeks.

But we hope to see the state investigators take this a step further — much further.

We urge the Ironton Police Department and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office to turn over the files for all its suspicious deaths or unsolved murder cases to BCI&I to take a fresh look at the information.

If the state is willing to help on one case, it only makes sense that they could dedicate some time to the other unsolved cases that may be a little older.

Unfortunately, there are several cold cases that they could look at, potentially bringing closure to several families that have continued to live with the pain that justice was never served.

Pamela Goldcamp’s body was found on the railroad tracks near Mulberry Street in 2002, with many people questioning the circumstances.

It has been almost nine years since William Keen was found murdered in the Sureway cab he was driving.

And there are others.

Our hearts go out to all those families who still search for answers. Maybe BCI&I could help find those answers.