A new documentary about the sad case of JonBenét Ramsey is reinvigorating America's interest in the crime, and the girl's father is hoping that the renewed attention can help find the person who killed his daughter.

According to Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger, John Ramsey is "cautiously optimistic" that America might be able to solve his daughter's murder soon.

It must be absolutely brutal to have your life ripped apart nearly thirty years ago and STILL not know what happened to your innocent little daughter.

JonBenét Ramsey's life and death

JonBenét Ramsey was born in 1990 to Patsy Ramsey and John Ramsey in Atlanta, Georgia. By the time JonBenét Ramsey entered kindergarten, the family had relocated to Boulder, Colorado.

It was in Boulder where JonBenét Ramsey's mother started entering her in beauty pageants, and the young girl did VERY well. She won the titles of America's Royale Miss, Little Miss Charlevoix, Little Miss Colorado, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl, and National Tiny Miss Beauty.

Pageant mothers sometimes get a reputation for being controlling and a little crazy, and Patsy Ramsey was no exception. After JonBenét Ramsey's death, the media reporting on the peculiar "pageant mother" behavior of Patsy Ramsey didn't exactly help direct attention away from the family as suspects.

In fact, for much of the early part of the investigation, police focused almost entirely on JonBenét Ramsey's immediate family as the prime suspects. This proved to be a costly error, as once police concluded that this was not an inside job, the case was old and it was difficult to gather new evidence that would point them in the right direction.

The ransom note

Patsy Ramsey reported that she found a ransom note in the staircase of their home after waking up on December 26, 1996. One of the reasons that the family was on the early list of suspects was the specific amount that was demanded in the ransom note.

John Ramsey had received a Christmas bonus in 1995 of about $118,000, which is exactly how much the ransom note was asking for for the return of JonBenét Ramsey. This led police to believe that somebody very close to the family or even in the family was involved in the crime.

Making up for lost time

Because the police spent so long looking at JonBenét Ramsey's immediate family, by the time they realized none of them had killed JonBenét Ramsey, the case had gone cold. From that point on, America has been wondering what happened to JonBenét Ramsey.

Could the new documentary coming out help John Ramsey finally achieve closure in the case? That's exactly what he's "cautiously optimistic" might happen.

"John Ramsey is a guy who has been brutalized by the police department, brutalized by the court of public opinion, brutalized by the media. And for his sake, I hope the family finds the truth," filmmaker Joe Berlinger said. "But John, a staunch advocate for finding the killer, is 80. I hope the guy has another decade left, but I’d like this case to be solved before he goes so that the family can have a measure of peace."

The new documentary, entitled "Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?" is streaming now.

For John's sake, let's hope that it helps America solve the case.